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Churchill's Black Dog and Other Phenomena of the Human Mind
A collection of essays from one of England's distinguished psychiatrists. Its theme is creativity. What internal dynamic forces artists, scientists and politicians to devote so much time and energy to creative invention? It examines the impulses which drove such figures as Churchill and Newton.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 15, 1989
25 people are currently reading
373 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Storr
49 books166 followersAnthony Storr was an English psychiatrist and author. He was a child who was to endure the typical trauma of early 20th century UK boarding schools. He was educated at Winchester, Christ's College, the University of Cambridge and Westminster Hospital. He qualified as a doctor in 1944, and subsequently specialized in psychiatry.
Storr grew up to be kind and insightful, yet, as his obituary states, he was "no stranger to suffering" and was himself allegedly prone to the frequent bouts of depression his mother had.
Today, Anthony Storr is known for his psychoanalytical portraits of historical figures.
Storr grew up to be kind and insightful, yet, as his obituary states, he was "no stranger to suffering" and was himself allegedly prone to the frequent bouts of depression his mother had.
Today, Anthony Storr is known for his psychoanalytical portraits of historical figures.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 13, 2014
My first boss out of college recommended that I read this book. I think he knew that I had bits of depression. It really helped me think about how I work and how I act differently. I loaned it to someone a long time ago and need to buy it again.
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November 22, 2023Churchill’s Black Dog and Kafka’s Mice.
English psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, having Jungian approach to psychology, has explored the hidden side of human psyche. This book is a kind of anthology of essays previously published. The one I had was published in 1990.
First chapter Churchill’s Black Dog: in this biographical analysis of Churchill the depiction is very unique: as a mortal man, covering many hidden corner of his personality, not what he is generally known for, like as an orator, a politician, or admiral or military leader or statesman leading Britain in her darkest hour. Rather, Winston Churchill as an infant, boy, teenager, young man, an author and a painter, with all his depression episodes, paranoia, and ailments - his shortcomings as a leader and temperament as a man.
His analysis is based on C P Snow, Lord Moran and other biographies, and more on direct sources what Churchill has written himself, or others, his contemporaries and subordinates who had first hand encounters with him.
Kafka’s Mice, this chapter is about Sense of Identity, or Character - covers more Kafka’s, somewhat uneventful, life than psychological debate on Freudian id and ego. Those who are familiar with Kafka’s life and his writing can understand and admire this essay.
Very sympathetic essay on the life of a man who takes himself as non-entity - Storr has metamorphosed this meek character into a deep admirable person how he seems revived his madness, or say, paranoia and depression.
In words of Erich Heller, an irresistible tendency to fall apart and an intelligence of supreme integrity. Storr is psychiatrist but analyzed Kafka’s writings in a hermeneutical manner, like a literary critic. Relatively, a short chapter, but profound like Kafka.
Chapter three is about Isaac Newton, the this essay, he puts Newton under the microscope through his works and contemporary accounts. An anxiety-ridden man, Storr analyzed the question of impact of Newton’s childhood - absence of his father and separation from his mother at the age of three - on his creativity and genius; the opposite sides of his personality, and scientist and superstitious believing in alchemy.
All these three men above men, Churchill, Kafka and Newton, shared some of their traits with Descartes, Locke, Hobbes, Hume, Pascal, Spinoza, Kant Leibniz, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein - and other many great thinkers. According to Storr, the capacity that is enormously important in creativity is the ability to divorce thinking from feeling.
C P Snow, in the essays, was the only person with home not only Storr personally met but Snow was a tutor and as well mentor for him. Unlike, Churchill and Kafka and Newton, Storr more analyzed Snow’s physical attributes that influenced his personality. Somewhat Snow’s own convictions that temperament and physique are genetically determined.
Storr highlighted many of the contrast of Snow’s personality and life, coming from a middle class back ground and reaching House of Lords; man of science but fascinated by politics; keeping left leanings all his life but had numerous friends from both sides; his pessimistic view of humanity in general but very generously optimist about his friends - nevertheless, it was out of place essay in the book, with such title and caption. It was a kind of personal admiration of Storr’s mentor. So personal that due to his own reasons he did cursory mention of Snow’s famous lecture - Two Cultures.
