Eleven contributors have combined to produce a book of great interest. The first chapter, by George Rosen, on the history of medical hypnosis is alone, so to speak, "worth the price of admission." Other sections follow on hypnosis in internal medicine, in surgery, in dermatology, in obstetrics, etc. The concluding chapters on physiological aspects of hypnosis and instruction in hypnosis do not actually teach the novice how to proceed, and one gathers that, just as with Mesmer in 1775, the actual practice of hypnosis is still an art which must be learned by apprenticeship and by seeing the master in action. The reviewer feels it is safer for him to pass no judgment on the opinions expressed, but the book cannot fail to be useful and certainly a job of great value has been done in assembling the material.
There are comprehensive bibliographies at the end of each chapter.