Pocket Essentials is a dynamic series of books that are concise, lively, and easy to read. Packed with facts as well as expert opinions, each book has all the key information you need to know about such popular topics as film, television, cult fiction, history, and more. Freud was one of the giants of 20th century thought. His ideas have been hugely influential not only in psychology but in all the social sciences and the arts. This looks at Freud's life from his birth in 1856 to his death in Hampstead in 1939. Each of Freud's major works is summarized, his central ideas are explored, and controversies over his methods and practices are examined. Did he, as some recent critics have alleged, turn his back on evidence of genuine child abuse in 1890s Vienna and prefer instead to ascribe it to fantasy and wish fulfilment? What were the reasons behind his terrible quarrel with Carl Gustav Jung? Does his "talking cure" of psychoanalysis actually work?