Othello’s sexual jealousy is discussed in this chapter, from the play of Shakespeare, and other operas, and performances based on Giraldi’s original story. One can’t say if Othello is a fictional character or real one as generally believed that the story is based in Moorish ambassador. Nevertheless, the analysis of feeling of jealousy is well analyzed, although short but covering broad spectrum.
In the chapter, Aspects of Adult Development, Storr has challenged the common notion that creative talents diminish with age, be they in poetry or painting or sculpture or academia. He does admit changes in style and other traits of the art the artist is creating, but attributed it to rather maturity or broadening of perspective. A few life events he quoted, but I don’t think he could make his case strong, intentionally or otherwise, leaving the question open to debated and explored by the readers. But as the life expectancy in all societies is increasing this debate is ever more point of concern.
Psychoanalysis and Creativity, this chapter goes in depth how Freud made psychoanalysis of artist through their art, paintings and sculptures - how neurosis of the artists reflects in their arts. Art is a medium through which instinctive impulses are delivered.
“We all express, in our speech and in our actions, desires of which we are only partially conscious, to which psychoanalytic interpretations can be applied. There is no reason to exclude works of arts from this kind of scrutiny.”
Quoting Freud, Storr is simultaneously agreeing and criticizing Freud; understandably because psychoanalysis is not an exact science. This chapter also deals with psychoanalysis of dreams and ideas from other psychiatrists of post-Freud generation.
Intimation of Mystery is all about Williams Golding, whom author Starr has known personally, have read all of his novels, twice or more, but still Golding’s work is shrouded in mystery for Storr, because in each novel he appears differently. The link that joins all his over is mysterious personalities of the characters - maybe a trait of himself, Golding’s volatile and mercurial personality.
Chapter 9 Personality, rather Jung’s Perception of Personality. This chapter mainly focuses Jung and deals in depth with the comparison of Freud and Jung, their close association, later estrangement and ultimate break up; their ideas on the subjects as personalities, paranoia, childhood trauma, schizophrenia and infantile dispositions. He seems to be great admirer of Jung, in his work and techniques Jung developed. Storr remained critical of Freud, why Psychoanalysis is not an exact science and questioned many of Freud’s claim about the method and authentic of psychoanalysis.
The Psychology of Symbols, in this chapter Storr traces the role of symbols through history and its contemporary uses in man’s life. Primarily it is for harmonizing his imagination and reality around him; his fantasies and existence. Culture, arts and religion all place symbols a critical role to match the gap between what outfit to be and wha what actually exists - a kind of balancing force.
Among symbols, Storr didn’t touch other forms, like art or sculpture, rather confined mostly to music, and its manifestations in emotions and intellects.
In this, one of the last chapters, Storr presented a kind of antidote, about Neurosis and Creativity. He analyzed the centuries old maxim that there is no great genius without some touch of madness. He gave a number of examples from versus fields of visual and performing arts, writers poets, composers and scientists and argued against it.
However, he looked somewhat inclined to believe that there exists a thin like between both spectrums of such dogmas and their supported cases should be carefully and comprehensively analyzed.
Since Anthony Storr is of Jungian school of thought, the book is full of critiques of Freud. However, Storr has deconstructed the process of inspiration and separated various unconscious states of mind, like hallucinations often attributed as paranoia.
The closing, second last chapter about Human Aggression; kind of superfluous, Storr cursorily gave many theories, four or five, about human being violent. From its genetic and biological origin to social, environmental and cultural roots - covering many thinkers like Lorenz, Russell and Russell, Milgram. It is deviated from the main theme of the book, psychoanalytic.
English psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, having Jungian approach to psychology, has explored the hidden side of human psyche. This book is a kind of anthology of essays previously published. The one I had was published in 1990.
