Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"Kahr writes in a clear, flowing and economical way, revealing an honest, genuinely scientific, attitude of enquiry.... I recommend this book as a stimulus to discussion and further research on Winnicott's life and work." -- From the Foreword by Dr. Susanna Isaacs Elmhirst

"Without animus or blinding admiration, Kahr guides us towards seeing a Winnicott of flesh and history, a Winnicott of extraordinary resolve, as well as complicated weaknesses and tribulations. This biographical Winnicott now stands alongside the authorial Winnicott, giving us a new point of reference. By drawing a picture of Donald Winnicott's origins, Brett Kahr allows us to appreciate more deeply the bounds and dimensions of the originality of this extraordinary psychoanalyst." -- From the Introduction by Dr. George Makari

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

This first book about the life of English psychoanalyst and pediatrician Donald Woods Winnicott (1986-1971) is a brief portrait of the man. From these charming and revealing stories and quotations by those who knew him, including his second wife, Clare, as well as his voluminous correspondence, his personality comes alive. His quirks and disappointments, his graciousness and direct understatements, his playful artistry, depth of feeling, and commitment to his work with children are documented with care. Growing up on a family estate, he was surrounded by women, including an adoring but often depressed mother. His father, a civic-minded burger and businessman in Plymouth, was later knighted. Winnicott had a happy childhood, and whether through the slant of feminine identification or an active Oedipal situation, he was fascinated by the inner life of women. A surprise to this reader was his schoolboy athletic prowess. He attended Cambridge and St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London. Torn between the Freudians and the Kleinians, he steered an independent course, one marked by originality and facility of communication with those inside and outside the analytic profession. His two marriages are described, as is his sadness about having no children of his own. The tumult of the London psychoanalytic scene forms a leitmotif for his life. Highly recommended for all interested in child psychology. General; upper-division undergraduates through professionals. R. H. Balsam Yale University