Psychoanalysis 

From one of the world's leading child psychologists comes a new collection of wide-ranging essays in which he reflects on the people, events, and cultural influences that have shaped him and his work. --This text refers to the Paperback edition. Editorial Reviews From Publishers Weekly Combining humanistic wisdom and clinical insight, this gathering of 18 essays reflects eminent psychoanalyst Bettelheim's concerns as both child therapist and Holocaust survivor. One provocative piece profiles Sabina Spielrein, who supposedly had a secret affair with her therapist Carl Jung, a relationship said to have played a role in Jung's breakup with Freud. Other outstanding pieces cover Bettelheim's visit to Dachau extermination camp in 1955, where he had been a prisoner; and explore sex and death in his native Vienna, birthplace of psychoanalysis. Bettelheim writes movingly of Miep Gies, the woman who sheltered Anne Frank from the Nazis. Articles on movies as an art form, and on children in relation to TV, museums and cities are bland. Bettelheim concludes with a revision of his 1962 attack on "Jewish ghetto thinking," which he claims led to passivity and resignation on the part of Holocaust victims--a viewpoint challenged by many historians. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal A well-known child psychoanalyst and survivor of two Nazi concentration camps, 85-year-old Bettelheim ( The Uses of Enchantment , LJ 6/1/76) reveals his life influences. In 18 essays collected under three headings--Freud, children, and the Holocaust--the author recalls how he got involved in psychoanalysis, influential books and movies, how Annie Sullivan's work with the severely handicapped Helen Keller foreshadowed his "milieu therapy" with autistic children, and how the psychological scars of children of Holocaust survivors rarely heal due to an inability to mourn adequately. This readable collection, which is nostalgic, personal, and informative, evokes strong feelings, especially the essay on Jewish "ghetto thinking," which describes an ethnic inertia that helped march "millions of people, like lemmings . . . to their own deaths." Recommended for larger psychology collections. - Janice Arenofsky, formerly with Arizona State Lib., Phoenix Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.