The appearance of Kohut's book ranks as a significant event in the history of the psychoanalytic movement. The author, a past president of the American Psychoanalytic Association, is a prominent disciple of “classical” psychoanalysis—a school of thought that has steadfastly held to the opinion (first voiced by Freud) that patients with narcissistic disorders were beyond the scope of successful treatment with psychoanalysis. The publication of this book, subtitled “A Systematic Approach to the Psychoanalytic Treatment of Narcissistic Personality Disorders,” is evidence of an important shift in this position.