This book offers an excellent orientation to phychology:

the history of psychology dating back to ancient Greece

the main branches of study (behaviorism, genetics, neuroscience,etc..)

the key thinkers in each branch

the interconnection between branches



Like all good writing should be, it is very easy to read and follow but very dense with information.



My greatest praise for this book is the perspective that Daniel Robinson maintains on psychology as a whole. He very cleary shows the tendency of each branch of phychology to attemt to reduce the whole of psychology to itself, e.g. neuroscience says that psychology is nothing more than brain chemicals, behaviorism says that psychology is nothing more than conditioning, etc.. He maintains perspective on the role of each branch within the whole of psychology.



This is an overview for beginners or those seeking a general understanding, not an in depth study of any branch in particular. It is also important to note that this book studies psychology from a Western perspective, and as such makes little note of any contributions from Eastern thinkers.



I highly recommend this book to those thinking about going into the study of psychology, or those wanting a broader understanding of the subject as a whole.