The Age of Guilt

“Edmundson . . . is an engaging writer, whether he is describing Freud as heroic ideal, football, reading, teaching or . . . the politics of his students. His tone is friendly yet incisive, more conversational than academic. . . . Insightful.”—Michael Roth, Washington Post Shortlisted for the 2024 Christian Gauss Award, sponsored by The Phi Beta Kappa Society “In this timely, persuasive, and utterly compelling new book, Edmundson reveals the ingenious subtlety of self‑sabotage. The sheer wit and good humour of Edmundson’s writing make this a unique and indispensable work of cultural criticism.”—Adam Phillips, author of The Cure for Psychoanalysis and On Getting Better “Reading The Age of Guilt saved me years on the couch and made this cultural-political moment of super-ego warriors and their enthralled supplicants far more comprehensible. The urge to punish and be punished becomes the key to most human mysteries and miseries in this scandalously well-written and perversely funny intercession.”—Laura Kipnis, author of Love in the Time of Contagion: A Diagnosis “The Age of Guilt is exactly the book we need right now. Mark Edmundson explains how the superego, that huge roadblock to happiness, keeps getting bigger and more punishing in the internet age—and he even suggests some ways to make ourselves happier and less superego-driven. Whether or not you’re familiar with Freud, you will benefit from Edmundson’s sage advice.”—David Mikics, author of Stanley Kubrick: American Filmmaker