Diary of a Fallen Psychoanalyst: The Work Books of Masud Khan 1972–1975

A highly controversial and divisive character, Masud Khan’s story is both fascinating and complex. The publication of his private Work Books, which record personal encounters and opinions, present the man in his own words. Whether they will lead to his redemption or reinforce his ostracism, only time will tell but they do confirm his brilliance.

Masud Khan (1924–1989) was an eminent and, ultimately, scandalous 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.

This volume comprises the fifteenth to the twenty-eighth Work Books, written in the years after the death of his colleague and mentor Donald Winnicott, and they document the start of his decline into isolation, grandiosity, and alcoholism. Yet, he retains his tremendous wit and sharp observational skills to continue to provide a lively account of psychoanalytic politics and people, high society, and the intelligentsia of Britain, the US, and Continental Europe.

Khan’s skill as a writer makes this second volume of his Work Books as unputdownable as the first. It is ideal reading for those interested in psychoanalysis, history, or life stories.