While it is obvious why Freud's theoretical work should continue to dominate psychoanlytic discourse, the enduring influence of his private life is a more curious phenomenon. Both of his homes have been turned into museums. His dreams, his sexuality, his cigars—even his prosthesis—seem to hold endless fascination. He has become a permanent transference object. As the great single parent of the psychoanalytic movement, he is the authority with whom many analysts must come to terms, often in a very personal way. In studies of Freud's life and work the influence of the writer's personal feelings about Freud is sometimes striking, regardless of the quality of the intellectual work. Some writers seem intent on painting ever more idealized portraits of Freud. Others are determined to shatter the icons. It is difficult to escape the feeling that Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson's new book is an attempt