THE BOOK IS DIRECTED TO PARENTS, TEACHERS, SOCIAL WORKERS, AND OTHERS INTERESTED IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT. ITS MAJOR THEME IS THE TRANSMISSION OF NEUROTIC BEHAVIOR PATTERNS FROM ONE GENERATION TO THE NEXT. OPENING CHAPTERS SURVEY 18TH- AND 19TH-CENTURY ATTITUDES TOWARD AND TREATMENT OF CHILDREN IN BRITAIN AND THE UNITED STATES, THE ROOTS OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT AND OTHER CHILD-REARING PRACTICES, AND THE INFLUENCE OF VARIOUS 'GURUS OF THE NURSERY' (SCHREBER, KING, HOLT, SPOCK). AN OVERVIEW OF THE CHILD-ABUSE SYNDROME INCLUDES DETAILED REFERENCE TO THE WORK OF SPECIFIC RESEARCHERS AND TO CASE STUDIES, PRIMARILY IN ENGLAND. THE CAUSES OF CHILD ABUSE, THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ABUSIVE PARENTS, THE EFFECTS ON CHILDREN, SOCIAL ATTITUDES TOWARD CHILD ABUSE, AND PROGRESS IN PREVENTION ARE DISCUSSED. DRAWING LARGELY ON THE CASE STUDIES AND INTERPRETATIONS OF R.D. LAING AND AARON ESTERSON, SUBSEQUENT CHAPTERS DEAL WITH EMOTIONAL CRUELTY--THE WAYS IN WHICH MANIPULATIVE BEHAVIOR ON THE PART OF PARENTS BATTERS THE MINDS OF CHILDREN. THE ORIGINS AND WORKINGS OF FAMILY PSYCHOTHERAPY AS A MEANS OF INTERVENING IN THE EMOTIONAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN ARE DISCUSSED IN DETAIL. CLOSING CHAPTERS ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF DIVORCE ON CHILDREN AND THE PROBLEMS AND POTENTIAL OF SINGLE PARENTHOOD, AGAIN WITH EXTENSIVE REFERENCE TO CASE STUDIES AND RESEARCH. A LIST OF REFERENCES IS INCLUDED. (LKM)