This Textbook of Psychiatry, edited by John A. Talbott, Robert E. Hales, and Stuart C. Yudofsky, provides in one large volume an authoritative and up-to-date review of modern psychiatry that will be of great value to medical students, general physicians, and psychiatric residents, as well as practicing psychiatrists. It is neither a comprehensive textbook covering all of psychiatry nor a reference text with detailed coverage of a few areas. Instead of inadequate coverage in multiple brief chapters, the editors have chosen to identify and emphasize what they believe to be the areas most worthy of inclusion. Good writing and editing are evident throughout. With frequent citation of research data, including some 1987 references, contributors present controversial and important issues, and make clear statements of the limits of current knowledge.
The major sections are "Theoretical Foundations," "Assessment," "Psychiatric Disorders," "Psychiatric Treatments," and "Special Topics" ("Suicide," "Violence," "Psychiatry and the Law," "Ethics