Freud's Megalomania: A Novel

In an inventive blending of "comic energy and intellectual muscle" ( ), Israel Rosenfield serves up for our scrutiny and sheer delight Freud's long-lost last "manuscript," which reveals a Freud who in reflecting upon his life's work realizes that he has gotten it all wrong! A victim of his own self-delusion, Freud goes about setting the record straight with a preposterously seductive new theory of human behavior: it is not drives that motivate us, but rather our boundless capacity to deceive ourselves. Such are the explosive contents of his last manuscript, Megalomania. Its discovery years later prompts a postmortem that effectively puts the icon to rest, resurrects the man, and exposes the naiveté of Freud's disciples and the megalomaniacal tendencies of his detractors. This "wise and witty" ( ) intellectual spoof delivers a surprising twist on history and a playful challenge to today's enduring Freud debate.