Book excerpt: `A valuable contribution to the burgeoning literature on the social dimensions of selfhood. In addition to providing an extensive, well-researched overview of the wide variety of theories that have explored the social formation of personality and beyond - Burkitt seeks ultimately to formulate his own position on the matters at hand, one that is able to "move beyond dichotomous and dualistic visions of society and individuals.... Burkitt deserves praise for the clarity with which he presents his overview of the relevant theories, for the cogency with which he offers his own critiques of these theories, and for his commitment to thinking dialectically about the self.... For those who wish to bolster or articulate further their own beliefs abo