Stella Chess's many admirers throughout the world have long looked forward to the day when she would produce her own textbook of child psychiatry. They will not be disappointed in this thoughtful and per- ceptive account of the principles and practices of the subject, written in collaboration with Dr. Hassibi. It has all the hallmarks we have come to recognize as distinctive of the Chess approach to child psychiatry-gentle yet subtle and penetrating, always appreciative of the feelings and concerns of both the children and their parents, well informed and critically aware of research findings but far from over- awed by the contributions of science, and above all immensely practi- cal. Anyone who wants to know how one of the world's outstanding clinicians appraises what child psychiatry has to offer could do no bet- ter than to read this book. Child psychiatry differs from general psychiatry in being con- cerned with a developing organism, and it is entirely appropriate that the book begins with an account of child development and of the prin- cipal theories put forward to explain it.
Chess and Hassibi recognize the importance of theory in organizing ideas and in suggesting expla- nations, but they remain skeptical of how far existing theories do in fact account for the outstanding issues in development. They note the limitations of all theories in explaining how development takes place and why individual differences occur in the way they do.