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This 3rd revised edition of Mangs and Martell's book, which was first issued in 1974, deserves the designation of a classic. The authors have had the very ambitious goal, to give “an easily understandable, cohesive, comprehensive and contemporary exposition” of psychoanalytic developmental psychology. The fact that the book is now issued for the third time proves that the authors have reached their goal.
The psycho-sexual development has been used as frame for the book. Most analysts will find it natural that the Iibido phases are used as a time dimension. However, this raises some problems in connection with other theoretical issues as, e.g., object relation theories. The structure of the book necessitates that non-drive psychological issues are not always treated as a coherent whole, but often placed according to the approximate drive-chronology. This approach does not facilitate comprehension for readers not fully acquainted with the different psychoanalytic theories.
Chapters dealing with the oral, the anal, the early genital phase and the latency phase are followed by chapters on phases rarely discussed systematically and in detail: “The Development of Adolescence”, “Pre-Adolescence”, “Early Adolescence”, “High-Adolescence”, “Late Adolescence” and “Post-Adolescence”. The last four chapters of the book deserve special attention: “Some Processes in the Development of Adolescence”, “Sources to Knowledge of the Adolescence Development”, “Changes of Infantile Omnipotence” and “Narcissism and Teenage Development”.
Each chapter treats the developmental circumstances that are the most conspicuous of that particular phase. Most of the chapters are concluded with a metapsychological survey. Many of the chapters have been furnished with an appendix giving a short summary of issues, which does not fit in the structure of the book, inter alia an appendix with the title: “Comparison between the sexual and aggressive drive development”.
The book contains an anormous amo