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After the many biographies of Freud that have been published, do we need another one? Many psychoanalysts may have felt no such need. Jones's monumental three volumes surely laid out most of the facts of Freud's life in as much detail as most of us would ever want, and the major biographies by Clark and Gay have filled in a good many interesting details that have come to light since Jones wrote, as well as correcting some of his errors. True, Peter Swales continues to show an astonishing ability to unearth new information about critical episodes, and Carlo Bonomi has made some important discoveries; but until the ridiculous censorship of the Freud Archives is breached, it is unlikely that we will know for certain how to resolve various mysteries.
One important element has been lacking from all of the biographies, however: a convincing, psychoanalytically sophisticated interpretation of Freud's personality. It is not surprising that the sturdy and serviceable volume by Clark is thin in this respect, since he admittedly has no psychological or psychoanalytic credentials. Jones and Gay were so blinded by loyalty and dogmatic adherence to the standard myths that they might as well have not had any training or experience as analysts.
At last, however, Breger has filled this gap, with a persuasive, well-argued case for his nuanced, multidimensional portrait of his profession's originator. Neither hagiographer nor detractor, he presents one of the most balanced appraisals yet of Freud's strengths and weaknesses, his faults and virtues. Another asset of the present book is its helpful depictions of the sociopolitical context at key times of the subject's life; especially valuable is the chapter on World War I and the problem of war neuroses. I also found that the excellent portraits of other leading figures in early psychoanalysis added a good deal to my understanding.
The book of course reviews all of the major events in Freud's life in a lively, readable style. Breger's prin