This book is based upon transcriptions of Dr. Rado's lectures from 1945 to 1955 while he was the director of the Columbia University Psychoanalytic Clinic for Training and Research. The term " 'motivation' includes all inner . . . drives, tensions, and desires. 'Control' means all the shaping, organizing, and restraining influences the individual uses to attain his purposes."
His writing conveys the quality of an informal monologue, replete with aphorisms and memorabilia. Thus, the reading of it illustrates one of his prescriptions: "Cultural life creates so many activities that are useful and necessary, but have no pleasure reward attached. The trick is to imitate nature and make the necessary activity pleasure yielding . . ."
Other examples of the ease with which he turns the trick are, "Gold is a good example of an almost useless substance that through superstition all sorts of omnipotent characteristics are related to it . . . These superstitions . . . are among the most useful