The author has clear advantages over previous biographers: Gay is a historian, expert in the European life reigning in Vienna at the time Freud began to grow in fame; Gay received training in psychoanalysis; he is well versed in classical psychoanalytic constructs; and, lastly, he has read many original writings in German and provided us with translations.

This book is an erudite endeavor. A good attempt is made to correlate Freud's ongoing life events with his works. As others have observed, Freud's writings are markedly autobiographical. It is also evident that Freud used many of his writings, particularly after 1910, for political purposes.

Gay has a lucid, elegant style. His short captions are most telling. The narrative