Diary of a Fallen Psychoanalyst

Masud Khan (1924–1989) was an eminent and, ultimately, scandalous Indian-born, British psychoanalyst. From August 1967 to March 1980, he wrote his Work Books, a diary in thirty-nine volumes, containing observations and reflections on his own life, the world of psychoanalysis, his evolving theoretical formulations, Western culture, and the turbulent social and political developments of the time.

In this volume, comprising the first fourteen Work Books spanning August 1967 to January 1972, readers will find fascinating entries on Khan’s colleague and mentor Donald Winnicott and other well-known analysts of the period, including Anna Freud. Khan’s unique charm extended to celebrity social circles, with cultural figures such as Julie Andrews, the Redgraves, and Henri Cartier-Bresson featuring in these pages of his diary.

This unique, first-person account of a particularly fertile period of European and American intellectual and cultural society is an absolute must-read for those interested in psychoanalysis, history, or biography.