George Makari

Maybe inevitable when an author is both a psychiatrist and a historian, but this book went in too many directions for my taste, along with a terribly long digression about French existentialism. (Just a chapter or two, but why oh why?) But there is a lot of valuable information and analysis here, and some good history. A thread through the book is about the changing meaning of the word xenophobia, which despite its Greek components was never a term used in the classical times, although a similar word meaning “love of strangers” was found in ancient writings.… (plus d'informations)

I was interested in reading this book because it had excellent reviews and because I was intrigued by the idea of learning more about how the key ideas of psychoanalysis developed. Unfortunately for me, the book is probably aimed at people who are more interested in the history of the people who created psychoanalysis and their relationships, competitions, battles, etc., than in the psychological ideas themselves. I found myself skimming much of the book because I just couldn't get interested in the almost play-by-play descriptions of letters, meetings, etc.… (plus d'informations)