A review by mindfroth
Freud: A Very Short Introduction by Anthony Storr

2.0

Frustrating book. It conveys some basic tenets of Freudian theory, but it is not an effective introduction. It functions more as a critique of Freud with the author continuously intervening with his own unbidden thoughts and beliefs, frequently using personal pronouns, even plugging his other writing at one point. It's reasonable to approach Freud with a measure of skepticism and to present competing theories, but an introduction should aim to present an understanding of Freud's ideas rather than to seek to overturn them, and even in this the author sometimes gets wrong. For example, he dismisses outright Freud's notion of racial memory, but there are epigenetic studies that now demonstrate how knowledge/behavior can be heritable. Freudian concepts are not presented in a spirit of sincere understanding but rather one of presumptuous dismissal.