First chapter Churchill’s Black Dog: in this biographical analysis of Churchill the depiction is very unique: as a mortal man, covering many hidden corner of his personality, not what he is generally known for, like as an orator, a politician, or admiral or military leader or statesman leading Britain in her darkest hour. Rather, Winston Churchill as an infant, boy, teenager, young man, an author and a painter, with all his depression episodes, paranoia, and ailments - his shortcomings as a leader and temperament as a man.
His analysis is based on C P Snow, Lord Moran and other biographies, and more on direct sources what Churchill has written himself, or others, his contemporaries and subordinates who had first hand encounters with him.
Kafka’s Mice, this chapter is about Sense of Identity, or Character - covers more Kafka’s, somewhat uneventful, life than psychological debate on Freudian id and ego. Those who are familiar with Kafka’s life and his writing can understand and admire this essay.
Very sympathetic essay on the life of a man who takes himself as non-entity - Storr has metamorphosed this meek character into a deep admirable person how he seems revived his madness, or say, paranoia and depression.
In words of Erich Heller, an irresistible tendency to fall apart and an intelligence of supreme integrity. Storr is psychiatrist but analyzed Kafka’s writings in a hermeneutical manner, like a literary critic. Relatively, a short chapter, but profound like Kafka.
Chapter three is about Isaac Newton, the this essay, he puts Newton under the microscope through his works and contemporary accounts. An anxiety-ridden man, Storr analyzed the question of impact of Newton’s childhood - absence of his father and separation from his mother at the age of three - on his creativity and genius; the opposite sides of his personality, and scientist and superstitious believing in alchemy.
All these three men above men, Churchill, Kafka and Newton, shared some of their traits with Descartes, Locke, Hobbes, Hume, Pascal, Spinoza, Kant Leibniz, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein - and other many great thinkers. According to Storr, the capacity that is enormously important in creativity is the ability to divorce thinking from feeling.
C P Snow, in the essays, was the only person with home not only Storr personally met but Snow was a tutor and as well mentor for him. Unlike, Churchill and Kafka and Newton, Storr more analyzed Snow’s physical attributes that influenced his personality. Somewhat Snow’s own convictions that temperament and physique are genetically determined.
Storr highlighted many of the contrast of Snow’s personality and life, coming from a middle class back ground and reaching House of Lords; man of science but fascinated by politics; keeping left leanings all his life but had numerous friends from both sides; his pessimistic view of humanity in general but very generously optimist about his friends - nevertheless, it was out of place essay in the book, with such title and caption. It was a kind of personal admiration of Storr’s mentor. So personal that due to his own reasons he did cursory mention of Snow’s famous lecture - Two Cultures.
Othello’s sexual jealousy is discussed in this chapter, from the play of Shakespeare, and other operas, and performances based on Giraldi’s original story. One can’t say if Othello is a fictional character or real one as generally believed that the story is based in Moorish ambassador. Nevertheless, the analysis of feeling of jealousy is well analyzed, although short but covering broad spectrum.
In the chapter, Aspects of Adult Development, Storr has challenged the common notion that creative talents diminish with age, be they in poetry or painting or sculpture or academia. He does admit changes in style and other traits of the art the artist is creating, but attributed it to rather maturity or broadening of perspective. A few life events he quoted, but I don’t think he could make his case strong, intentionally or otherwise, leaving the question open to debated and explored by the readers. But as the life expectancy in all societies is increasing this debate is ever more point of concern.
Psychoanalysis and Creativity, this chapter goes in depth how Freud made psychoanalysis of artist through their art, paintings and sculptures - how neurosis of the artists reflects in their arts. Art is a medium through which instinctive impulses are delivered.
“We all express, in our speech and in our actions, desires of which we are only partially conscious, to which psychoanalytic interpretations can be applied. There is no reason to exclude works of arts from this kind of scrutiny.”
Quoting Freud, Storr is simultaneously agreeing and criticizing Freud; understandably because psychoanalysis is not an exact science. This chapter also deals with psychoanalysis of dreams and ideas from other psychiatrists of post-Freud generation.
