from Publisher's Weekly: This posthumous collection of case material illustrates the treatment modality successfully employed by psychiatrist Bruch with patients suffering from the eating disorder of anorexia. Two of her associates at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston have edited this final work, taped by the author before her death in 1984. Bruch makes the reader privy to the therapeutic transaction between her patients who are in what she describes as "the relentless pursuit of thinness.'' Emphasizing the conversational ambiance of the therapy and discounting heretofore unsuccessful approaches of psychoanalysis and behavior modification, she helped her patients to heal. The dramatic dialogues in the cases presented allow us to hear these desperate young anorexic women individually explore their thwarted development, under the direction of a compassionate physician who guides them towards wellness. from Library Journal: Psychiatrist Bruch was a pioneer in developing psychotherapy for anorexia victims. Author of half a dozen books, her first work, Eating Disorders, appeared 15 years ago. She taped her interactions with clients, and these form the nucleus of this final book. Bruch's strength is her straightforward writing: it is honest, simple, and effective.

In this remarkable book by one of the great psychologists and neurologists of the early twentieth century, Kurt Goldstein presents a summation of his “holistic” theory of the human organism. In the course of his studies on brain-damaged soldiers during the First World War, Goldstein became aware of the failure of contemporary biology and medicine to genuinely understand both the impact of such injuries and the astonishing adjustments that patients made to them. He challenged reductivist approaches that dealt with “localized” symptoms, insisting instead that an organism be analyzed in terms of the totality of its behavior and interaction with its surrounding milieu. He was especially concerned with the breakdown of organization and the failure of central cerebral controls that take place in catastrophic responses to situations such as physical or mental illness. But Goldstein was equally attuned to the amazing powers of the organism to readjust to such devastating losses, if only by withdrawal to a more limited range of activity that it could manage by a redistribution of its reduced energies, thus reclaiming as much wholeness as new circumstances allowed. Goldstein’s concepts in The Organism have had a major impact on philosophical and psychological thought throughout this century, as can be seen in the work of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Georges Canguilhem, Ernst Cassirer, Ludwig Binswanger, and Roman Jakobson, not to mention the wide-ranging field of Gestalt psychology.

Division TEACCH, located in the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was one of the first programs in the country to understand that autism was an organic rather than a biologic condition. We were also one of the earliest programs to recognize the enormous variability in characteristics and behaviors of children described as autistic. For these reasons, the processes of diagnosis and assessment have always been important and central to our program. We are therefore extremely pleased to have a volume representing the most current thinking of the field's leaders in these important areas. As with the preceding books in our series, Current Issues in Autism, this volume is based on one of the annual TEACCH conferences held in Chapel Hill each May. The books are not simply published proceedings of the conference papers, however. Rather, conference participants are asked to develop a full chapter around their presentations. Other international experts whose work is beyond the scope of the conference, but related to the major theme, are asked to contribute chapters as well. These volumes are designed to provide the most current knowledge in research and professional practice available on the most important issues defining and clarifying autism.

As a division of the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at ChapeI Hili, TEACCH has always been involved in the latest biological research on autism and related developmental disabilities. However, until now there has not been sufficient information to justify aseparate volume on this most important topic. Recent advances both in our under standing of the brain and in the technology to facilitate the measurement of neurological functioning have stimulated significant growth, which is reflected in this volume. As with the preceding books in this series, Current Issues in Autism, this volume is based on one of the annual TEACCH conferences held in ChapeI Hili each May. The books are not simply published proceedings of the conference papers, however. lnstead, conference participants are asked to develop chapters around their presentations, and other international experts whose work is beyond the scope of the conference, but related to the major theme, are asked to contribute as weil. These volumes are intended to provide the most current knowledge and professional practice available to us concerning major issues in autism.

Introduction and Overview: Introduction to Early Identification and Intervention in Autism; M.M. Bristol, E. Schopler. A Parent's Perspective on the Preschool Years; R. Angell. Normal Childhood Development from Birth to Five Years; R.D. Cox. Specific Aspects of Autism: Early Social Development in Autism; C. Lord. Communication in Preschool Autistic Children; B.M. Prizant, A.M. Wetherby. Behavior Management in the Preschool Years; M.E. Van Bourgondien. Diagnostic, Assessment, and Programmatic Aspects: Assessment of the Young Autistic Child; L.M. Marcus, W.L. Stone. Medical Syndromes in Young Autistic Children; L.T. Taft. Interpreting Results to Parents of Preschool Children; V. Shea. Early Intervention for Children with Autism and Related Developmental Disorders; C. Lord, et al. Current Practices in Early Intervention for Children with Autism; J.G. Olley, et al. Federal Legislation for Young Children with Disabilities; J.E. Thiele. Index.