Erik H. Erikson is recognized as one of the world's leading figures in the field of psychoanalysis and human development. His ideas about the stages of development, the sources of identity, and the interdependence of individual growth and historical change revolutionized the understanding of the nature and course of psychological growth. Erikson, whose work first described the now-familiar concepts of "identity crisis" and "life cycle", provided an unprecedented framework for considering the individual psyche within society and culture. Unveiling a dynamic process of psychological development, he emphasised the tendency toward growth and the integration of multiple influences - the biological, social, psychological, cultural and historical. With writings from throughout Erikson's career, including major work from "Childhood and Society", "Insight and Responsibility", "Young Man Luther" and "Gandhi's Truth", this reader charts the influence of Erikson's thinking in the areas of child psychology, development through the lifespan, leadership and moral growth.