The author writes in a highly sophisticated yet lucid and readable style…. An interesting investigation of a relatively little studied aspect of Freud's life that ought to have appeal not only in relation to Freud's life but as a prototypical study of Jewish identity.

Library Journal

Oring uses psychoanalytic methods of interpretation and his detective work is uncanny. His novel approach yields a devastating, original portrait of Freud, rich in startling insights.

Publishers Weekly

The most sustained effort, a well-informed monograph from which I have learned.

Peter Gay

There is something very bracing in Oring's ability to find some of Freud's deepest concerns in something apparently frivolous.

Women's Wear Daily

Oring's book on Freud is meticulous, intelligent, solidly researched, and well written.

Leo Rosten

Oring's work is a serious work of psychobiography. He has collected the jokes and compiled other materials in a scholarly, beautifully annotated way.

International Review Of Psychotherapy