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. Even those who have never read a word of his writings are familiar with his concepts of the id, the ego, the Oedipus complex and the workings of the unconscious mind.This looks at Freud's life from his birth in the small Moravian town of Freiburg in 1856 to his death in Hampstead in 1939. Each of Freud's major works is summarised and his central ideas explored. 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? The essential information about Freud's enormously productive life and career is all here.

By Nick Rennison