A Synopsis of Psychiatry

Abstract

A patient once said to me, Everybody thinks they can run a restaurant or write a book. The temptation for the reviewer is to write a book vicariously by unwriting the book under review. If this reviewer were to rewrite this book, the principal changes would be to achieve a better balance, eliminate some of the more questionable declarations, correct a few omissions, and improve the retrieval of information important to the reader. This book has sections, for example the one on obsessive compulsive neuroses, that demonstrate the knack of delightful writing so often seen in the British medical journals. Other sections, such as the one on psychopharmacology, are not easily retrievable and considerably limited in scope and currency. The author at the outset ventures into the Sargasso sea of psychiatry by attempting to categorize on the basis of volition. It also becomes clear early on that semantic dissonance prevails.