With his usual clarity, thoroughness, and acknowledgment of others' contributions, Salman Akhtar advances our understanding of positive actions and attributes in Good Stuff. For those working with psychodynamic treatment, his case vignettes and his deep appreciation of the natural goodness in human beings is an added bonus!

Peggy Hutson, MD, Florida Psychoanalytic Society

Contrary to what its title suggests, this is not a self-help book but a relatively dense psychoanalytic exploration of its subject matter. Akhtar (psychiatry, Jefferson Medical College) draws primarily on classic psychoanalysts (e.g., Karl Abraham and Melanie Klein), more recent contributors to the field (e.g., Donald Winnicott), his own clinical experience, and other sources, while also making references to popular culture and thinkers outside the psychoanalytic movement. Although the writing is quite technical, the book is well written and will appeal to anyone interested in the topics addressed. For example, the discussion of courage in patients and psychotherapists is compelling. This book exemplifies the strength and limitations of relatively orthodox psychoanalytic theorizing and practice: provocative and experientially grounded insights are intermixed with assertions based on assumptions accepted within the psychoanalytic community but less than self-evident to psychotherapists with other orientations. Summing Up: Recommended.

Choice Reviews