When this book arrived I opened the package and thought it was another government document with its glossy purple headed pages. The impressive list of contributors suggested a treat in store.

There seemed to be a consistency on initial browsing that deserved closer investigation. All the chapters are approximately 2000 words long, running into four or five pages depending on the number of tables and diagrams. The preface confirmed that this was a series of articles from Psychiatry rather than a textbook.

The book is divided into eight parts; the first four cover normal development, …