B.A., City College, City University of New York
M.A., Teachers College, Columbia University

Professor Silverstein specializes in personality development, psychoanalysis and the history of psychology. He has published many highly regarded articles and book chapters on the history of psychoanalysis. His latest book is titled: What Was Freud Thinking? A Short Historical Introduction to Freud's Theories and Therapies (2003). He also is co-author of the book, Children of the Dark Ghetto: A Develoopmental Psychology (1975). Professor Silverstein's research on Freud has been featured in the Science Times section of The New York Times.

Here is a sample of the rave reviews leading professionals from various diciplines have written about What Freud Was Thinking (2003):

It is clear that What Was Freud Thinking? will provide a very useful accompaniment for college courses that treat Freud's theories. It is appealing in its down-to-earth, straight-forward language and its efforts to make aspects of psychoanalytic theory accessible; for example, by referring to Woody Allen movies. It lays out the essence of the major Freudian concepts in simple terms, and raises significant questions that will enliven class discussions. The value of this book for more advanced students of psychoanalysis is less in its explication of theory, for which there are many thorough guides, than in its extensive collection of references to books about Freud and psychoanalysis and to contemporary sources that influenced Freud.

-- Published in : Psychologist-Psychoanalyst, Division of Psychoanalysis
American Psychological Association, Fall, 2004

"This Compact, easily read book is an extraordinary gift to absolutely anyone interested in Freud's work. Professor Silverstein has done the impossible: he has written for the beginner a short, perfect introduction to Freud's theory that will just as usefully serve the purposes of advanced scholar and psychoanalytic candidate. For the beginning student, he has authoritatively packaged all the needed background, masterfully elucidated basic and sophisticated theoretical concepts in plain, succinct language, and scrupulously shaped a hotly debated piece of intellectual and professional history. And the advanced student who has spent years studying Freud's 50-odd years of imperceptibly overlapping, merging and shifting models, will see it revealed here in something like a single glance. Some of Professor Silverstein's magic formula is easy to decipher: his historical expertise and theoretical mastery allows him to select wisely and make sense simply. His brilliant and generous use of primary source quotations captures the actual formulation of crucial points, making this book not just an explanation but a guided tour of the original writing -- a feature that spares the novice the bias of mere attribution, and allows the expert to drop anchor in his dispersed background knowledge. And having kept his text references to a few major routes, he adds a rich Bibliography for those who want to look further. It is hard to find an introduction to Freud that is not a morality tale. Professor Silverstein has no axe to grind. He does not tell the story to make or counter any impression, but neither does he tell a bland story. The power and significance of this little book lies in making the reader feel the inner movement of Freud's thinking -- both its conceptual logic and its personal directions. Silverstein has gotten inside the arrow of development without forgetting the winds that played about it, and he has used that developmental sensibleness to clarify both the meaning and coherence of Freud's thought. The mystery remains how he was able to cover the full range of such a wide-ranging theory, including clinical and metapsychological models, in a short, easy, continuously flowing story"

-- Lawrence Friedman, M.D., Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, and author of The Anatomy of Psychotherapy.

"Barry Silverstein's What was Feud Thinking? A Short Historical Introduction to Freud's Theories and Therapies is, to pardon an oxymoron, an advanced primer on Freud's development of his theories. It is a primer because it is written in lucid, direct and straightforward prose and covers the fundamental aspects of Freud's development of his ideas. It is advanced as it considers the nuances and details of the labyrinthine field of Freud studies, to which Prof. Silverstein is a knowledgeable guide. As such, What was Freud Thinking? is suited both for the beginning student of Freud as well as for the mature clinician and more general readership.

Silverstein presents a balanced and non-polemic view of the many controversies that have arisen during the century since Freud, along with his mentor Breuer, first promulgated his early views. Silverstein has no axe to grind and is a careful intellectual detective. He occasionally unearths, without gloating, discrepancies between what Freud thought and, covering his traces, what he wanted others to think that he thought. Freud studies are confusing, with many voices presenting disparate views, often in a shrill voice. What Was Freud Thinking? unravels the complexity of Freud studies and provides an excellent and clear starting point for further explorations."

-- Robert N. Sollod, Professor of Psychology, Cleveland State University, Co-Author of Beneath the Mask: An Introduction to Theories of Personality.

"There are many excellent texts explaining the ideas of Sigmund Freud, but of these Barry Silverstein's book is one of the very best. By deftly combining a historical account of the origin of Freud's thinking with a lucid explanation of Freudian theory, Silverstein has managed to write a book that will be of interest to both beginning students and seasoned Freud scholars."

-- Edward Erwin, Professor of Philosophy, University of Miami, Editor of The Freud Encyclopedia: Theory, Therapy, and Culture, and author of A Final Accounting: Philosophical and Empirical Issues in Freudian Psychology.

" A fair-minded, balanced and concise outline of the essence of Freud's immense contributions."

