Review by Choice Review
Sigmund Freud remains an iconic figure over seven decades after his death, and books continue to emerge documenting his life. There is less literature focusing on the evolution of his ideas beyond the individual, to the broader cultural perspective that occupied Freud in his final decades. Dufresne's The Late Sigmund Freud examines this stage of Freudian thought in detail, with its emphasis on culture and civilization. As is common in Freud studies, Dufresne (Lakehead Univ., Canada) interprets Freud's ideas and his life within the context of psychoanalytic theory. The volume portrays Freud as conflicted both personally and theoretically. Dufresne identifies Freud's many contentious relationships, how they formed and then deteriorated. Figures typically absent from considerations of Freud's life, like novelist Romain Rolland and psychoanalyst and mystic Herbert Silberer, enter the scene as having been important in the development of Freudian theory, only to be rejected when they disagreed with Freud. Dufresne also critically examines Freud's theory, showing that the writings reflected his own psychoanalytic pressures and were often incomplete or contradictory, sometimes leading to "head-scratching conclusions." This book will provide scholars of Freudian theory with useful and complex considerations of Freud's understanding of culture. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above; faculty and professionals. --Bernard C. Beins, Ithaca College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
