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There are a number of reasons for readers of the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association to be interested in this book.
It is filled with interesting gossip. Do you want to know this gossip? In the words of the New York Times reviewer of the latest gossip book on Nancy Reagan, "You bet you do." Gossip is a social detritus that is rich material for biographers, archeologists, and historians. Gossip regarding Nancy Reagan's relationship to her astrologer will, in future generations, most likely be viewed as more interesting and perhaps more important than what her husband said in his second inaugural speech.
From this perspective, gossip informs us of the vulnerability and arbitrariness of those we admire and envy, who influence our lives. Here Masson's point is clear. He is not using gossip to reveal the