In this intellectual history of American theoretical understandings of learning disabilities in children in the fields of medicine, psychology, and education, Danforth (education and human ecology, The Ohio State U.) focuses on the development of the ideas of two specific individuals in order to explore the two main lines of research in the field. Sam Kirk, the developer of the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities, is discussed in terms of the psycholinguistic tradition and Newell C. Kephart, who adopted the ideas of Alfred Strauss concerning aphasia and learning problems, is discussed in terms of the strand of learning disability theory that emphasized the young child's development of sensory motor and perceptual skills based within the central nervous system. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)