The Memory Wars [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

Seriously, though, this book is not one to miss, regardless of your theoretical beliefs.

For you Freudians, it dispuptes the naive hagiographies of Peter Gay and Jones, and prepares you to engage in the current battles that rage about Freud and his ideas. You might not like what it says, but it will challenge you and force you to more critically evaluate your beliefs. Like it or not, many of your colleagues and students are now challenging Freudianism, and the challenge is stiff, indeed. A Freudian needs to be prepared!

For those of you already skeptical of Freud's claims and disconcerted at the negative sequelae of his theories, this provides a wonderfully cogent dissection. It is easier to read than some of the other titles in this area (such as Malcom MacMillon's "Freud Evaluated, the Completed Arc"), yet covers the ground well.

Given the unexamined Freud worship found in most textbooks and class materials, it is a wonderful addition to a class textbook (and I use it as such). I highly recommend this book to all.

These two essays and the letters in response to them have been put into the book The Memory Wars. As someone trained in experimental psychology you can guess my own personal bias in this matter. Crews discusses Freud's botched cases; his frequent vacillation in theory formation; some of his sillier theories; and his serious interjection of personal bias into the formation of his beliefs. The main problem with the whole Freudian system is the total lack of scientific evidence supporting it. Freudian psychoanalysis is founded on anecdote and supported by anecdotes. To be fair, much current non-Freudian therapy is also based on anecdote. Indignant Freud followers write back, and their letters are indeed interesting (and often pompous).

The second half of the book takes on the recovered memory movement. It would be great to poke fun at this movement if it weren't for the fact that it has caused so much damage to all parties involved. Symptoms checklists are published with the statement if you suffer from these symptoms you may be a victim of sexual abuse. Read the list and you will find that the majority of Americans will find that they have been abused. It's all a patient seduction game with the intent to make big money. Hospitals have even set up units to treat such patients (Having worked in the psychiatric hospital industry I am well aware of the "product lines" that such facilities set up in order to fill beds). Crews does an excellent job of dissecting the memory movement, and once again we get to read the indignant responses.

Those who believe that psychological therapy should be based on sound scientific evidence will love this book. Those who have accepted Freudianism with a religious like faith will, of course, hate it. To me this whole subject is analogous to the evolution vs. creationist debate. It's science versus pseudoscience.