This is an elementary, but eminently readable, slim volume on hypnotherapy and its use in medical and dental practice. A brief introduction, incorporating a bird'seye view of historical aspects, is followed by two succinct chapters on the nature and theory of hypnosis. The chapter on induction techniques constitutes the best material in the book. The author's directions and language are explicit and practical; the basic "rules" are clearly defined. The chapter on autohypnotherapy suffers from undue brevity. The remainder of the book is devoted to a short exposition of the uses of hypnotherapy in medical and psychiatric conditions; surgical, obstetrical, and dental analgesia; and habit control.
The presentation is quite satisfactory within its limits. However, it does little more than skim the surface of this interesting but hitherto limited medical discipline. The authors' avowed purpose of stimulating interest in hypnotic techniques has been adequately fulfilled by this brief text, but