The Erik Erikson Reader

"This volume, ably assembled and introduced by Robert Coles, presents the Essential Erikson."―Howard Gardner

Erik H. Erikson is recognized as one of the world’s leading figures in the field of psychoanalysis and human development. His ideas about the stages of development, the sources of identity, and the interdependence of individual growth and historical change revolutionized our understanding of the nature and course of psychological growth. Erikson, whose work first described the now familiar concepts of "identity crisis" and "life cycle," provided an unprecedented framework for considering the individual psyche within society and culture. Unveiling a dynamic process of psychological development, he emphasized the tendency toward growth and the integration of multiple influences―the biological, social, psychological, cultural, and historical. With writings from Erikson’s entire career, including major work from Childhood and Society, Insight and Responsibility, Young Man Luther, and Gandhi’s Truth, this invaluable reader charts the influence of Erikson’s thinking in the areas of child psychology, development through the lifespan, leadership, and moral growth.

A winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, Erik H. Erikson was renowned worldwide as teacher, clinician, and theorist in the field of psychoanalysis and human development.

Robert Coles is a child psychiatrist and writer who has spent his life doing documentary work. He lives in Concord, Massachusetts.