Publisher's Weekly Review
This biography represents a substantial, if not groundbreaking, addition to the extensive body of work on the father of psychoanalysis. The very fact that Sigmund Freud's life has inspired a deluge of biographies is perhaps Roudinesco's greatest hurdle; she herself mentions it at the outset and throughout, and she often relates her narrative to the many that came before. One of the ways Roudinesco distinguishes her approach, she claims, is by looking past Freud's critical acclaim to the controversies and social contexts that surrounded him. Nevertheless, the narrative has all of the elements one might expect of a Freud biography, such as the preoccupations with incest and the many literary and philosophical ideas that shaped him. Perhaps more distinctive are the passages about how Freud's ideas spread geographically-including an entire chapter devoted to America-and a description of the exact moment Freud developed psychoanalysis. What is largely missing is the promised engagement with Freud in the present day; the focus is instead squarely on Freud's own time. This book might be most appropriate for those unfamiliar with Freud and his world; those seeking to understand his continuing relevance should look elsewhere. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Sigmund Freud misled the world by identifying himself as the heir of the scientifically minded Diderot. In this intensively researched biography, Roudinesco sweeps away the illusion, uncovering the Master's true predecessor: the passionate philosopher Nietzsche, whose willful philosophizing with a hammer inspired Freud much more than did the scientific method. Readers see how Freud's iconoclastic impulses mature as they follow the young boy who relished his indulgent mother's love while harboring dark suspicions about his father, then see the mature professional who affirmed his secularized Jewishness at a time of rising anti-Semitism. Readers revisit the breakthrough Freud made with a psychoanalytic theory premised upon sexual impulses simmering in the unconscious, breaking into our dreams. His imagination fired with images drawn from ancient Greek and Latin literature, and from the stormy side of modern Romanticism, this Nietzschean explorer of the mind fused Oedipus and Hamlet to explain the hidden family dynamics of forbidden desire and unacknowledged repression. Ruthless in smashing traditional credos, Freud jealously protected the orthodoxy of his own radical theorizing from apostate disciples (Jung, Adler, and Reich). Though Roudinesco credits Freud with insights into individual psyches, she exposes his tardiness in recognizing the collective threat of fascism. A revealing portrait of a cultural revolutionary.--Christensen, Bryce Copyright 2016 Booklist
Choice Review
In 2014, Roudinesco (Univ. of Paris Diderot, Paris 7) was awarded the Prix des Prix Littéraires for this wonderful biography of Freud. Now, the work has been ably translated by Catherine Porter into flowing English. The author's ambitious task emerges from many years of scholarly immersion in Freud's writings and historical documents coming from every angle--from hagiography to "Freud bashing." She searches for a measured respect in her accounts. The author gives a sweeping and majestic view of his life, work, and followers--from his humble, tumultuous Jewish family life in Leipzig, to his flight from the Nazis to London in 1938, while the world watched. Roudinesco importantly captures, as has no other biographer before her, Freud's recalcitrance in theorizing female development, even as he also appreciated women. This book is just as worthy as other classical biographies of Freud, like Ernest Jones's three-volume The Life and Work of Sigmund Freud (1953-57) and Peter Gay's Freud: A Life for Our Times (CH, Nov'88). Roudinesco's work is recommended for any individual interested in Freud and is appropriate for all readers. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels. --Rosemary H. Balsam, Yale University
Library Journal Review
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), the inventor of psychoanalysis, is a major subject of biographers, beginning with three volumes by Ernest Jones in the 1950s. Here, French historian Roudinesco (head of research in history, Univ. of Paris VII-Denis Diderot) brings her fresh perspective, in these pages well translated by Porter. Among the 14 chapters are "Disciples and Dissidents," "Families, Dogs, Objects," and "Facing Hitler." With a wealth of research-including an impressive bibliography and detailed family tree-Roudinesco elucidates Freud's development, creativity, and influence. She clarifies the rational and irrational, the pleasure and reality principles, and drives toward Eros and Thanatos. Freud, who viewed religion as an obstacle to scientific knowledge, used art, myth, and history as evidence for his claims. Like her subject, Roudinesco is a scholar of psychology, biology, and history. She credits Freud's predecessors Franz Anton Mesmer and Jean-Martin Charcot, pointing out that suggestion in the waking state is an element of psychotherapy. In her view, male psychoanalysts promoted as science a culturally biased interpretation of women. VERDICT Freud, a pioneer in creative biography, meets his analyst, a woman who illuminates modern psychology and social evolution for general audiences. This is perhaps the most important Freud biography since that of Jones, and a welcome corrective.-E. James Lieberman, George -Washington Univ. Sch. of Medicine, Washington, DC © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.