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Here is a book to end all books about the Schreber case; vast in its historical sweep, richly detailed and meticulously researched. Despite its daunting bulk, Lothane's book carries the reader through decades of controversial scholarship with disarming ease as a partner in his wide-ranging historical explorations. Lothane draws the reader into Schreber's Memoirs of My Nervous Illness, and shows us the man as a living person and his life within a broad historical background. The aim of this book is to transcend the many uses to which Schreber and his illness have been put, as a paradigm and a case study. Having read about Schreber as an illustration for disputes about differential diagnosis, problems in forensic medicine and some of Freud's favourite clinical theories, Schreber can now be seen as a human being. Calling the book a ‘defense’ is not a misnomer, but a reflection of Lothane's sympathetic identification with his subject, and many readers may become admirers of Schreber. He emerges as a kind of tragic hero, beset by powerful enemies, including his own physicians, at times his wife, and some of his would-be biographers.
Lothane begins with a quick review of the literature about Schreber, from Freud to the present, which he later returns to in greater detail (pp. 317-74). Although generally critical of his predecessors, Lothane is respectful toward Niederland, disagreeing with his thesis but patiently correcting his errors. He attacks others, such as Elias Canetti and Kohut for ‘trivializing the Nazi phenomenon’ by their facile analogies with Hitler's paranoia. He condemns this as ‘an offense to Paul Schreber's memory’, again reflecting the close tie between author and subject.
Lothane's account of Schreber's life, in less than 100 pages, makes absorbing reading, synthesising many new facts and the results of Lothane's own research. These include hospital records, correspondence with Schreber specialists and interviews with surviving members of the family, even