Carl Rogers--Dialogues: Conversations with Martin Buber, Paul Tillich, B.F. Skinner, Gregory Bateson, Michael Polanyi, Rollo May, and Others

``It has never been my intention to inaugurate a `school' of psychotherapy,'' claimed psychologist Rogers (1902-1987), but his pioneering influence in client-centered therapy sparked controversy within the profession, as well as among philosophers and religious thinkers. The transcriptions that form the bulk of this volume, however, do not reveal the full force of his impact. Though they probe ideas of fundamental concern to scientists, epistemologists, psychologists and others, the dialogues--many of which were presented, with moderators, at universities and in other public forums--too often lack the spontaneity of spirited intellectual exchange, and Rogers's remark on B. F. Skinner--``I am not quite sure who it is he is talking to, but somehow he is not talking to me''--will resonate for some readers. When declining into parallel monologues, the ``conversations'' make slow reading, while those with Buber and Tillich offer valuable insights to the faithful. Kirschenbaum wrote On Becoming Carl Rogers and Henderson was a longtime assistant of Rogers. (Aug.)