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The author is psychiatrist at Great Meadow Prison at Comstock, New York. From this rather isolated region it is most surprising to see so striking a contribution. In this monograph of but 91 pages Dr. Foxe has attempted to give a survey, from the psychoanalytic point of view, of the major forms of crime. Naturally he treats of only a fraction of the crimes according to the penal law, but a major fraction in the sense that men who commit these crimes largely fill our prisons.
In the opening sentence, Dr. Foxe makes it clear that he essentially is concerned with the two problems of terminology and classification. His use of libidinal positions for the solution of the latter problems is time honored amongst analysts. He suggests, sensibly, that the term criminotic, even if a hybrid term, be used in line with the generally used terms neurotic and psychotic. Thus he speaks of criminoses and criminotics. He then outlines the criminoses on an empirical basis—the phenomena (crimes)—or symptoms. As is often the case with new findings in analysis he has turned to everyday usage as a clue. This is the beginning of a personalistic psychoanalytic approach. The surface crime and unconscious motivation must be related.
Foxe shows his acquaintance with the works of Freud and other analysts who have been interested in the problems of crime. There is a consideration of dynamics in the idea of maturation during puberty, adolescence, and early manhood repeating the phases of infantile development up to the latency period. A dynamic element is also considered in the idea of criminosis in regression, criminosis in recovery, criminosis in action and criminosis in secondary action. Dr. Foxe also indicates certain defense mechanisms which he believes peculiar to certain libidinal positions. At this point it is necessary to point out one unfortunately necessary defect. In attempting to gain a broad view, many cases are sketchily given and it has been impossible to go into the detailed dynamics