Identity Book

I really enjoyed this book. It was the first book by Erik Erikson that I have read and I was very impressed. It was written in the US in the sixties and since it engages with what was going on at the times (youth alienation, consumption capitalism, racial issues, etc), it can seem a little old fashioned. However, I think there is a lot of wisdom in this book. Erikson explores the many dimensions of the identity issue in a deep and fascinating way. It is far from being a standard piece of psychoanalytic writing insofar as Erikson is very concerned with social, cultural and historical issues, indeed, one of the things I think he is trying to do is to link psychoanalytical insights with issues beyond the individual and the nuclear family. Having said that, there are also some interesting perspectives on psychoanalysis - I found his view on childhood and the different stages of childhood (including versions of the traditional Freudian libidinal stages) very interesting and although as a man I hesitate to say it, I thought his post-Freudian essay on Womanhood and the Inner Space was very powerful. So overall I am really glad I read this book and will definitely read some more Erikson in due course to see how his other stuff compares.