The other reviews didn't say this, but this book employs almost a comic book approach to Melanie Klein's life and ideas. Every page has incredible graphics with captions by the people in the book describing their views. I read it in two sittings, and feel I now know something about object relations and child psychiatry that I hadn't known. There is a whole series of "introducing" books that I plan to investigate.

Dr. Hinshelwood, one of the world's leading proponents of Kleinian psychoanalysis, has produced an interesting and readable synopsis of the work of the noted psychoanalyst, Melanie Klein.

Often difficult to understand, Mrs. Klein's work is centred on the intrapsychic aspects of human development. This slim volume allows the reader an opportunity to appreciate some of the more complex aspects of Kleinian thought.

Having digested Dr. Hinshelwood's excellent text entitled "Clinical Klein", I found the visual depictions in "Introducing Melanie Klein" of some of the same cases described in his other work to be helpful and clarifying.

I would recommend any interested reader pick up both volumes and use the "Introducing..." book as a quick reference guide to the "Clinical..." text.

Hinshelwood provides the clinician with an important synopsis of Mrs. Klein's approach to the understanding of the patient's unconscious. His digestion and presentation of her theory of the development of the mind and symbol representation enables even the neophyte analyst a wonderful insight into the world of Klienian theory. Rather than assuming the reader is well-versed in the terms of Klienian theory, he provides a easy to read primer of her concepts of the development of the mind. In addition, one would profit from this tome if reading other challenging authors such as Bion who assumes his reader is conversant in Kleinian theory.

This volume offers much more than its title suggests. It's a great way into Melanie Klein's thought for those who haven't read her; and for those who have, it's an invaluable help for following the thread of her ideas as they developed and changed. The main entries are extremely useful as free-standing essays on the development and implications of Klein's principal concepts. Klein was an exciting analytic theorist, and this book brings readers directly into the current of her thought. I only wish it were in paperback.

This easy-to-read primer is just that: a very clear introduction to Kleinian thought. If you are put off (as I am) by certain aspects of Kleinian theory, don't give up the struggle to grasp it without taking a look through this book, which grounds the theory in easily understood clinical examples and applications. Highly recommended. I came away with a greater appreciation of the usefulness of many Kleinian concepts.

I was disappointed by Klein but not this collection. Her conceptual apparatus seems rather underdeveloped for the complex phenomena to be taken under it. It is still worth a read and may be source of inspiration. So I dont think I will read Klein further, but this collection gave me quite sufficient understanding of her thought and that for a good price. The only deficiency is the lacking of a more in depth discussion of the death instict and why Klein introduces it. I assume it can be found in the latter of her collected writings. I strongly recommend the collection since it has not much alternative...

The book itself represents a valuable compilation of some of Klein's seminal ideas; however, I found myself angered by her irresponsible and intellectually dishonest use of her own children as supposed case examples. I also regard the death drive concept shared by her and Freud as the ether of depth-psychological thought.

Since buying the complete Collected Works of Melanie Klein would be rather expensive (and not as readily available as this book), this is the next best thing. This one offers all of the very essential Kleinian works, including the Early Stages of the Oedipus Conflict (in which she very daringly challenges Freud's views on the topic, and two papers on manic-depression, which are classics and have still not been equaled even to this day. This book is a great choice for anyone interested in psychology, regardless of their orientation or affiliation.

Caper's book is a short, easy to understand and delightfully written introduction to Freud and Klein. If you know a lot of psychodynamic theory, it will probably be too basic for you.
Caper starts with the "story" of Freud's attempts to find a scientific theory for psychic phenomena. In chronological order, you are introduced to Freud's basic ideas (such as libido, the psychosexual stages, the ego, id, and superego...)Caper follows Freud's development of ideas, showing his struggle to make sense, the caveats of his theories that led him to find new solutions, etc. This makes the read fascinating (it almost feels like you are reading a detective story) and helps you understand the concepts better, since you can see "where" they came from.
After that, Caper introduces the work of Melanie Klein, seeing how it complements and expands Freud's work. It studies her approach to the psychology of children and play therapy. For those who do not know Klein, this may be a good introduction, though I would rather recommend a book on her selected papers.
I enjoyed reading this book but I would probably not have spent the money if I had not had it for a class. If you are a psych student, there may be better books to spend your money on. If you are not a psych student and just want a fun intro to psychodynamic theory, this is as fun as it gets. If you are a psych student and have money to spare, hey, why not? Caper knows how to write, which is refreshing in a field in which most books have such a dry style that the most fascinating concepts fail to interest you.

Grosskurth is to be commended on her ability to present a complex view of a woman whose work she clearly idealizes. Melanie Klein emerges as a woman as difficult to grasp as her ideas: At once both a bullish narcissist who required complete fidelity by her students and analysands, and a remarkable pioneer who overcame gender obstacles, anti-semitism, and lay status to become one of the century's most influential psychoanalytic visionaries. This is a must-read account of the life of a woman who was/is personally and professionally both reviled and cultified, and whose insights into the mental life of infants and children remain profoundly controversial. I walked away from my encounter with this book deeply intrigued about the person, the cult, and the ideas of Melanie Klein. My clinical work, I suspect, will be creatively enriched as I further delve into the contents of her vision. As setting a biographical context that goes beyond the linear narration of a life, I recommend this book as a launching point for anyone undertaking the teaching or learning of Kleinian psychoanalysis, or psychoanalytic theory of any persuasion. My only gripe about the book is Grosskurth's seeming need to defend Klein against her critics, rather than trusting the reader to simply appreciate the complexity of this strange, narcissistically fragile, brilliant, and flawed woman.

i am psicology, I'm that bokk very interestin