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This title is somewhat misleading as it seems to promise the personal impressions of Dr. Reik's thirty years of close association with Freud, but these reminiscences actually occupy only the first section of the book. These recollections may be of interest to the future compiler of a definite biography of the founder of psychoanalysis. Here Dr. Reik speaks of his first visit to Freud's home in Vienna, and of his last visit there. He writes with the affection, admiration and veneration of the disciple for the teacher, and it is indeed a tribute to Freud's character that this reverence could be sustained through so many years of close association. One anecdote may be of interest. After a lecture given in 1910, the question of a practical solution of the sex problem for young students was discussed—the economic difficulty of marriage, the social, psychological and other difficulties of illicit relationships. Freud's counsel was that they should conform to the social exigencies, but preserve the integrity of the psyche by inner protest. He said: “Be abstinent, but under protest.”
The second part of the book consists of a lecture given by Freud at Vienna in 1913, and reconstructed from Dr. Reik's notes with his own comments. This lecture was published under Dr. Reik's name at Freud's request, but is now returned by him to its rightful owner.
In the third section is Dr. Reik's comment on those of Freud's writings which deal with the culture, civilization and religion of our time. Not the least interesting point in this regard is Freud's disclaimer of the validity of religion, which he calls an illusion, yet of which he writes at