Intended to provide an outlet for systematic and substantive reviews, both empirical and theoretical, and for extended integrative reports of programatic research, this volume focuses on the nature of reading and reading disabilities, with implications for both theory and practice. The first chapter of the book reports on a long-term study of the nature of individual differences in reading disability, while the second chapter reports on the current status of a longitudinal investigation in Sweden on the development of reading skills and reading disability. The third chapter addresses the extent to which differences in instruction may contribute to the development of differences in reading skill. The fourth chapter surveys the basic research and theoretical literature on the nature of the reading skill possessed by the skilled reader, and the fifth chapter discusses the processes involved in rapid reading and its nature in speed readers. The final chapter describes what happens to reading skill following brain damage and discusses the implications of studies on individuals so disabled as models of the reading process. (HTH)