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In this fine 13-chapter volume, Balsam et al. (2025) aim to carry forth the work of Hans W. Loewald, an often underrecognized and underappreciated analyst whose work emerged during a particular time of hegemony in American psychoanalysis. Largely in the shadows of the ego psychologists of his day, Loewald was unique in advancing new frames of reference for Freudian theory. As Balsam et al. point out, he reinvigorated Freudian terms, allowing different meanings to emerge. Loewald did not start his own school; rather, he endeavored to carry forward a rich Freudian tradition with “new blood,” offering a more expansive view of psychoanalytic process, theory, and modes of engagement. This volume starts with a captivating introduction by Warren Poland in which he aptly questions “Why Now?” Why turn to Loewald as we face our current existential threats from the wars of our day, the omnipresence of technology, and the decline of our planet? Poland emphasizes Loewald's abiding commitment to holding onto possibility, even at the darkest of moments when possibilities appear to be grim, minimal, or nonexistent. Balsam et al.'s turn to Loewald is an echo of this commitment, and they open readers to something more ahead—to a promise of more through a new discovery of our analytic history.
This volume is divided into three main sections: (a) “Intellectual History and Evolution of the Work,” (b) “Philosophical Underpinnings,” and (c) “Clinical Loewald.” In the first section, with chapters by Theodore Jacobs, David Carlson, Seymour Moscovitz, and Jonathan Lear, readers are taken through a detailed history of the state of American psychoanalysis during Loewald's time; a thorough account of his personal history, his connections to philosophy, and his studies under Heidegger; and a review of his seminal works and their reception over time in the United States. Jacobs provides an outline of American psychoanalysis through the decades, from the early descendants of Freud through the post-