Is there room for yet another book on the history and development of psychoanalysis? I was doubtful at first, but my initial scepticism was overturned after reading this book. George Makari sets a very effective boundary around his vast subject: he tries to cover not only the history of psychoanalysis, but the history of ideas throughout the formative period of modern Western thought, from about 1870 to 1940, with a brief epilogue about the post-War years.
Makari is of his time: he reflects a current preoccupation in the US of going back to the ‘founding fathers’. He describes Freud's ability to generate original thought from a synthesis of the important ideas of the 19th century. He also shows the ruthless, Machiavellian side to Freud's character in maintaining control of psychoanalysis as a distinct body of ideas. In modern terms, Freud was managing a brand name and fighting to maintain ownership. However, after this initial period, Freud shows flexibility in superseding his own theories with new ideas, keeping psychoanalysis from being merely a dogmatic school of acolytes.
Admittedly, the book covers familiar ground but it does that through some beautifully researched material on the political development of psychoanalysis. This is one of the clearest accounts I have read of this period. Makari's ability to situate the internecine struggles of psychoanalysis within broader history of Europe made me look at his sources to check the accuracy of the connections. I did not find a single mistake and the excellent endnotes and index made the task simple. Makari adopts the modern style of having extensive endnotes and index (nearly a fifth of the whole book in all) but with no intrusive references or footnotes in the text to distract the reader. He writes in a style that makes his book equally absorbing as a holiday book and a textbook and it will attract non-clinicians as much as practitioners.
Inevitably, some sections could be expanded. For instance, the account of the crucial controversial discussions was succinct but a little too brief, whereas the development of ego psychology in North America is covered in detail. These individual preferences are unavoidable in a book of this type, but overall I recommend it to anyone who wants to understand Freud in his historic context. It is salutary that current arguments about technique and theory have their roots in these arguments from over a century ago.
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