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In his introduction to Psycho-analytical Notes On An Autobiographical Account Of A Case Of Paranoia, Freud wrote “the analytic investigation of paranoia presents difficulties of a peculiar nature to physicians, who like myself, are not attached to public institutions.” With this proviso, Freud introduced into the psychiatric world the case of a man who was to become as William Niederland notes in the early part of his book “the most frequently quoted patient” in modern psychiatry. Freud requested his readers to “read through it [the memoirs] at least once beforehand.” In this admirable collection of essays, Niederland does this and much more. As a result, Niederland's book should find itself as a necessary complement to those interested in the multidimensional nature of this landmark case of paranoid psychosis.
The book is divided into three sections. The first section consists of the biographical and historical background collected by Niederland concerning the Schreber case. The second section elaborates the author's further research into the case and interprets this data within the context of Schreber's illness. Finally, a third part concerns itself with other aspects of the case, and is composed of a collection of significant contributions to the case by other investigators. Accompanying these three parts are two comprehensive bibliographies, one following Parts I and II, and the other at the end of the book, following Part III. In Parts I and II, Niederland utilizes not only Schreber's original memoirs and the numerous books by his famous orthopedic father, but also other biographical writings about the father, correspondences and personal interviews with surviving members of the Schreber family, clinical material and writings of Schreber's psychiatrists (including his first therapist, Theodor Fleschig), and the original medical records of Schreber's confinements. The author also advantageously utilizes the results of personal research into the archives in German