-- Paul Roazen, Professor Emeritus of Social and Political Thought, York University, Author of Freud and His Followers and Cultural Foundations of Political Psychology.

" From the vast, complex writings by and about the life and work of Signumd Freud, Barry Silverstein has created an exciting book which is a trusty road map through this territory. With judicious reference to various points of view, both pro and con, he describes and summarizes the major concepts, their history, and their attempted application. Both those familiar with these works and those new or recent to this field will find this book relelvant and helpful. I recommend it with enthusiasm."

-- Robert H. Roth, Professor of Psychology, Kean University

And here is a sample of what leading professionals from various disciplines have reported about Children of the Dark Ghetto: A Developmental Psychology (1975):

"An insightful and sensitive analysis of some of the serious problems faced by poor black children, and one that could easily be generalized to other minority groups living under conditions of poverty. It should be read by every citizen."

-- Jerome Kagan, Harvard University

"A superb and extremely important book that should be read by everyone who is appalled by the benign neglect' recently accorded to the human problems of our divided society. Silverstein and Krate integrate what is known from the empirical, systematic literature contributed by black and white psychologists with the results of their own observations as committed teachers. They are mainly focused on understanding the predicament, the strengths, and the scars of ghetto children, and on sharing this understanding. The book is realistic, not romantic, and it is very readable."

-- M. Brewster Smith, University of California (Santa Cruz)

"A major contribution and a badly needed antidote to the practice of ...conceptualizing economically disadvantaged children as a homogeneous group universally suffering from a variety of psychological deficits. The book manages to illuminate the strengths of ghetto life without falling into the trap of romanticizing the value of growing up in poverty. The authors have been able to combine scholarship with warmth and sensitivity, and in the process have produced a remarkable and extremely valuable book."

--Edward Zigler, Yale University

"A fine book which is long overdue. It treats the complexities of the black American experience with both compassion and robustness."

-- William S. Hall, The Rockefeller University

"A unique addition to the burgeoning literature on what it means to grow up black in the U.S.A. during the late twentieth century ...a researcher's goldmine as well as a whetstone for methodologists."

-- Rachel T. Weddington, Queens College

In addition to his books, some other notable publications by Barry Silverstein include:

Silverstein, B. & Krate, R. (1977). Cognitive-Linguistic Development. In E. M. Hetherington & R. D. Parke (Eds.), Comtemporary Readings in Child Development (pp. 143-158) . New York: McGraw Hill.

Silverstein, B. (1985). Freud's psychology and its organic foundation: Sexuality and mind-body interactionism. Psychoanalytic Review, 72, 203-228.

Silverstein, B. (1986). "Now comes a sad story." Freud's lost metapsychological papers. In P. Stepansky (Ed.), Freud: Appraisals and reappraisals (pp. 143-195). Hillsdale, N.J.: The Analytic Press.

Silverstein, B. (1988). Will the real Freud stand up please?. American Psychologist , 43 , 662-663.

Silverstein, B. (1989). Freud's dualistic mind-body interactionism: Implications for the development of his psychology. Psychological Reports, 64, 1091-1097.

Silverstein, B. (1989). Oedipal politics and scientific creativity: Freud's 1915 phylogenetic fantasy. Psychoanalytic Review, 76, 403-424.

Silverstein, B. (1989). Historical studies of the relationship between the origins of Freud's psychology and nineteenth centruy neuroscience: Appraisals and reappraisals. History of Psychology Newsletter , 21, Division 26, American Psychological Association, Invited Essay, 82-87.

Silverstein, S. M. & Silverstein, B. (1990). Freud and hypnosis: The development of an interactionist perspective. Annual of Psychoanalysis, 18. 175-194. Hillsdale, N.J.: The Analytic Press.

Silverstein, S. M. & Silverstein, B. (1990). Post-Freudian developments in psychoanalytic views of hypnosis: From libido theory to ego psychology. Annual of Psychoanalysis, 18, 195-211. Hillsdale, N.J.: The Analytic Press.

Silverstein, B. (1992). Review of E. Kurzweil, The Freudians. Psychoanalytic Books, 3, 9-20.

Silverstein, B. (1993). Who was that masked Viennese neurologist, and how did he become "our" Freud? Review of Gelfand & Kerr, Freud and the history of psychoanalysis. Comtemporary Psychology, 38, 577-578.

Silverstein, B. (2002). Psychoanalysis: Origin and History of. In E. Erwin (Ed.). The Freud Encyclopedia (pp. 435-444). New York: Routledge.

Silverstein, B. (2007). What happens in Maloja stays in Maloja: Inference and evidence in the "Minna wars".American Imago, 64, 283-289.

Silverstein, B. (2008). Review of S. Freud, Living in the shadow of the Freud Family. American Imago, 65, 152-160.

Professor Silverstein has frequently served as an invited reviewer of books for such leading scholarly journals as: Contemporary Psychology, American Imago, The Journal of Psychohistory, and Psychoanalytic Books.