This is not an effective introduction to psychoanalysis. In fact, it is likely going to be quite confusing for a reader who has not extensively studied the subject before, though it is intended to be an introductory guide written for an audience of readers new to the subject. The author chose to lay out the information in a confusing order, organizing the bulk of the book around what he called the "models of the mind," which he seemed to make up as a method of categorizing different terms and famous psychoanalysts. Needless to say, if the book presented the information in a clearer order, such as a linear order or sorted into obvious categories, it would have been easier to digest.
Unfortunately, the chosen structure was ineffective and caused the author to mention important terms and researchers in passing, never allowing the reader to learn about them in-depth. The author brushes over Freudian terms such as the id, ego, and superego, yet continuously refers back to them throughout the text as if the reader is well-versed in their meanings without being thoroughly introduced to them in this book. Again, since this book is intended to be an introductory guide, these basic terms that are central to psychoanalysis should be broken down completely for a reader new to the subject. Other key aspects of Freudian theory that make up the foundation of psychoanalysis were mentioned briefly but not explained, such as free association, the stages of psychosexual development, defense mechanisms, and the process of dream-work.
What is perhaps more upsetting is the author's bias, which is present from start-to-finish, even though books intended to introduce people to a subject should remain neutral. Clearly, the author is a supporter of psychoanalysis, and therefore did not choose to tell the full story. One may not realize after finishing this book that psychoanalysis is considered to be a dying subfield within psychology and that most modern-day psychologists do not agree with most of the theories presented in the book. This book would have been much stronger if the author made it clear that the field of psychology changed in the 1950s with the introduction of behaviorism, which was a direct backlash against psychoanalysis that intended to make the field of psychology scientific. Instead, the author defended psychoanalysis and presented it as a modern-day theory that is continuously applied to psychotherapy, while only briefly mentioning the lack of scientific proof that would be required to make these theories widely accepted in modern-day psychology.
As a final note, the author even left out the researchers that are considered to be the neo-Freudians, or the psychologists who built on Freud's work from the psychoanalytic perspective, but disagreed with some of the central tenants of psychoanalytical theory as presented by Freud. Regardless, they are pertinent to the story of psychoanalysis because they pushed the field in a different direction. Carl Jung, for example, appears in the book in an illustration on page 115 but is not at all mentioned in the text even though he is considered one of the most famous neo-Freudian psychoanalytical theorists. Perhaps this is due to the personal falling out he had with Freud during his lifetime, but even if this is the reason he was left out , this is more evidence of the author's bias. He did not even list Jung as a psychoanalyst in the notes at the end of the book, but added him to the list of general psychologists (alongside key researchers who laid the foundation for modern-day psychology like Wundt, James, Skinner, Piaget, Binet, and Pavlov).
Other notable neo-Freudians who were not mentioned at all or listed anywhere in the book are Alfred Adler and Erik Erikson. Karen Horney, the most famous female neo-Fruedian, received only one sentence in relation to Freud's concept of 'penis envy', explaining that she criticized Freud's theory of sexual development for focusing on boys rather than girls. However, her views are not expanded on and she is not labeled as a neo-Freudian.