Loners describes a unique group of solitary children who were unable to adapt to the social and educational demands of school life. Wolff discusses the nature and origins of their difficulties and compares them with autism, Asperger's syndrome and schizoid/schizotypal personality disorders. Wolff illustrates her study with case histories of children and adults over a twenty year period, as well as with discusssions of the apparent eccentricities of some exceptional people who catch the public eye. The book shows the necessity of the clinical recognition of the syndrome.