THE THINKING ANIMAL: A Report on the Rational and Emotional Life of Modern Man.

War experiences drove Morton Hunt to the brink of a nervous breakdown, and when he recovered he found himself fascinated by studies having to do with the human mind. The Thinking Animal is a collection of articles he has published in assorted magazines, with occasional footnotes bringing them up to date and a few brief commentaries contributed by leading mental hygienists. The topic range ever most of human experience: laughing and crying, choosing a marriage partner, pregnancy, child rearing, infidelity, impotence, school truancy, suicide and other aspects of emotional life. A long section is devoted to ""Major and Minor Emotional Problems: Treatment, Cost, and Curve,"" differentiating among the various types of mental-health help that may be available in a community and setting forth concrete means of finding proper aid if it is needed. The alumnus of a giant cosmopolitan university, Hunt reports on the psychological problems of college students with real insight. Especially interesting are a prize-winning article on Cornell University's ""neurosis factory"" (formerly called the Behavior Farm and now named after one of its most dedicated workers), where animals are tested for the light their reactions throw upon human behavior, and a chapter entitled ""How the Analyst stays Sane -- Despite His Patients."" Hunt, formerly on the staff of Science Illustrated, as long been a contributor to Harper's Esquire, Saturday Evening Post, Fortune and The New Yorker. He is also the author of the Natural History of Love.