Sigmund Freud

Children's Literature

Sigmund Freud was a psychoanalyst born in 1856 in Moravia, a region that was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Today, Moravia is part of the Czech Republic. Freud was responsible for exploring the regions of the mind he said consisted of three parts, the ego, id, and superego. This discovery became a new model for psychoanalytic theory. Freud thought that the ego is the conscious part of the mind, the id is the unconscious part that drives instincts and desires, and the superego, which is part of the ego, restrains the unconscious drives of the id. Freud's study of the mind led him to believe that people act in such different ways due to these three levels of the mind. He felt that people who talked about their problems to a professional could avoid mental disorders or handle their mental problems. Freud first used the word psychoanalysis in 1896 when he was developing his theories. His subsequent work in the study and treatment of neuroses led him to be called the Father of Psychoanalysis. Author Gogery does a thorough job of presenting Freud's early years, his own battles with certain fears, his marriage, his life's work, and his daughter Anna, who became a renowned child psychologist. There are also interesting sidebars throughout the book such as a segment of a letter from Freud to Jung, an explanation of the different branches of medicine and psychology, and many others. Photographs color and black-and-white along with a glossary, further reading list, and a time line. This is a good introductory book on the life of Sigmund Freud. 2003, Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishers, Ages 12 up.
— Della A. Yannuzzi

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-This book has an identity crisis. It seems to want to be authoritative, comprehensive, and insightful, but it is authored by a writer who is no expert on Freud. The book overcompensates for its inadequacies with whole-page photographs illustrating little of significance, quotes unrelated to the matter at hand, and undeveloped conclusions that seem to come out of the blue (the subconscious?) and go nowhere. There are few direct quotations or excerpts from primary sources that might encourage readers to react and to begin forming their own opinions and understanding. With nothing outstanding to recommend it, this is one volume your library can skip.-Tina Cohen, Deerfield Academy, MA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.