From Publishers Weekly
In becoming a psychoanalyst, Masson, like Shakespeare's Malvoleo, mistook the trappings for the thing itself; that he never achieved the power he bestowed on such figures as Kurt Eissler and Anna Freud is his continuing complaint. He trained at the Toronto Psychoanalytic Institute and, even before graduating in 1978, insinuated himself into the international psychoanalytic community. As projects director of the Freud Archives in London, he hypothesized that Freud had deliberately suppressed his seduction theory. Masson ( Against Therapy ) faults his teachers for not hewing to the principle of full disclosure (failing to note that part of the psychoanalytic equation requires hiddenness) yet rails against their discussion of analysands. Best to read is his affectionate account of his tyrannous training analysis; worst, his fawning over analysts with clout. Masson left the "cult" of psychoanalysis without developing his own practice; the disappointment and blame that propel this volume suggest the rage of a child at a parent's fallibility. He makes no mention of his much publicized, unsuccessful libel suit against Janet Malcolm for her 1983 New Yorker profile.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
From Library Journal
A former projects director of the Sigmund Freud Archives, Masson claims that he was fired for espousing and publicizing views concerning the sexual abuse of children that radically challenged psychoanalytic theories. Since then, he has been a thorn in the side of mental health professionals with his searing critiques of therapy. Here he abandons his formidable research skills for a personal glimpse into how, in his training and psychoanalytic career, he too became enmeshed in the mystique that psychoanalysis could cure unhappiness and that analysts were all wise and moral. Although Masson describes with great candor his wasted analysis, his rise in the elite inner circle, and his close ties with Kurt Eissler and Anna Freud, this is no autobiography but rather an attempt to knock psychoanalysis from its pedestal once and for all. Recommended.
- Janice Arenofsky, formerly with Arizona State Lib., Phoenix
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
- Janice Arenofsky, formerly with Arizona State Lib., Phoenix
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
Review
More praise for Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
and Final Analysis
?For all the light Masson sheds once again on the Freudians, this is most of all a fascinating and highly unusual kind of autobiography?a truthful account of the subject?s own professional training?a side of life we hardly ever hear about.?
?KATE MILLETT
?Even if only a fraction of psychoanalysts and analysands have suffered experience quite so gross as that revealed by Jeffrey Masson, his candid and fascinating account of his unique trajectory through the world of psychoanalysis should cause widespread soul-searching on the real value of years spent on or behind the couch.?
?DOUG ELLSBERG
?A powerful volume which?along with his other books?must be read by all mental-health professionals because of Masson?s passionate insistence that we confront the social realities, the value systems, and the arbitrary abuse of power in actual life.?
?DR. MARGARET BRENMAN GIBSOM
Clinical professor of psychology
at Harvard Medical School
?Dr. Masson, once the wunderkind of psychoanalysis, tells the inside story of that most pretentious of cults from the unique perspective of one who spent five years on his back on the couch-altar. Final Analysis delivers a lethal injection of skepticism not only to the moribund body of Freudian folklore, but generically to the booming business of mind therapy.?
?JOHN FRIEDBERG, M.D.
Author of Shock Treatment Is Not
Good for the Brain
?A terrific story, full of passion, insight, wit, and revelation.?
?The New York Times Book Review
?A POWERFUL WORK, especially important for its warning about the power that psychoanalysts can wield over patients.?
?Los Angeles Times
?As provocative as might be expected from so controversial a figure, [this] is a fascinating and very readable book.?
?The Cleveland Plain Dealer
?A lively, juicy account . . . A fascinating insider?s view.?
?Kirkus Reviews
--Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
and Final Analysis
?For all the light Masson sheds once again on the Freudians, this is most of all a fascinating and highly unusual kind of autobiography?a truthful account of the subject?s own professional training?a side of life we hardly ever hear about.?
?KATE MILLETT
?Even if only a fraction of psychoanalysts and analysands have suffered experience quite so gross as that revealed by Jeffrey Masson, his candid and fascinating account of his unique trajectory through the world of psychoanalysis should cause widespread soul-searching on the real value of years spent on or behind the couch.?
?DOUG ELLSBERG
?A powerful volume which?along with his other books?must be read by all mental-health professionals because of Masson?s passionate insistence that we confront the social realities, the value systems, and the arbitrary abuse of power in actual life.?
?DR. MARGARET BRENMAN GIBSOM
Clinical professor of psychology
at Harvard Medical School
?Dr. Masson, once the wunderkind of psychoanalysis, tells the inside story of that most pretentious of cults from the unique perspective of one who spent five years on his back on the couch-altar. Final Analysis delivers a lethal injection of skepticism not only to the moribund body of Freudian folklore, but generically to the booming business of mind therapy.?
?JOHN FRIEDBERG, M.D.
Author of Shock Treatment Is Not
Good for the Brain
?A terrific story, full of passion, insight, wit, and revelation.?
?The New York Times Book Review
?A POWERFUL WORK, especially important for its warning about the power that psychoanalysts can wield over patients.?
?Los Angeles Times
?As provocative as might be expected from so controversial a figure, [this] is a fascinating and very readable book.?
?The Cleveland Plain Dealer
?A lively, juicy account . . . A fascinating insider?s view.?
