Synopses & Reviews
Often referred to as "the father of psychoanalysis," Sigmund Freud championed the "talking cure" and charted the human unconscious. But though Freud compared himself to Copernicus and Darwin, his history as a physician is problematic. Historians have determined that Freud often misrepresented the course and outcome of his treatments—so that the facts would match his theories. Today Freud's legacy is in dispute, his commentators polarized into two camps: one of defenders; the other, fierce detractors.
Peter D. Kramer, himself a practicing psychiatrist and a leading national authority on mental health, offers a new take on this controversial figure, one both critical and sympathetic. He recognizes that although much of Freud's thought is now archaic, the discipline he invented has become an inescapable part of our culture, transforming the way we see ourselves. Freud was a myth-maker, a storyteller, a writer whose books will survive among the classics of our literature. The result of Kramer's inquiry is nothing less than a new standard history of Freud by a modern master of his thought.
Synopsis
A concise portrait of the founder of psychoanalysis discusses his advocacy of the "talking cure" method of therapy, his pioneering role in establishing modern understanding of the human unconscious, and his enduring influence on modern psychiatry. By the author of Listening to Prozac.
Synopsis
Often referred to as the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud championed the talking cure and charted the human unconscious. But though Freud compared himself to Copernicus and Darwin, his history as a physician is problematic. Historians have determined that Freud often misrepresented the course and outcome of his treatments-; so that the facts would match his theories. Today Freud's legacy is in dispute, his commentators polarized into two camps: one of defenders; the other, fierce detractors.
Peter D. Kramer, himself a practicing psychiatrist and a leading national authority on mental health, offers a new take on this controversial figure, one both critical and sympathetic. He recognizes that although much of Freud's thought is now archaic, the discipline he invented has become an inescapable part of our culture, transforming the way we see ourselves. Freud was a myth-maker, a storyteller, a writer whose books will survive among the classics of our literature. The result of Kramer's inquiry is nothing less than a new standard history of Freud by a modern master of his thought.
About the Author
Peter D. Kramer, called "America's best-known psychiatrist" by the New York Times, is the bestselling author of Listening to Prozac, Should You Leave?, Spectacular Happiness, Moments of Engagement, and, most recently, Against Depression. He has also contributed to the New York Times Magazine and the New York Times Book Review, the Washington Post, the London Times Literary Supplement, and U.S. News & World Report, among other publications. Dr. Kramer lives and practices in Providence, Rhode Island, where he is a professor at Brown University.