****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
This reviewer being a PhD psychologist: Ms. Malcolm covers all the major players in psychoanalysis at the time, and does a splendid job. If Kurt Eissler, as trustee of the Freud Archives, can be faulted, it is due to his establishing an "idealizing transference" to Jeffrey Masson, much as Freud did to Fliess, being blindsided to the quite evident psychopatholgy of all the concerned parties she mentions in the book. Interestingly, nothing is said of Heinz Kohut, the former president of the American Psychoanalytic Association, who when he treated a Holocaust survivor for post-traumatic stress syndrome, all he could focus on was the unrecovered Oedipal strivings of the patient, and not of the unresolved trauma andintrusive thoughts of being a Holocaust survivor, reminiscent of Freud's abandonment of seduction theory for intrapsychic conflict. I do not wish to openly discuss Masson's diagnosis (nor Peter Swales) in a public forum, due to the similarities of both individual's character structure and litigious natures. Both men are brilliant, but where are they today?It always struck me that if a lawsuit were brought against the Library of Congress as well as the Freud Archives for restricting access to Freud's letters, such as the Martha Bernays letters which even Peter Gay couldn't look at, that the plaintiff would win. Public monies (taxpayer funds) are being used to store and conserve the letters, so the trustees, such as Harold Blum, shouldn't have the final say as to who sees what, along as the person wishing to view the materials is a valid scholar.This is my second book by Janet Malcolm. The first, Psychoanalysis: the impossible profession, left me wanting more. I was not at all disappointed with this title.What Ms. Malcolm has done is create an immensely readable account of her encounter with Jeffrey Masson, a self-absorbed, very troubled man, who managed to con his way into the good graces of Kurt Eissler, the founder and caretaker of the Freud Archives, as well as Anna Freud, the great man's daughter.Janet Malcolm's writing is so absorbing that the book reads like a thriller. Essentially, Mr. Masson and one of his acquaintances, who also is involved in Freud sleuthing, both create their own castles and then use them to destroy themselves. How they do this is made crystal clear via Ms. Malcolm's book. A study in character disorder, one might say.As you will learn, this intellectual neophyte, cons his way into people's lives and then, when his true colors are revealed, sues them if they dare to complain. In fact, following the publication of this volume Mr. Masson sued the author. His suit was dismissed after ten years.Mr. Masson is no bashful fellow:He told Malcolm that after Freud, he should be recognized as "the greatest analyst who ever lived." (p.162)Elsewhere she notes that he considers his claim to fame that he exposed Freud and psychoanalysis as a fraud.Nice guy.After betraying many decent elderly people in the US, Canada and Europe, he went on to a glorious career as a hack. His current area of expertise is animal rights, vegetarianism and his deep sensitivity to human emotions.Malcolm wields her pen like a scalpel. She is truly masterful in her writing.Anyway, give it a read.You will surely return for more.This small well written book is really nothing but a bit of fluffy gossip. But gossip that will delight anyone who has found themselves caught up in the now-venerable controversy surrounding both Jeffrey Masson's book: "The Assault on Truth: Freud's Suppression of the Seduction Theory" and the furor among Freud followers that resulted from it's publication. Through personal interviews, Ms.Malcolm gives us the lowdown on the brilliant but (to say the least) quirky Mr. Masson as well as most of the other surviving characters (as of 1983) involved in Masson's brief yet productive romance with the keepers of Freud's well guarded letters and library.Perhaps the surprise here...or lack of surprise, is that those such as Masson, who attempt to push the understanding of any intellectual field beyond it's comfortable boundries will, perhaps out of necessity, find themselves snooping around its often dangerous edges. And perhaps because of the hornet's nest they may stir up, are often a bit on the edgy side themselves.Malcolm does a fine job of exposing us to Masson's truly obnoxious character, and yet raises a larger unasked question. Does eccentricity alone invalidate an individual's research and ideas, or when one dares to take on the giants, is that same eccentricity a necessity?Whatever the answer, the almost 25 year tandem printing history of these two volumes speaks to the apparent importance of the contentions reguarding Freud that the voracious Masson dared to raise.And perhaps simply through daring to raise them, Masson finds his victory.I have previously read Janet Malcolm's remarkable book The Silent Woman, about her attempts to write a biography of Sylvia Plath. It was brilliant, and after having read an article about this book, I decided to give it a whirl. Although the subject matter is interesting, and Malcolm's writing is intelligent and thoughtful, there is something missing here. The book centres on the arguments of several psychoanalysts about the reputation of Sigmund Freud, and their ability to verify their arguments through the use of the extensive archives of his work. The problem is that the curator of the archives is excessively protective of Freud, and has refused to give permission for the work to be used on many occasions. The argument at the centre of the book revolves around the curator, who decides to give the management of the archives to an up and coming academic, Jeffrey Masson. Masson purports to be protective of the Freud name, but turns out to have his own agenda, and ends up upsetting everyone in the process of making a name for himself. The ensuing legal battles wind around the story of the archive and ultimately the issue of who is right about Freud, and his theories. The problem that I had with the book was that it was almost like dropping into a conversation ten minutes in. If you don't know the background, you struggle to fill yourself in as quickly as possible, so that you can keep up with the varying viewpoints offered, which can distract from the story. I felt at times that Malcolm herself lost the thread of the story, or at least which story she was pursuing. The book is short, and I felt didn't really do the subject justice, although the afterword, in which Malcolm updates the story to explain that she has spent the last ten years being unsuccessfully sued by Masson, and the toll it has taken on her, perhaps illuminates the issue of brevity and excuses it. In a book that deals extensively with law suits and litigation, one has to be careful what one says. Which, on the whole is a shame.this is the story of how freud loyalists and remaining family try to guard freuds personal letter from smear by later independent researchers. the conflict herein could best be described as private property rights (the freud family owns the letters) vs. the right to free research (independent researchers want to see the letters). of course, the property rights should take precedence over the interests of researchers (think about it for a minute - would you want legislation that FORCES the family to give up its private letters? well then - can I see every private letter efter sent in YOUR family? thought not). but even though the freud family and loyalists are entitled to their own property what makes this affair sleasy is that the family is NOT just claiming privacy; - they DO allow for researchers that are pro-freud to look through this material. this means that people who want to write adulating bios of freud are priveledged with more information that the people who do not.anyway, about the book: well written and structured, a little short, that is, ending falls a little flat but a nice read and worth having readRead this again. Still a fascinating read although psychoanalysis is so much reduced in significance decades later - and what happened to Peter Swales?This was a second hand book my other half has read it twice in one weekend he love any thing that contains thoughts and quote from Freud life work. The author has a great way of writing about Freud though it may not be for most people.