Intimation of Mystery is all about Williams Golding, whom author Starr has known personally, have read all of his novels, twice or more, but still Golding’s work is shrouded in mystery for Storr, because in each novel he appears differently. The link that joins all his over is mysterious personalities of the characters - maybe a trait of himself, Golding’s volatile and mercurial personality.
Chapter 9 Personality, rather Jung’s Perception of Personality. This chapter mainly focuses Jung and deals in depth with the comparison of Freud and Jung, their close association, later estrangement and ultimate break up; their ideas on the subjects as personalities, paranoia, childhood trauma, schizophrenia and infantile dispositions. He seems to be great admirer of Jung, in his work and techniques Jung developed. Storr remained critical of Freud, why Psychoanalysis is not an exact science and questioned many of Freud’s claim about the method and authentic of psychoanalysis.
The Psychology of Symbols, in this chapter Storr traces the role of symbols through history and its contemporary uses in man’s life. Primarily it is for harmonizing his imagination and reality around him; his fantasies and existence. Culture, arts and religion all place symbols a critical role to match the gap between what outfit to be and wha what actually exists - a kind of balancing force.
Among symbols, Storr didn’t touch other forms, like art or sculpture, rather confined mostly to music, and its manifestations in emotions and intellects.
In this, one of the last chapters, Storr presented a kind of antidote, about Neurosis and Creativity. He analyzed the centuries old maxim that there is no great genius without some touch of madness. He gave a number of examples from versus fields of visual and performing arts, writers poets, composers and scientists and argued against it.
However, he looked somewhat inclined to believe that there exists a thin like between both spectrums of such dogmas and their supported cases should be carefully and comprehensively analyzed.
Since Anthony Storr is of Jungian school of thought, the book is full of critiques of Freud. However, Storr has deconstructed the process of inspiration and separated various unconscious states of mind, like hallucinations often attributed as paranoia.
The closing, second last chapter about Human Aggression; kind of superfluous, Storr cursorily gave many theories, four or five, about human being violent. From its genetic and biological origin to social, environmental and cultural roots - covering many thinkers like Lorenz, Russell and Russell, Milgram. It is deviated from the main theme of the book, psychoanalytic.
January 12, 2020
Author unique way of interpreting the leader Winston Churchill.. We all know he was famous for his speech and this secret he learned it from his father..
He is more aggressive but reverse of Adolf. Very adamant and display of arrogance in his idea.
A lovely way of expressing Churchill hidden and unexplored life..
A lovely presentation and was more interesting
Kafka and Newton was the best.
Author analysed Kafka character was influencing his hero character in his books and Newton fear from friends of stealing his ideas was new information to readers..
And interpretation of othello and Jung biography was awesome
And
rest of the essay on psychotherapy practised by Sigmund Freud
Finally
All these genius are either homosexual or unmarried or mad at the end of their life..
Very few lived an ordinary life.
These genius are some what affected by insanity
A great book!
He is more aggressive but reverse of Adolf. Very adamant and display of arrogance in his idea.
A lovely way of expressing Churchill hidden and unexplored life..
A lovely presentation and was more interesting
Kafka and Newton was the best.
Author analysed Kafka character was influencing his hero character in his books and Newton fear from friends of stealing his ideas was new information to readers..
And interpretation of othello and Jung biography was awesome
And
rest of the essay on psychotherapy practised by Sigmund Freud
Finally
All these genius are either homosexual or unmarried or mad at the end of their life..
Very few lived an ordinary life.
These genius are some what affected by insanity
A great book!
January 12, 2022
"He's stark raving sane!" A touch of madness, a touch of the poet. Depression is common among the great. It may help to compensate for their feelings of omnipotence. Melancholia may even be a spur to creativity and original thinking. British psychiatrist Anthony Storr set out to test this theory, first proposed by Aristotle, that we could all use a little bit of sadness to spark our creative lives, be it politics, literature or painting. I dare say that if we have now have in the political and artistic world is sanity, bring on the madness! I end my review by quoting E.B. White: "Genius is more likely to be found in a cracked pot that in a sound one."
