Freud A to Z

An approachable summary of Freud's central ideas, Heller's volume is friendly and enthusiastic, if sometimes a bit opinionated for a reference book. She declares, for example, that Freud had ""outlandish gender biases,"" that his idea of the superego was ""ingenious"" and that Jeffrey Masson's critique of Freud's seduction hypothesis had ""horrendous consequences."" But since these are all widely held opinions, most readers will have little problem with Heller's lively adjectives. Some elements of the alphabetical listing can be confusing; there is no entry for ""superego,"" for instance-the subject is discussed under ""Ego and the Id."" And Heller's inclusion of an entry on Hollywood mogul Samuel Goldwyn-hardly a major figure in Freud's life-seems merely eccentric. That said, Heller, the author of three previous books on popular psychology, offers a concise, engaging summary of Freud's main concepts, cases and experiences. And readers who care to read further can always look up some of the sources Heller cites in her bibliography.