636 Book Reviews

The coherence and depth of the description represent the major strength of the book. It is well written and the material is presented in a well organized and novel way. At the same time, without some familiarity with the principles and tenets of psychoanalytic theory, reading this work could be especially laborious.

The four main chapters convey topical discussions on the fundamental aspects of Freudian theory. These discussions are enriched with the presentation of clinical material from Freud's consulting room. The first chapter discusses Freud's general view of the unconscious and its divergence from William James'. While William James believed that the mental should be equated with the conscious, Freud thought otherwise and went on to explore the unconscious as a mental domain. The second chapter discusses Freud's tack- ling of the mind-body problem. In contrast to approaches employed by other disciplines, he did not use a physiological or a philosophical approach to explore this problem. In- stead, he explored the mind-body relationship, in a novel way, through clinical material from his consulting room. Cases of hysteric patients, whose somatic symptoms had no apparent physical cause, played an important role in this exploration. Hughes also discusses Freud's views about the relation between somatic sexual excitation and psychical ideas. In essence, the chapter describes the way in which Freud's rethinking of the mind-body problem resulted in a redefinition of the body and an examination of its relation with the unconscious. The third chapter discusses Freud's conceptualization of the meaning and value of childhood memories, childhood amnesia, dreams and the Oedipus

complex. The final chapter examines transference and the psychoanalytic process Freud developed to explore the unconscious.

The book would make suitable reading for advanced courses in the history of science/psychology. Along with her discussion of Freud's work, Hughes argues that he tackled important philosophical problems such as the mind-body relationship in a novel way. His ideas were revolutionary and his approach did not rely on other disciplines. She concludes that Freud's restatement of and exploratory approach to traditional problems, led psychoanalysis to emerge as an autonomous discipline. Her argument is convincing and could lead to interesting discussions and further exploration in history of science/psychology classes as well as among scholars in general. More specificity, it could spur readers to raise and consider related questions such as the extent to which psychoanalysis can continue to survive as an autonomous discipline in light of advances in fields such as experimental and clinical psychology.

Department of Psychology University of Regina Regina, Sask. Canada $4S OA2

Thomas Hadjistavropoulos

REFERENCE

I. Bowers K. S. and Meichenbaum D. H. The Unconscious Reconsidered. Wiley, New York, 1984.

Mujeres de los Andes: Condieiones de Vida y Salud, by A. C. Defossez, D. Fassin and M. Viveros. French Institute of Andean Studies, IFEA. External University of Columbia. 1992. 471 pp.

This book is a selection of various studies dealing with the concerns of social research regarding women's health in Latin America. It is edited by a sociologist (Defossez), a medical anthropologist (Fassin) and an economic anthro- pologist (Viveros), and contains work by psychologists, historians and social scientists with experience in research on women's health and gender relations. Although the main focus of the book is on the situation of women in the Andes, because of the holistic approach of the authors, and the similarities between Latin American countries with regard to historical characteristics and living standards, the results may be considered valid for women throughout Latin America. The articles vary in their approach from colonial historical analysis (Defossez, Sanchez-Parga, Poloni), con- struction of quality of life indicators (Cervantes, Li), fol- lowed by articles on socio-political and cultural participation (Moscoso, Fassin) and finally an analysis of gender-based violence (Moreno, Montufar, Malaver). The references are complementary, providing a coherent vision overall. Methodologically, the book is divided into three sections. Part I offers information about reproductive and child health, with an emphasis on adolescents. It provides

information on child mortality by urban and rural areas, as well as fertility, contraception and demographic develop- ment. The second part discusses issues relating to women's participation, colonial economy and ethnic relations. The historical role of women labor leaders, women and democ- racy is analysed in this section, and a critique is presented of the dichotomized vision of women constrained to the role of complementary reproduction as opposed to male domi- nation of the productive sphere, emphasizing that both genders occupy the totality of social space. A final chapter discusses the health and reproductive rights of women. The third part is organized around the theme of violence as a practice of domination and women's transgression, and points out that violence " . . . has an end, and is a political phenomenon.. , it is omnipresent and multifaceted; brutal, open, subtle . . . " (p. 378). In addition, it presents a historical approach to violence. The text provides new perspectives on the issues, by combining quali-quantitative methods and points out the importance of participatory action research. In addition it is a rich bibliographic re- source for researchers in the fields of reproductive health, sexuality and gender based violence.

Department of Preventive Medicine, UNAN, Le6n. Apdo 297, Le6n, Nicaragua

Rodolfo Pefia

Being Pregnant in Rural South India: Nutrition of Women and WeB-being of Children, by lnge Hurter. PDOD Publi- cations/Thesis Publishers, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1994. 211 pp., $26.50/f39,50. (pb).

The World Health Organization issued a declaration in 1993 decrying the practice of dietary limitations during pregnancy. Partly from this declaration, Inge Hutter chose the subject

of a 20 month study in ten villages in the state of Karnataka. Hutter investigated the effects of, and the reasons behind, the (postulated) custom of reducing food intake during the last trimester of pregnancy.

The author paints a sober picture of the status of Indian women in these villages, reflecting much of the sub- continent's rural reality. Females are not valued from the fetal stage to the elder stage. As Hutter clarifies, girl infants,