This article is only available in the PDF format. Download the PDF to view the article, as well as its associated figures and tables.
Although there has been a steadily increasing amount of undergraduate psychiatry teaching for medical students and a greater interest in psychiatry shown by general practitioners, the development of suitable textbooks has not kept pace. Thus, Dr. Smith’s book strives to give an over-all picture of common psychiatric syndromes without entering in areas of controversy and speculation. As an experienced clinician and teacher, he has been unusually successful in his purpose. Concisely, but adequately, he discusses the history of psychiatry, the schools of psychiatry, psychodynamics, and the psychiatric examination. Then each group of so-called reactions is elucidated so that they can be understood in light of our current knowledge. There is an ample bibliography and an adequate index. The book is highly recommended for its purpose.