Any account based on circumscribed brain injuries immediately compels interest because the lesions are clinical counterparts of ablation experiments in the laboratory. Although resulting syndromes in humans are less amenable to control than those in animals, they do throw light on the functional organization of the cerebral cortex. When in addition an account includes methods for differentiating psychophysiological dysfunction and defines the limits of reeducation, then the work deserves a place in the library of traumatic disorders of the brain. Professor Luria has exceeded these basic prerequisites and has presented an important and useful work for the neurologist, psychologist, physiatrist, speech therapist, rehabilitation worker, and psychiatrist.
The major portion of the book is concerned with the restitution of such cortical disorders as apraxia, visual agnosia, and aphasia. Because language is a peculiarly human activity, it is inevitable that analysis and reconstitution of these disorders