Record of a Friendship: The Correspondence Between Wilhelm Reich and A.S. Neill, 1936-57

by Beverley R. Placzek (Editor), A.S. Neill, Wilhelm Reich

429 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1957

Reviews

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

a voyeuristically intimate look at a friendship between two great thinkers, in all my studies of Reich specifically I've never quite seen this side of him. The humanity it brings to his great works is almost frightening, going through the emotions of the timespan it walks, from World War II to the Red Scare to ultimately Reich's destruction by the FDA. I will warn that this book ends in a heartbreaking way, making the story of Reich's arrest and demise far too real, no longer simply a historical anecdote.

A.S. Neill refers to himself as one of Reich's few "true friends that aren't simply disciples or yes-men" and it shows as he does a good job of challenging Reich on his cult-like persona, his potential dogmatism, and his paranoia (even if Reich's paranoia was ultimately justified), while Neill stays humble and admits to his own prejudices and it is clear these challenges aren't attacks, which Reich (for most of the time) realized and appreciated, despite him being a man who constantly felt under attack.

If you want thorough intel of Reich's works or even Neill's work at Summerhill, this may not be the book for you. However if you want to see the real humanity of these thinkers surrounding the time these works were taken on, this is an incredibly valuable publication. You will fall in love with both Neill and Reich on a personal level, and your heart will break for both of them. You will be reminded stay close to and show gratitude for your true friends, as this is a true Record of a Friendship.

[James E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a remarkable portrait of two very remarkable men and their decades-long friendship, seen entirely through their correspondence. Neill, who started the Summerhill school, a model for 2-3 entire generations of progressive educators-- the guy who emphasized the difference between freedom and license. Reich, the visionary natural scientist, the creator of body psychotherapy who could read "the expressive language of the living." And the synergies of their conversations from 1936-1957, a window into their personalities and into the history of the time. If watching the new Oppenheimer film (or reading the amazing biography American Prometheus)--this will give extraordinarily helpful background to that period.