Reminiscences of George S. Klein

When I was asked by Dr. Fried to provide some reminiscences of George S. Klein, I contacted my close and dear friend David Wolitzky, who was also a student of George's. I was also able to track down and have a lovely conversation with Rachel Klein, George's daughter, who is a professor of history at University of California at San Diego. Dr. Wolitzky has provided his own reminiscences, which are included. I thought my conversation with Dr. Rachel Klein would enrich both accounts.

When I think about George, the image and thoughts that immediately come to mind are his charisma, his seemingly boundless energy, his mercurial personality, his extraordinary range of interests, and his devotion to linking psychoanalytic theory to empirical research. In the service of full disclosure, I have to confess my envy and jealousy of Dr. Wolitzky's status of “favorite son.” Because I did not achieve that status and because I always felt intimidated by George, I had somewhat ambivalent feelings toward him. But my admiration for his intellect, creativity, and charisma never wavered.

In writing these reminiscences, I want to focus not only on the personal impact George had on my professional life, but, more importantly, George's vital contributions to the field. I agree with Dr. Wolitzky that George has not received the recognition he deserves. There is a tendency in our field for one's recognition by posterity to be determined by the establishment of a “school,” replete with its leading figure, its own training institutes, and its loyal adherents. Individuals like George, who have no aspirations to found a “school” and who, therefore, do not easily fit into this kind of scenario, tend to get lost to history. This tendency is unfortunate for a discipline. It contributes to repeated rediscovery of the wheel in new language and to important contributions at a given period becoming and remaining unrecognized not too many years later. Perhaps