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The value of the application of the genetic point of view to analytic history is again evident in this new scholarly review. Stewart has based his work primarily on fifteen papers, one book, ninety-seven letters, and fourteen drafts of articles written by Freud between 1888 and 1898. He presents at the outset a brief outline of Freud's life during this period and some of his speculations about personal relationships seem apt; for instance, a correction of Jones's view of Freud's relationship with Fliess. Apparently, in addition to using him as a transference figure, Freud hoped that Fliess would supply the missing physiological substrate from the latter's biological knowledge. Also, Stewart proves by examining the order of writing that Freud did not 'progress' out of physiological concerns and into psychological ones, but that the two supplemented each other. Thus, the anxiety papers (physiological) alternate chronologically with the defense neuropsychosis papers (psychological).
The crisp style of most of the book is marred, especially in the early chapters, by what seems to be a dualism of intention: to present an account that will simultaneously interest the layman and satisfy the needs of psychoanalytic scholars. It is hard to reconcile the patently didactic description of such topics as the seduction theory, the first anxiety theory, and the actual neuroses—'The erroneous formulation was the result of Freud's lack of awareness at this time of the existence of unconscious mental processes and of infantile sexuality' (p. 43)—with the enlightening and comprehensive discussion of the theoretical bases for the actual neuroses set forth in the third chapter.
However, the author's own enthusiasm in accurately exploring