Freud: An Intellectual Biography

by Joel Whitebook

Freud's enduring appeal, as a thinker and as an individual, extends to both general readers and professionals. This highly readable biography, the first in English since 1998, addresses current issues in psychoanalysis, philosophy, gender studies, and social theory from a Freudian perspective, and illuminates the life of the man himself.

Genres: Biography, Psychology, Psychoanalysis

496 pages, Hardcover

Published January 31, 2017

Reviews

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure what to expect of this book, which presents itself as an “intellectual biography” of Freud. Having few expectations, I was surprised at what is essentially a psychoanalytic reading of Freud’s ideas informed by the “preOedipal turn” of more contemporary understandings of analysis. This book is more theoretical than clinical, and allowed me to appreciate the interweavings of Freud’s life (primarily from the perspective of his relationships) and his theory.

Whitebook acknowledges feminist critiques of Freud, appreciating how both Freud was ahead of his time and very much of his time. In short, he allows for a nuanced perspective that is so often missing in considerations of this figure.

I really appreciated his attention to the “missing mother” and explorations of (queer) kinship as important themes to understanding Freud’s own big blind spots. At the end of the day, the author is taking his own stab at what he feels informed early psychoanalytic theory (it seems biographers lately are getting better acknowledging their own lenses of writing about someone else). I did find myself wanting to hear more about how the parallel life of Freud’s clinical work may have related to his ideas and personhood, but I supposed that may be left for a different kind of book.

[Kirk Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Freud: Darkness in the Midst of Vision, Breger took the middle path between hagiography and demonography, and I would still recommend his book for the general reader. But for someone who's read quite a bit of Freud, I don't know if you could do better than this wide-ranging and very capably written book, which takes a fourth path: presenting the unofficial Freud - that is, the Freud between the lines as well as the Freud that might have been if he had resolved his issues with his mother (and others as well). You could say this is cheating, but the result is quite moving and usefully thought provoking, and I found it left me with a sense of peace. This is the perfect book for ending a study on Freud.

As to the hardback copy, it's a creation of beauty, perfunctory cover jacket aside. It feels like an amalgamation of every favorite serious library book you've ever held, the typeface is effortlessly readable, and - a tour de force - the footnotes are on the pages with the text and not crushed together in the back: I could almost weep with gratitude for the change this makes in the reading experience.

[Warrengent · Rating 5 out of 5]

A massive THANK YOU to Joel whitebook for letting me read this outstanding and awesome biography,if you only read one biography this year YOU MUST CHOOSE this one,I read long into the night with my eyes on fire from the first page when he says does the world need another biography on Freud hell yes I knew I was going to love it a great insight in to the man interesting intriguing awesome and addictive writing at its best once again thank you so much I am internally grateful I have told my sons and pupils and everyone about this amazing account of one of the finest minds to have ever lived

[Na Tou · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Freud's biography written by an analyst. If you are curious about Freud's blind spots from psychodynamic perspective, the analysis of his romantic interests and the timeline of his theoretic constructs, this book is for you.
Missing: the minutia and banality of his daily life and the juicy gossip of his entourage.
What I liked: Freud was presented from an objective stance and you could sense his fragility, something that I never saw in him before.

[Kym Hamer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to reading this having studied and maintained an interest in psychology since my early 20s. There's clearly lot of research and knowledge invested in this book but it was like wading through treacle. Too full of jargon and inaccessible language for me to give it any more than 2-stars and frankly I'm glad it's over.

[Jitendra Kotai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Freud and his thoughts and experiences beautifully analyzed through Biographies written earlier. This man continues to fascinate me even though he is a misogynist