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The theme of this book, as explained in its subtitle, is “a history of psychoanalysis as seen through the lives and works of its most eminent teachers, thinkers, and clinicians.” Its focus is the specific movement founded by Freud and formalized by him and his followers. Thus, because Freud retained a high opinion of Pfister, the authors felt this “exemplary friendship deserves to be remembered.” On the other hand, such men as Sullivan and Fromm are excluded. The short essay on Horney faithfully summarizes her early work within the group. It describes her departure from it without discussing any of her later contributions.
Most of the forty-odd essays, written by fellow analysts, are divided into separate expositions of the works and the lives of each subject. The main ideas are given in capsule form, and sometimes, as in the reviews of Rado's and Jung's works, provide well-presented introductions to the authors. The articles about Reik and Fenichel give the reader an insight into their personal lives. Generally, however, human interest and warmth are not characteristic of the biographies. They are often too short and read like case histories. They serve primarily as a useful survey and a means of conveying a flavor of the relationships. Among the earlier pioneers, friendships, as well as contributions, often were gauged by the degree of adherence to Freud's tenets, and the various biographers tend to follow this policy in their articles. Those near Freud lived in an atmosphere of duty and devotion, and the associations were marked by intense feelings, both warm and acrimonious.
The latter part of the book deals with the second generation of workers such as Hartmann, Erikson, and Kris. These men, though still working within the framework of psychoanalysis, have evolved more independent lines of thought. They have laid greater stress on ego psychology. One theme which runs throughout is the necessity for maintaining the integrity of psychoanalysis, both politically and