This is the entire preface.
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Book reviews have appeared in JEAB since the mid 1960s. For the most part, their purpose has not primarily been to summarize and evaluate the contents of particular books but rather to provide scholarly discussions that clarify the nature of behavior analysis and its place within the context of significant intellectual traditions, past and present. The books that have been reviewed were selected with that aim in mind. Some of the reviews have focused on books written from a behavior-analytic perspective. Most, however, have focused on books that were written from the perspective of other disciplines and traditions but that address their subject matter in ways that bear interesting similarities to (or implications for) how behavior analysts address their subject matter.
Collectively, JEAB's book reviews contain a rich body of thoughtful commentary on the nature, development, and place of behavior analysis. Their full value has been hard to appreciate, however, because the reviews are scattered among issues of the journal published over about a 30-year period.
Fortunately, that situation has been remedied. A. Charles Catania, past Review Editor for JEAB, and Philip N. Hineline, current Review Editor, have generously and enthusiastically taken on the enormous task of preparing a book that includes over 60 of JEAB's book reviews and other scholarly commentaries. Catania and Hineline have organized the reviews and editorials about reviews into 11 topic categories, with each one introduced by an essay that identifies the important features of the category and describes how particular reviews fit within it. The book should be a fine resource for scholars and students interested in learning more about behavior analysis as an approach to understanding behavioral phenomena.
The book is being published by the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, the organization that publishes JEAB. All royalties from the sale of the book will go to the Society. Information about how to order the book and a detailed listing of its contents appear on the next page [of the journal].
The last essay in the book — the "Postscript" — reexamines the categories and for each one identifies books that might be good candidates for future reviews in JEAB. It is reproduced here, immediately after the contents of the book on the next page, to give readers a sense of how the book of reviews is organized and to encourage interest in preparing book reviews for future issues of JEAB, either on the books mentioned in the article or on other books.
If you contemplate writing such a book review, it would be best to contact the Review Editor at an early point so that consideration can be given to the suitability of the review. You should send a brief description of your plans to Philip N. Hineline, Review Editor, Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122.
Richard L. Shull
Editor