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It is rather disappointing to meet in the early pages of this book a tribute to Coueism and the statement that Coue has made a real contribution to psychotherapy at all comparable to Liebault and Bernheim, and referring to the “New Nancy School.”
As one might suppose from the above statements, the book has nothing to offer in the way of a profound understanding of the phenomena of hypnotism and suggestion. The author remains altogether at the descriptive level in dealing with these phenomena and apparently is unacquainted with the psychoanalytic explanations and the psychoanalytic doctrine of the transfer.
The book notwithstanding the above mentioned defects is nevertheless not only interesting, but contains a considerable amount of very valuable matter. The chapter on “The History of Hypnosis and Suggestion” is valuable, not only as containing a statement in chronological sequence of the important events in the history of these subjects, but also as containing quotations from original sources which are illuminating. The same may be said of the two chapters on “Psychical Epidemics in the Religious Life,” and “Suggestive Epidemics in Politics and Economics.” These two chapters contain not only much that is interesting, but very good historical resumes of the subjects of which they treat.
In addition to the above, the book contains a large amount of information as to the widespread prevalence and importance of suggestion together with discussions of such subjects as mass psychology, mass suggestion, monarchism, militarism, and war.
White