Reading Freud: A Chronological Exploration of Freud's Writings (New Library of Psychoanalysis Teaching Series)

Reading Freud: A Chronological Exploration of Freud's Writings (New Library of Psychoanalysis Teaching Series) Review

I have read several comprehensive books on Freud, from the classic "Primer of Freudian Psychology" by Hall, to the recent "Basic Freud." "Reading Freud: A Chronological Exploration of Freud's Writings" is leaps and bounds better than any other overview of Freud currently available. The author does the rare and arduous task of summarizing difficult material in a concise way that brings out the essence of Freud's ideas without glossing over the crucial details and over simplifying the material. That is, the author is able to achieve depth AND brevity. My understanding of Freud's idea were clarified much by this excellent book, and even though I had a fairly good understanding of Freud before reading this, this book certainly enhanced my own comprehension of Freudian psychology. I once had a college professor say to me: "A bad commentator explains the obvious, a good commentator explains things that are not obvious;" Jean-Michel Quinodoz is a GOOD commentator! If you are considering a serious study of Freud, you certainly want this book by your side the whole way, in fact I refer to it as my "Travel Guide" to Freud. I have frequently referred back to this book as I read Freud's original texts, and I would be lost without it; it has been indispensable to me. If you want to have a well written, well crafted, accurate and concise book on Freud, get this...today! The book was originally written in French and the excellent translation by David Alcorn reads well and is engaging. Reading Freud provides an accessible outline of the whole of Freud's work from Studies in Hysteria through to An Outline of Psycho-Analysis. It succeeds in expressing even the most complex of Freud's theories in clear and simple language whilst avoiding over-simplification.

Each chapter concentrates on an individual text and includes valuable background information, relevant biographical and historical details, descriptions of Post-Freudian developments and a chronology of Freud's concepts. By putting each text into the context of Freud's life and work as a whole, Jean-Michel Quinodoz manages to produce an overview which is chronological, correlative and interactive. Texts discussed include:
DT The Interpretation of Dreams
DT The 'Uncanny'
DT Civilisation and its Discontents

This uniquely comprehensive presentation of Freud's work will be of great value to anyone studying Freud and Psychoanalysis.