This is standardized Freud, repeating his principles, insinuations, and theories in a compact form. For those who are not familiar with Freud's oeuvre, this might be a good place to start. Although the text was sufficient and clean, besides a basic explanation of the tenements of his thinking, there is not much else here. All logistics inside, it is still an insightful read.

3.5 stars. ( )

Freud has had an incredible impact on modern thought and our perception of the world and of ourselves. Though fraught with problems, including some very sexist notions of the female psyche that have been discussed at length by later writers, Freud remains foundational in the fields of both psychology (even though most of his ideas are no longer accepted) and literary criticism. Freudian psychoanalysis, dealing as it does with symbolism in dreams, has many techniques that are useful in deciphering literary subtext. Psychoanalysis, the notion of the unconscious, Freud's stages of development, and the famous Oedipus Complex are now part of our cultural vocabulary, and as such Freud's writings are useful to read. This particular text gives a quick and easily understandable summary of the major points of psychoanalysis. If you want to read some Freud, this is the way to go.

Rating: Recommended, if only because it's so important to modern thought.

What a brilliant scientist Freud was! And how eloquent he puts forward his views. At times the arguments are weathered by time, but no doubt this book represents the most important thoughts in the history of psychology. ( )

One must be careful when reading Freud—every once in a while, he makes a little bit of sense and the reader may follow him down his blind alleys. An interesting albeit unsupportable treatise, good only for an overview of Freudian thought.

http://lifelongdewey.wordpress.com/2012/06/24/131-an-outline-of-psychoanalysis-b... ( )