Here are the essential ideas of psychoanalytic theory, including Freud's explanations of such concepts as the Id, Ego and Super-Ego, the Death Instinct and Pleasure Principle, along with classic case studies like that of the Wolf Man. Adam Phillips's marvellous selection provides an ideal overview of Freud's thought in all its extraordinary ambition and variety. Psychoanalysis may be known as the 'talking cure', yet it is also and profoundly, a way of reading. Here we can see Freud's writings as readings and listenings, deciphering the secrets of the mind, finding words for desires that have never found expression. Much more than this, however, The Penguin Freud Reader presents a compelling reading of life as we experience it today, and a way in to the work of one of the most haunting writers of the modern age.

Selections span Freud's career from early case histories through his work on dreams, essays on sexuality, and his later philosophical writings. Most are reproduced in full and have been selected from the standard edition. Gay ties all together with an analytical introduction, chronology of life and work, and commentary throughout. Ideal size book for reading and browsing marred only by the inexplicable use of poor quality (and acidic) paper. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Ever since Freud made his first major statements about female sexuality and psychology, his views have been the focus of intense debate--both within psychoanalysis and without.

Winner of the 2010 Sigourney Award! Reading Freud provides an accessible outline of the whole of Freud's work from Studies in Hysteria through to An Outline of Psycho-Analysis. It succeeds in expressing even the most complex of Freud's theories in clear and simple language whilst avoiding over-simplification. Each chapter concentrates on an individual text and includes valuable background information, relevant biographical and historical details, descriptions of Post-Freudian developments and a chronology of Freud's concepts. By putting each text into the context of Freud's life and work as a whole, Jean-Michel Quinodoz manages to produce an overview which is chronological, correlative and interactive. Texts discussed include: The Interpretation of Dreams The 'Uncanny' Civilisation and its Discontents' The clear presentation, with regular summaries of the ideas raised, encourages the reader to fully engage with the texts presented and gain a thorough understanding of each text in the context of its background and impact on the development of psychoanalysis. Drawing on his extensive experience as a clinician and a teacher of psychoanalysis, Jean-Michel Quinodoz has produced a uniquely comprehensive presentation of Freud's work which will be of great value to anyone studying Freud and Psychoanalysis.

This much-awaited textbook makes accessible the ideas of one of the most important thinkers of our time, as well as indicating how Freud’s theories are put into clinical practice today. The collection of papers have been written by some of the most eminent psychoanalysts, both from Britain and abroad, who have made an original contribution to psychoanalysis. Each chapter introduces one of Freud’s key texts, and links it to contemporary thinking in the field of psychoanalysis. The book combines a deep understanding of Freud’s work with some of the most modern debates surrounding it. This book will be of great value across a wide spectrum of courses in psychoanalysis, as well as to the scholar interested in psychoanalytic ideas.

Cultural theory has found a renewed interest in psychoanalysis, bringing many new readers to Freud and his work. This book is an introductory guide to Freud and brings together for the first time: an overview of Freud′s work which enables the reader to see quickly where, and in which texts, Freud develops his main ideas a guide to reading Freud, and to what can be done with the complexities of his texts an examination of what recent cultural theory draws from Freud, and of why psychoanalysis is of interest for it a discussion about the Freud revealed by recent cultural theory an extensive selection of extracts from Freud′s texts, with commentary. This book is the definitive guide to the content of Freud′s texts: what′s there and where to find it. It will have wide appeal to students new to Freud in cultural studies, literary theory, philosophy and sociology.

Essays discuss Freud's interest in Shakespeare, his choices for the names of his six children, his love of science, and his ambivalent feelings toward his father.