Freud: A Life for Our Time
A magisterial contribution to the history of ideas. A fresh,  illuminating perspective on one of the pivotal figures of our time.  --J.  Anthony LukasBrilliant. . . . A dazzling performance. . . . Gay's ability to  integrate into a coherent whole the vast published and unpublished  literature on Freud-including hundreds of previously unknown or  inaccessible letters-is awesome. . . . A work of art.  --Jonathan Sharp,  San Francisco Examiner-ChronicleIntelligent and wholly absorbing. . . . [A] judicious, original  biography, scrupulously grounded in close readings of [Freud's] work. . .  . For the lay reader one of the virtues of this biography is Gay's lucid  and succinct analysis of Freud's essential texts.  --Michiko Kakutani, New  York Times[This] remarkable biography . . . briskly traces the story of  Freud's life and education, deftly weaving the familiar narrative with a  style that makes it seem fresh and lively.  --Chicago Tribune