A response to the veritable renaissance in Freud studies, Freud: Appraisals and Reappraisals presents the readers with the fruits of recent scholarship on Freud, the man and scientist, and the origins and development of the psychoanalytic movement spawned by his work. The premier volume of this series offers three major essays embodying different tributaries of contemporary Freud research. Peter Swales, drawing on extensive archival research, reveals the identity and explores the life and times of the woman Freud terms his first "teacher," but presented to his readers only as the "Frau Caecilie M" of the Studies on Hysteria. Barry Silverstein brings together complementary strands of textual analysis and psychobiographical reconstruction in his provocative reconsideration of the circumstances surrounding Freud's lost papers on metapsychology. Finally, Edwin Wallace's integrative review of Freud's scattered remarks on ethics and morality, combined with his appraisal of Freud's personal ethics, yield a measured and scholarly account of Freud as "ethicist." Briefer essays on Freud and the oral tradition (Patrick Mahony), Freud's psychology of religion (Paul Stepansky), and recent assessments of Freud's character (John Gedo) round out a volume that is destined for a place of distinction in the secondary literature on Freud. Collectively, these essays represent a most auspicious debut for the new series; they admirably bear out Paul Stepansky's intent of "presenting readers with original articles that embody high scholarship an a thought-provoking and imaginative use of the fruits of this scholarship."

In its detailed, interpretive reconsideration of Adler's involvement with Freud and psychoanalysis, In Freud's Shadow constitutes a seminal contribution to our historical understanding of the early psychoanalytic movement. Making extensive use of the Minutes of the Vienna Psycho-Analytic Society, Freud's correspondence, and the diaries of Lou Andreas-Salome, Stepansky reconstructs the ambience and reanalyzes the substance of the ongoing debates about Adler's work within the psychoanalytic discussion group. One valuable by-product of his undertaking, then, is a compelling portrait of the early Vienna Psycho-Analytic Society from the standpoint of the sociology of small groups and, more especially, of Freud's status as the "group leader" of the Society. Thoroughly researched, meticulously documented, and brilliantly written, In Freud's Shadow: Adler in Context represents a watershed in the literature on Adler, Frued, and the history of psychoanalysis. It will be of major interest not only to psychoanalysts, psychiatrists, and psychologists, but to social scientists, historians, and lay readers interested in the politics of scientific controversy, the sociology of small groups, and the relationship of psychology to contemporary systems of belief.

Volume 2 of the Freud: Appraisals and Reappraisals series bears out the promise of the acclaimed premier volume, a volume whose essays "breathe new life into the study of Freud," embodying research that "appears to be impeccable in every case" (International Review of Psychoanalysis). It begins with Peter Homan's detailed reeexamination of the period 1906-1914 in Freud's life. Looking to Freud's relationahips with Jung as the central event of the period, he finds in Freud's idealization and subsequent de-idealization of Jung a psychological motif that gains recurrent expression in Freud's later writings and personal relationships. Richard Geha offers a provocative protrait of Freud as a "fictionalist." Anchoring his exegesis in Freud's famous case of the Wolf Man, he argues that the yield of Freud's clinical inquiries, epistemologically, is a species of the fictionalism of Friedrich Nietzsche and Hans Vaihinger. But, pursuing the argument, Geha goes on to advance little-noted biographical evidence that Freud understood himself to be an artist whose clinical productions were ultimately artistic. Finally, Patricia Herzog organizes and interprets Freud's seemingly conflicting remarks about philosophy and philosophers en route to the claim that the long-held belief that Freud was an "anti-philosopher" is a myth. In fact, she claims, "Freud was in no doubt as to the philosophical nature of his goal." In an introductory essay titled "Pathways to Freud's Identity," editor Paul E. Stepansky brings together the essays of Homans, Geha, and Herzog as complementary inquiries into Freud's putative self-understanding and, to that extent, as reconstructive, historical continuations of the self-analysis methodically begun by Freud in the late 1890s. "Each contributor," writes Stepansky, "in his or her own way, seeks to understand Freud better in the spirit in which Freud might have better understood himself. Together, the contributors offer vistas to an enlarged self-analytic sensibility."

