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Reviews of textbooks, which usually contain a wide range of information mixed with varying amounts of misinformation and obsolete concepts, are difficult and usually contain only general statements concerning "adequacy." Engel's book is a textbook because he says it is. Nevertheless it is an unusual member of that category because it contains a wealth of information which is not traditional but has developed from the author's serious thinking and operational experience in teaching medical students for more than 15 years. Indeed, Engel is an unusual teacher because he has had first-class training and experience in internal medicine, psychosomatic research, clinical psychiatry and psychoanalysis, and has contributed considerably to the behavioral sciences.
The first chapter entitled "On the Use of This Book" is a gem in itself as a lesson for psychiatrists who teach medical students not how to become psychiatrists but how to become good doctors. Methods and materials