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As the title of this book suggests, E. Fuller Torrey attempts to demonstrate that Freudian theory has had a destructive effect on 20th-century American thought and culture. Although this theme carries through much of Torrey's book, Freudian Fraud actually undertakes several goals simultaneously. First, the book challenges the scientific underpinnings of psychoanalytic theory. Second, the book presents a historical discussion of psychoanalytic theory's popularization in America during the past 90 years. Finally, Torrey's book defends the general view that “nature” (i.e., genetic influences) has a much greater influence on personality development than scientists and laypersons have been willing to acknowledge. Attempting to deal with these three issues in a single book is, to say the least, a challenging task. A thorough discussion of any one of these topics could well take up an entire volume (or several volumes, for that matter). Thus, the author deserves credit for his willingness to take on some very complex and important subject matter.
Unfortunately, Torrey does not succeed in his efforts to provide an objective, reasoned discussion of these issues. Torrey's criticism of the scientific underpinnings of Freudian theory misses the mark completely. His discussion of the popularization of psychoanalysis in America, although the strongest aspect of the book, suffers