?Kirkus Reviews
--Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
Book Description
He was the rising star of psychoanalysis, an intimate associate of Anna Freud and Kurt Eissler, a member of the Freudian “inner circle” with unrestricted access to the Freud Archives. And then Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson threw it all away because he dared to break the psychoanalytic community’s deepest taboo: he told the truth in public. As he unmasks the pretensions and abuses of this elite profession, Masson invites us to eavesdrop on the shockingly unorthodox analysis he was subjected to in the course of his analytic training. But the more prestige Masson attained, the more he came to doubt not only the integrity of his colleagues, but the validity of their method. In the end, he blew the whistle–fully aware of the personal and professional consequences.
With wit, wonder, and unflinching candor, Masson brilliantly exposes the cult of psychoanalysis and recounts his own self-propelled fall from grace. A sensation when it first appeared, Final Analysis is even more provocative and engrossing today. Written with passion and humor, this is the book that revealed a revered profession for what it was–and launched Masson on his true career. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
With wit, wonder, and unflinching candor, Masson brilliantly exposes the cult of psychoanalysis and recounts his own self-propelled fall from grace. A sensation when it first appeared, Final Analysis is even more provocative and engrossing today. Written with passion and humor, this is the book that revealed a revered profession for what it was–and launched Masson on his true career. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
Ingram
A one-time member of the Freudian "inner circle", Masson reveals the internal workings of this prestigious and profitable profession through an astonishingly candid account of his own life as both therapist and patient and offers a scathing critique on the cult of psychoanalysis. A New York Times Book Review most notable book for 1990. Originally published by Addison-Wesley.
Back Cover copy
More praise for Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
and Final Analysis
“For all the light Masson sheds once again on the Freudians, this is most of all a fascinating and highly unusual kind of autobiography–a truthful account of the subject’s own professional training–a side of life we hardly ever hear about.”
–KATE MILLETT
“Even if only a fraction of psychoanalysts and analysands have suffered experience quite so gross as that revealed by Jeffrey Masson, his candid and fascinating account of his unique trajectory through the world of psychoanalysis should cause widespread soul-searching on the real value of years spent on or behind the couch.”
–DOUG ELLSBERG
“A powerful volume which–along with his other books–must be read by all mental-health professionals because of Masson’s passionate insistence that we confront the social realities, the value systems, and the arbitrary abuse of power in actual life.”
–DR. MARGARET BRENMAN GIBSOM
Clinical professor of psychology
at Harvard Medical School
“Dr. Masson, once the wunderkind of psychoanalysis, tells the inside story of that most pretentious of cults from the unique perspective of one who spent five years on his back on the couch-altar. Final Analysis delivers a lethal injection of skepticism not only to the moribund body of Freudian folklore, but generically to the booming business of mind therapy.”
–JOHN FRIEDBERG, M.D.
Author of Shock Treatment Is Not
Good for the Brain
“A terrific story, full of passion, insight, wit, and revelation.”
–The New York Times Book Review
“A POWERFUL WORK, especially important for its warning about the power that psychoanalysts can wield over patients.”
–Los Angeles Times
“As provocative as might be expected from so controversial a figure, [this] is a fascinating and very readable book.”
–The Cleveland Plain Dealer
“A lively, juicy account . . . A fascinating insider’s view.”
–Kirkus Reviews
--Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
and Final Analysis
“For all the light Masson sheds once again on the Freudians, this is most of all a fascinating and highly unusual kind of autobiography–a truthful account of the subject’s own professional training–a side of life we hardly ever hear about.”
–KATE MILLETT
“Even if only a fraction of psychoanalysts and analysands have suffered experience quite so gross as that revealed by Jeffrey Masson, his candid and fascinating account of his unique trajectory through the world of psychoanalysis should cause widespread soul-searching on the real value of years spent on or behind the couch.”
–DOUG ELLSBERG
“A powerful volume which–along with his other books–must be read by all mental-health professionals because of Masson’s passionate insistence that we confront the social realities, the value systems, and the arbitrary abuse of power in actual life.”
–DR. MARGARET BRENMAN GIBSOM
Clinical professor of psychology
at Harvard Medical School
“Dr. Masson, once the wunderkind of psychoanalysis, tells the inside story of that most pretentious of cults from the unique perspective of one who spent five years on his back on the couch-altar. Final Analysis delivers a lethal injection of skepticism not only to the moribund body of Freudian folklore, but generically to the booming business of mind therapy.”
–JOHN FRIEDBERG, M.D.
Author of Shock Treatment Is Not
Good for the Brain
“A terrific story, full of passion, insight, wit, and revelation.”
–The New York Times Book Review
“A POWERFUL WORK, especially important for its warning about the power that psychoanalysts can wield over patients.”
–Los Angeles Times
“As provocative as might be expected from so controversial a figure, [this] is a fascinating and very readable book.”
–The Cleveland Plain Dealer
“A lively, juicy account . . . A fascinating insider’s view.”
–Kirkus Reviews
--Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
About the author
Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, ex-psychoanalyst and former projects director of the Sigmund Freud Archives, has written more than a dozen books, including the bestsellers The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats, Dogs Never Lie About Love, and When Elephants Weep. A longtime resident of Berkeley, California, he now lives in New Zealand with his wife, two sons, and five cats.
--Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
