Sigmund Freud is known as the father of psychoanalysis and champion of the "talking cure" who charted the human unconscious. He is also a polarizing figure, with many defenders and detractors. Some of the concepts associated with Freud include free association, transference, Oedipus complex, repression, the unconscious, and a model of psychic structure comprising id, ego, and super-ego. Andrew Blauner envisions this book as a fresh new assessment of Freud's relevance and resonance. Blauner puts "Freud on the couch, analyzing the great analyst, exploring who he was, why he did what he did, " and his lasting impact on Western thought, culture, and society, both as a psychiatrist and as a writer. He has contributions from a diverse group of 25 writers with different views and perspectives"--