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This volume, appropriately dedicated to Anna Freud, covers only the earlier period of Freud's life and work; the biography will be completed in two further volumes.
In his Preface the author says of the book 'Its aims are simply to record the main facts of Freud's life while they are still accessible, and—a more ambitious one—to try to relate his personality and the experiences of his life to the development of his ideas.' This first volume is certainly a remarkable achievement. It could have been written only by Ernest Jones and then only with the full support of the Freud family, and it will be evident to every reader that the author has been unsparing in his most exacting labours. The outcome is a record as detailed, and as accurate in its detail, as such an account could well be; it provides the fullest attainable authentic story of 'The Young Freud' and, thereby, the means of discrediting any 'mendacious legend' about him. The presentation of his intellectual background is masterly, as are also the chapter groupings of the material and the choice of illustrations.
It is common knowledge that Freud cherished privacy in personal affairs, and the compiling of a truthful account of his formative period is clearly a delicate matter, demanding sensitivity and a high degree of courage and skill in the biographer. Fortunately, Ernest Jones possesses these qualities in full measure, but even his writing gives some indications of the difficulties of his task. Occasionally, a slight floridity tends to mar the normally impeccable style, and, from time to time, the effort to guard against giving false impressions leads to rather too much argument and explanation. But these minor signs of stress in no way impair the intrinsic value of the book, which presents a convincing picture of genius in the making. There is, indeed, no reason to regard the psychological growing-pains of the young Freud as in any way discreditable; only inner need could have sustained the self-an