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FREUD AND THE AMERICANS

Name: FREUD AND THE AMERICANS
Author: Jr. Hale
ISBN: 0-19-504637-4

VOL. II, THE RISE AND CRISIS OF PSYCHOANALYSIS IN AMERICA

by Jr. Hale ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 1995

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A prodigious history of American psychoanalysis from 1917 to 1985, wonderfully lucid and informative. Hale, whose first volume (Freud and the Americans: The Beginnings of Psychoanalysis in the United States, 1971) covered the years 1871 to 1917, here takes on the rich, complex modern period. Throughout, he captures a central paradox. Professionally, psychoanalysis was largely ``medicalized,'' with the American Psychoanalytic Association zealously limiting membership to psychiatrists (although Freud himself advocated the training of lay analysts). Yet culturally, America more than any other country saw the ``earliest, widest and most thoroughgoing applications'' of psychoanalytic treatment and the Freudian worldview. In fact, one of the primary virtues of Hale's book is its exploration of psychoanalytic thinking and practice in such fields as education, criminology, social work, and pediatrics, as well as among quite diverse literary and cultural figures (e.g., during the 1920s, Eugene O'Neill, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Max Eastman, and Mabel Dodge). The author is equally strong on the conceptual evolution of classical and neo-Freudianism, with a particularly clear, succinct, chapter on American ego psychology. Addressing the ``crisis'' in American psychoanalysis—its significantly diminished appeal to psychiatrists and patients alike since about 1965—Hale adduces at least a half-dozen causes, including the rise of psychopharmacology and other forms of somatic psychiatry; the growing popularity of behaviorist, cognitive, and other therapeutic modalities that focus more on symptom relief than insight; and the increasing criticism of Freud for aspects of his thought considered antifeminist and socioculturally conservative. During a period of considerable ignorance and confusion about what psychoanalysis was and is, Hale's book couldn't be more timely. Over 20 years in the making, this extraordinary contribution to American intellectual history was well worth waiting for.

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1995

ISBN: 0-19-504637-4

Page Count: 480

Publisher: Oxford Univ.

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1994

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.