This book is based on a translation of Lacan's 1953 article that became a manifesto for a generations interested in a new reading of Freud. Lacan offers a significant and fertile return to the heart of the Freudian texts, and translator Anthony Wilden expands and amplifies the text with extensive notes and a commentary that places Lacan's work in the context of contemporary thought.

Jacques Lacan (1901-81) is the author of numerous works on psychoanalysis, philosophy, and literary theory.