I encountered this book when I was taking a course in "History and Systems" of psychology. Although the subtitle of the book is "The History and Evolution of Dynamic Psychiatry," it had value for me because of its coverage of Janet, Freud, Adler, and Jung. It was a monumental task for the author to produce this work of 932 pages. It is remarkably well researched, and for me as a psych grad student the bibliographical information often pointed me in the direction of references that I would not have known about without additonal library work.

The study of psychology is cumulative. The knowledge of the past builds the base of the work and research of the present time. Thus, we begin with a base in the mists of time with the shamans and witchdoctors, proceed through philosophers and medical practitioners of the past, into the work done by modern practitoners and academics. So also is the world of the psychology student one of building upon prior knowledge not just from prior courses taken in a program of study, but also what is learned from the great minds of psychology and psychiatry help form the student's own attitudes.

Although this book will probably not appeal to the average reader of "Psychology Today" magazine, its value is that it presents a lot of psychological theory in an easily understandable form without unnecessary professional jargon. It made some difficult concepts understandable to me, and for that reason it has value to libraries, advanced psychology students, and mental health professionals.