Freud Reader

by Peter Gay

Widely acclaimed as the most comprehensive one-volume collection of Sigmund Freud’s work, The Freud Reader is an indispensable guide to the father of psychoanalysis. Edited and introduced by Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Peter Gay, this volume presents Freud’s most influential writings across the breadth of his career—making his groundbreaking ideas accessible to both newcomers and scholars. From Freud’s early explorations of the unconscious and dream interpretation to his later writings on culture, religion, sexuality, and civilization, this anthology traces the evolution of his thought with clarity and balance. Selections include excerpts from The Interpretation of Dreams, Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, and Civilization and Its Discontents, among others. Peter Gay’s insightful introductions and annotations provide historical and intellectual context, helping readers understand Freud’s theories within the framework of both psychology and cultural history. Whether you are approaching Freud for the first time or revisiting his work with fresh eyes, this collection serves as an essential resource for grasping the foundations of modern psychoanalysis and its lasting influence on literature, philosophy, and the social sciences. Key Features A single, authoritative volume covering Freud’s most important writings Expertly edited and introduced by historian Peter Gay Includes works on dreams, sexuality, the unconscious, culture, and religion Ideal for students, educators, and anyone interested in psychology or the history of ideas

Paperback

About the author

Peter Joachim Gay was a German-American historian, educator, and author. He was a Sterling Professor of History at Yale University and former director of the New York Public Library's Center for Scholars and Writers (1997–2003). He received the American Historical Association's (AHA) Award for Scholarly Distinction in 2004. He authored over 25 books, including The Enlightenment: An Interpretation, a two-volume award winner; Weimar Culture: The Outsider as Insider (1968); and the widely translated Freud: A Life for Our Time (1988).
Gay was born in Berlin in 1923, left Germany in 1939 and emigrated, via Cuba, to the United States in 1941. From 1948 to 1955 he was a political science professor at Columbia University, and then a history professor from 1955 to 1969. He left Columbia in 1969 to join Yale University's History Department as Professor of Comparative and Intellectual European History and was named Sterling Professor of History in 1984.
Gay was the interim editor of The American Scholar after the death of Hiram Haydn in 1973 and served on that magazine's editorial board for many years. Sander L. Gilman, a literary historian at Emory University, called Gay "one of the major American historians of European thought, period".

Reviews

[Jorge · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comprehensive collection of basically everything you'd need to read by Freud. Gay's editorializing of Freud's views may come off as intrusive to some, but to me it was kind of humorous (it's true that he was unreasonably anti-American and obliviously sexist), and betrayed a very intimate knowledge of the subject. Reading Freud's early case studies and his decisive psychoanalytic texts like "Narcissism" and "The Ego and the Id" was far more enlightening than his later, politically-oriented works like "The Future of an Illusion" and "Civilization and its Discontents." I'm surprised that "Civilization," which I've never read before, has such a great reach beyond Freud-centric studies, as it seems like a springboard for Rene Girard's fairly out-there ideas of sacrifice and mimesis. Anyway, I did feel like this was a big missing piece of my haphazard autodidactic education, and I'm glad to have finally addressed that. I will be returning to some of these essays.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

For someone who has so much to say about women Freud really has nothing to say about women. Knowing that some of the women in these case studies were essentially seemed stupid and ‘hysteric’ yet that they then went on to become revolutionary feminists … anger. incredibly insightful and, regrettably, genius but the point still stands that actually LISTENING to women talk about their desires and trauma tells you a lot more about the so called “dark continent” of the female psyche than a man guessing ever can…

[Timur Usenov · Rating 4 out of 5]

I forgive him. Worst final of my life.