Freud: The Making Of An Illusion

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From the master of Freud debunkers the book that definitively puts an end to the myth of psychoanalysis & its creator Sigmund Freud is one of the most influential figures of western society His ideas transformed the way that we think about our minds our selves & even our thoughts But while he was undeniably a visionary thinker Freud's legend was also the work of years of careful mythologizing & a fierce refusal to accept criticism or scrutiny of his often unprincipled methods In Freud The Making of an Illusion Frederick Crews dismantles Freud's totemic reputation brick by brick Looking at recently revealed correspondence he examines Freud's own personality his selfishness competitiveness & willingness to cut corners & exploit weaknesses to get his own way He explores Freud's whole-hearted embracing of cocaine as a therapeutic tool & the role it played in his own career & he interrogates Freud's intellectual legacy exposing how many of his ideas & conclusions were purely speculative or taken wholesale from others As acidic as it is authoritative this critique of the man behind the legend is compulsory reading for anyone interested in Freudianism