Readings in Abnormal Psychology. By J. S. Taylor. New York:  Dodd, Mead & Co., 1926. Price $4.00.

This book consists of a series of extracts taken from the literature of abnormal psychology. Its apparent aim is to give the reader a condensed yet comprehensive view of the subject so as to preclude superfluous perusals. The first hundred pages are devoted to classification and diagnosis of mental diseases. In spite of Dr. Jastrow's glowing tribute to Freud and the genetic principle in the introduction, the psychoses are presented in a very perfunctory manner from the purely descriptive angle and the more representative authors of the advanced schools are omitted in the selections. One can hardly conceive of a study in affect disorder being complete in the absence of names like Abraham, MacCurdy and Macfie Campbell; nor does it seem that Pierce Clark could be gracefully ignored in any treatment of the subject of epilepsy. Yet we search in vain for all of these. The contributions of Freud and Ferenczi to the psychology of paranoia are likewise overlooked. The psycho-neuroses are represented, with the exception of the abstracts from Janet, by conventional and superficial accounts of psychoneurotic behavior. The really advanced work of the psychoanalysts in this line is not considered.

A great deal of space is given to “Basic Psychologic Conceptions,” “Meaning and Its Significance,” “Symbolism,” and “Memory”; a short chapter is included upon “Wishes, Sentiments, Complexes, Systems.” All of these chapters are a bit involved it seems, for a book purporting to be of use as a text book for students, in that they are redundant with theoretical controversies and poverty-stricken in clinical illustrations.

This objection does not hold, however, for the chapters upon “Conflict and Its Manifestations “and” Mental Regression,” which are liberally provided with case material and constitute valuable contributions.

Under the series of abstracts captioned “Functional Motor Abnormalities” are included excellent excerpts from Janet's work on hysteria and from Freud's contribution, “The