Freud and Jung: Years of Friendship, Years of Loss

This illuminating book explores the six-year personal and professional friend ship between the Viennese father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud and his Swiss colleague Carl Jung, 19 years younger and Freud's designated heir until the never-resolved rift that shook the mental stability of both men, and shaped the history of modern psychology. Starting with the letters and journals of the two brilliant psychiatrist-thinkers, doc tor al student Donn also uses the writings of colleagues and patients (including American poet Hilda Doolittle) and her own interviews of such surviving eyewitnesses as Jung's son, Franz. Theoretical and organizational differences fueled the fight, Donn shows, but the root cause was the power struggle between a proud father figure and a spiritual son who dared to challenge authority. This flesh-and-blood portrait of the shattered alliance examines the emotional consequences for both men and should touch the general reader as well as the professional. (Dec. )