Brother animal: The story of Freud and Tausk (A Vintage book) - Hardcover

Roazen, Paul

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0394715063 ISBN 13: 9780394715063

Publisher: Vintage Books, 1971

Synopsis

A major figure among pre-World War I psychoanalysts, Victor Tausk was perhaps Slgmund Freud's most brilliant pupilā€”"the most prominently outĀ­standing" in the opinion of Lou Andreas-Salome. Tausk craved recognition for the originality of his work, and a fierce rivalry developed between pupil and mentor. Tausk, who felt a deep and neurotic dependence on Freud, was totally consumed in the struggle. Freud's final rejection of his follower, and the particularly unfortunate manner in which it was carried out, was followed by Tausk's bizarre suicideā€”and by an official silence that has all but obliterated his name from the annals of psychoanalysis.

Arthur Koestler called Brother Animal "A very important and original contribution to the history of the psychoanalytic movement and beyond that to the history of ideas," and Maxwell Geismar said it was "the best treatment of Freud and that remarkable group of his original disciples that 1 have read. It reads as if Mr. Roazen was right there at the time, inside the inner circle."

About this title

About the Author

Paul Roazen (1936-2005) was professor of social and political science at York University in Toronto. He was the author of Helene Deutsch and Brother Animal, both available from Transaction.

Review

"An altogether compelling excursion into psychoanalytic history that devel­ops like an intellectual mystery story. ...A strange and shocking story that .. . serves to shed more light on the ways of genius and the cruel sacrifices that great discoveries demand."

—Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times.

"An enthralling story.. . . The book's chief claim to lasting value is the light it throws upon the behavior and personality of Freud."

—Anthony Storr, M.D. The London Sunday Times.

"Paul Roazen . . . has unearthed with impressive labor and scholarship the story of this man whose originality has been overlooked and whose tragic encounter with Freud has been concealed."

—Peter Lomas, M.D., The New Statesman.

Edition details

• Publisher: Vintage Books
• Publication date: 1971
• ISBN 10: 0394715063
• ISBN 13: 9780394715063
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1