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Reading Lacan is notoriously and intentionally difficult. Many authors who attempt to explicate his ideas further complicate the theory by arguing, like Talmudic scholars, about the actual meaning of a particular phrase or stating their definitive understanding of various concepts as they evolved over time. This book is strikingly different! It is extremely clear, avoids being pedantic, and addresses critical concepts of Lacanian theory from multiple perspectives, emphasizing Lacan's openness and passion for developing psychoanalytic knowledge. Both through text and subtext, this book illustrates the complex relationships between Lacan's theory and practice, for example, the intertwined concepts of authority, the law, and gender, which are signified by the overlapping concepts of the paternal metaphor, the Nom de Pere, and the No of the Father, become objects of interest rather than oddities of theory. The editors of this volume, The Lacan Tradition Lines of Development: Evolution of Theory and Practice Over the Decades, Lionel Bailly, David Lichtenstein, and Sharmini Bailly, bring together an international group of senior Lacanian analysts and scholars who each present informative, interesting, and expansive papers that are exciting and inviting for knowledgeable readers and colleagues with a beginning interest in understanding this important although marginalized theorist. These authors do not emphasize what Lacan said and wrote but show us how to use and expand his concepts, what the French refer to as working with Lacan, rather than what we Americans may think of as knowing Lacan. I heartily recommend this book.
The book is divided into four parts and a very insightful introduction to Lacan by Lionel Bailly. A portrait of Lacan emerges as being committed to working toward deepening his understanding of psychoanalysis, the psychoanalytic process, and the h