Brett Kahr

Diary of a Fallen Psychoanalyst: The Work Books of Masud Khan 1967-1972 - Diary of a Fallen Psychoanalyst Brett Kahr

"Psychoanalysts have long been aware of the fact that extraordinary intelligence and alarming corruption can co-exist in the same individual. However, the case of Masud Khan is truly extraordinary. He combined erudition and charm with thoroughgoing contempt. The psychoanalytic profession owes a deep debt of gratitude to Steven Kuchuck and Linda Hopkins, who systematically collected Khan's papers so that we can study them for ourselves." Glen O. Gabbard, MD, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine


"These beautifully edited Work Books offer a rare glimpse into the mind of a complicated psychoanalyst. We have much to learn from Khan about how to be a human being and, moreover, how not to be." Professor Estela V. Welldon, Emeritus Consultant Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy, Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust


Masud Khan (1924-1989), was an eminent and, ultimately, scandalous British psychoanalyst who trained and practised in London during an important period in the development of psychoanalysis. From August 1967 to March 1980, he wrote his 39 volume Work Books, a diary 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 first volume, readers will find fascinating entries on Khan's colleague and mentor Donald Winnicott and other well-known analysts of the period, including Anna Freud. Also featuring in these pages are leaders in the world of culture and the arts such as Julie Andrews, the Redgraves and Henri Cartier-Bresson.