In its detailed, interpretive reconsideration of Adler's involvement with Freud and psychoanalysis, In Freud's Shadow constitutes a seminal contribution to our historical understanding of the early psychoanalytic movement. Making extensive use of the Minutes of the Vienna Psycho-Analytic Society, Freud's correspondence, and the diaries of Lou Andreas-Salome, Stepansky reconstructs the ambience and reanalyzes the substance of the ongoing debates about Adler's work within the psychoanalytic discussion group. One valuable by-product of his undertaking, then, is a compelling portrait of the early Vienna Psycho-Analytic Society from the standpoint of the sociology of small groups and, more especially, of Freud's status as the "group leader" of the Society.

Thoroughly researched, meticulously documented, and brilliantly written, In Freud's Shadow: Adler in Context represents a watershed in the literature on Adler, Frued, and the history of psychoanalysis. It will be of major interest not only to psychoanalysts, psychiatrists, and psychologists, but to social scientists, historians, and lay readers interested in the politics of scientific controversy, the sociology of small groups, and the relationship of psychology to contemporary systems of belief.

Volume 2 of the Freud: Appraisals and Reappraisals series bears out the promise of the acclaimed premier volume, a volume whose essays "breathe new life into the study of Freud," embodying research that "appears to be impeccable in every case" (International Review of Psychoanalysis). It begins with Peter Homan's detailed reeexamination of the period 1906-1914 in Freud's life. Looking to Freud's relationahips with Jung as the central event of the period, he finds in Freud's idealization and subsequent de-idealization of Jung a psychological motif that gains recurrent expression in Freud's later writings and personal relationships. Richard Geha offers a provocative protrait of Freud as a "fictionalist." Anchoring his exegesis in Freud's famous case of the Wolf Man, he argues that the yield of Freud's clinical inquiries, epistemologically, is a species of the fictionalism of Friedrich Nietzsche and Hans Vaihinger. But, pursuing the argument, Geha goes on to advance little-noted biographical evidence that Freud understood himself to be an artist whose clinical productions were ultimately artistic. Finally, Patricia Herzog organizes and interprets Freud's seemingly conflicting remarks about philosophy and philosophers en route to the claim that the long-held belief that Freud was an "anti-philosopher" is a myth. In fact, she claims, "Freud was in no doubt as to the philosophical nature of his goal." In an introductory essay titled "Pathways to Freud's Identity," editor Paul E. Stepansky brings together the essays of Homans, Geha, and Herzog as complementary inquiries into Freud's putative self-understanding and, to that extent, as reconstructive, historical continuations of the self-analysis methodically begun by Freud in the late 1890s. "Each contributor," writes Stepansky, "in his or her own way, seeks to understand Freud better in the spirit in which Freud might have better understood himself. Together, the contributors offer vistas to an enlarged self-analytic sensibility."

A response to the veritable renaissance in Freud studies, Freud: Appraisals and Reappraisals presents the readers with the fruits of recent scholarship on Freud, the man and scientist, and the origins and development of the psychoanalytic movement spawned by his work. The premier volume of this series offers three major essays embodying different tributaries of contemporary Freud research. Peter Swales, drawing on extensive archival research, reveals the identity and explores the life and times of the woman Freud terms his first "teacher," but presented to his readers only as the "Frau Caecilie M" of the Studies on Hysteria. Barry Silverstein brings together complementary strands of textual analysis and psychobiographical reconstruction in his provocative reconsideration of the circumstances surrounding Freud's lost papers on metapsychology. Finally, Edwin Wallace's integrative review of Freud's scattered remarks on ethics and morality, combined with his appraisal of Freud's personal ethics, yield a measured and scholarly account of Freud as "ethicist." Briefer essays on Freud and the oral tradition (Patrick Mahony), Freud's psychology of religion (Paul Stepansky), and recent assessments of Freud's character (John Gedo) round out a volume that is destined for a place of distinction in the secondary literature on Freud. Collectively, these essays represent a most auspicious debut for the new series; they admirably bear out Paul Stepansky's intent of "presenting readers with original articles that embody high scholarship an a thought-provoking and imaginative use of the fruits of this scholarship."

