This very short book is unfortunately not a very good book. If you want to know what Freud thought about things, probably the best place to start is Freud himself. Author Anthony Storr concedes that Freud was an excellent writer, even in translation, and quite convincing. But this book — meant to introduce people to the ideas of the Viennese psychoanalyst — is not a great place to start. Storr wants to assert his independence, to produce an account that is respectful but not hagiographic. His gripes about Freud are many and this short book sometimes repeats the same critical remark or thought. If the purpose of the book was to encourage one to go back to the source, then it worked. I for one will continue my exploration of Freud’s ideas by reading his books rather than hearing them interpreted by someone who seems to hold a bit of a grudge.