August 3, 2025
An incredible collection of essays – at once poetic and scientific. Storr writes with thought and grace, taking readers through psychoanalytic musings on literary, scientific and political figures, exploring the psychology of creativity and offering philosophical reflections on freedom, power and human nature. I’d been meaning to read this book for a while and wish I’d read it sooner. No doubt I’ll dip into it again.
August 30, 2022
Definitely outdated and quite a difficult read. I found myself not able to get through more than two chapters in one sitting. However, I think Storr is very skilled in explaining complex topics related to the human psyche. At times I even felt a personal connection to his opinions. I enjoyed reading this book, but I’m very glad I finally finished it.
April 26, 2016
A collection of essays mostly written and published in the 80s though some are earlier, around the subject of pyschoanalysis. Some are 'biographies' of famous men such as Churchill and Kafka, applying the principles of pyschoanalysis whereas others are more general articles such as an examination of why human beings are violent. I found it a bit heavy going in places, and the most interesting was a piece on Jung and creativity, and another on the responsibilty of mental health professionals to not be drawn into misuse of their knowledge, e.g. to assist governments in techniques to brainwash people and obtain information from prisoners.
did-not-finish
May 20, 2015I could hardly drag myself through the first chapter.
The first time I read this book - some years ago now - I thought it was superb. But I have changed, and so have veils through which I view the world.
Whilst this is written very much for the lay person, there is way too much psychoanalysis for my tastes today. It felt like pulling myself through treacle.
My apologies to Mr Storr, who I have no doubt is still a great writer for those who appreciate these things.
I still think the title of the book is fantastic.
The first time I read this book - some years ago now - I thought it was superb. But I have changed, and so have veils through which I view the world.
Whilst this is written very much for the lay person, there is way too much psychoanalysis for my tastes today. It felt like pulling myself through treacle.
My apologies to Mr Storr, who I have no doubt is still a great writer for those who appreciate these things.
I still think the title of the book is fantastic.
November 18, 2012
This book begins with psychological portraits of Churchill, Kafka, Newton, C. P. Snow and William Golding. While these are obviously works of research and imagination combined, rather than the findings of psychoanalysis, they are well-written and very interesting.
The later chapters are essays on more general matters of human psychology (such as the incompatibility of genius and insanity, and the causes of human violence). They're less satisfying than the earlier chapters - the personal always appeals more than the general. But they're intelligent and elegantly written.
The later chapters are essays on more general matters of human psychology (such as the incompatibility of genius and insanity, and the causes of human violence). They're less satisfying than the earlier chapters - the personal always appeals more than the general. But they're intelligent and elegantly written.
October 6, 2022
This book is carefully written and probably targets students of psychology. Anthony Storr's writing style is heavily accented by academic tones even though the language is easily understandable. He talks about many psychological phenomena that are nowadays fervently talked about through pop-psychology websites and Buzzfeed quizzes. He also provides a fair introduction to people like Jung or Freud. The book was over before I knew it.
November 23, 2013
Unimpressive writing. I couldn't tell if this was written for a layperson or student of psychoanalysis. Storr alternates between over and under explaining concepts. Some what interesting, but not thrilling.
August 18, 2015
I found the first few essays that had a biographical slant to be the most interesting. I wish the entire book had been that way. Instead, things quickly take a psychiatric turn (to be expected since Storr is a psychiatrist) and this I found to be a good deal less interesting.
Read
July 31, 2016Very informative book about Mental Illness. Storr takes you through a series of his essays referencing Jung, and Freud. You'll learn about your own mind and probably get a bit freaked out. It's all in good lecture. Enjoy :)
October 13, 2007
Essays on Churchill's depression and the mental health challenges of other well-known folks. A quick and interesting read. Just goes to show you, everybody has issues.
March 21, 2008
Great read. Read in one sitting on a cross country flight.
March 10, 2011
Re-reading. Much-needed.
July 3, 2012
Excellent portrait of Churchill and Kafka, some very good essays and some filler. Anthony Storr has insight and can write. Good read.
April 1, 2014
not very enjoyable. read a couple chapters - mostly just speculation.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews