These significant essays, as Dr. Bertram D. Lewin says in his introduction to the First Series, explore many subjects that were only touched on in his books. Many of these discussions, present-day classics in their fields, are comprehensive monographs in themselves. Often so much is brought to bear on the central topics from so many sources, and then related so clearly to the context, that these essays become works of reference for a much larger field. A book is greatly to be welcomed that preserves and makes conveniently available so much that is intensely useful from the life work of this remarkable man.

The papers forming this volume have been collected and edited by Dr. Hanna Fenichel and Dr. David Rapaport. Papers not heretofore published in English have been especially translated for this book by Jame and Alix Strachey.