Reviews

"A wonderful book that blends a historical perspective that perfectly captures an earlier era in medicine with a son's loving portrait of his father. An enjoyable read for everyone, medical students and those planning to become physicians will find in Dr. William Stepansky an exemplary and inspiring role model." -- Howard K. Rabinowitz, M.D., Jefferson Medical College, author of "Caring for the Country: Family Doctors in Small Rural Towns"

"To call this simply a biography is like calling Van Gogh's "Bedroom at Arles" an architectural sketch. In learning about the life of Dr. William Stepansky, one of the last of a breed of true general practitioners, we learn much about the enduring possibilities for genuine human healing. In important ways, the author's father represents the doctor we all deserve." -- Daniel Carlat, M.D., Tufts University School of Medicine, author of "Unhinged: The Trouble with Psychiatry"

"A unique and compelling account of mid-twentieth century American medical practice. Paul Stepansky's portrait of his father reminds us of the hurdles in the path of immigrants and minorities of the post-war era who wished to study medicine and the triumphs of one who not only persisted, but also set a standard for medical practice that has all but disappeared in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This book deserves a wide audience of professional and lay readers alike." -- Howard I. Kushner, Ph.D., Emory University, author of "A Cursing Brain? The Histories of Tourette Syndrome" Product Description

In "The Last Family Doctor," historian Paul Stepansky tells the moving and uplifting story of his father, William Stepansky, a remarkable family doctor who touched thousands of lives. Beginning in 1953, he provided all that scientific medicine had to offer the small rural communities he served in southeastern Pennsylvania. And he did so with an embracing humanity, an ability to contain the pain, suffering, and anxious concern of others that is integral to the all but lost art of medicine.

William Stepansky was born in Kishinev, Rumania in 1922, the child of Russian Jews who fled the Pogroms that followed World War I. The "making of a doctor," as recorded herein, traverses topics far removed from the life experience of contemporary physicians: intensive violin studies, pharmacy education, army engineering training, battlefield surgery in France and Germany, laboratory work in Czechoslovakia, and admission to Jefferson Medical College in 1947, the latter a result of extraordinary perseverance in which the violin, strange as it sounds, played a part.

"The Last Family Doctor "is not only a memoir. It is a unique window into understanding what has happened to primary care medicine in America over the past six decades. Paul Stepansky concludes with a measured assessment of what we have gained, but also what we have lost, in the death of the postwar GP who cared for individuals and their families from birth to death. In so doing, he challenges us to reflect anew on what we need, what we want, and what we can reasonably expect, from our doctors.

The first to take up the challenge is the author's brother, David Stepansky, an internist who practices general adult medicine in the very communities served by his father a half century ago. His thoughtful Afterword, which compares his father's medicine with his own, rounds out the compelling story of a quiet hero who in important ways "represents the doctor we all deserve" (Daniel Carlat, M.D.).

World War I is widely regarded as the first modern war, driven by fearful new technologies of mechanized combat. The unprecedented carnage rapidly advanced military medicine, transforming the nature of wartime caregiving and paving the way for modern nursing practice. Drawing on firsthand accounts of American nurses, as well as their Canadian and British counterparts, this powerful study describes WWI nurses' encounters with devastating new forms of war-related injury --wounds from high-explosive artillery shells, poison gas burns, "shell shock," the Spanish Flu--and the interventions and technologies they deployed in treating them, including the Carrel-Dakin method of deep wound irrigation, the Balkan frame, and the Ohio Monovalve gas anesthesia machine.