Subjects:  1. History    2. Psychology    3. Psychology & Psychiatry / General   

Reviews (2)

Wilhelm Reich... Half-way and Sort-of
This book does a reasonable job to overview Reich's life and most of his early work, though it fails to be as thorough as for example Sharaf's "Fury on Earth". The author gives his impressions of Reich's work, a philosopher's discourse and comparative review of Reich's behavioral findings as they relate to modern ideas in psychiatry and psychology... and on that matter he does a reasonable job. However, what bothered me was the terrible misrepresentation of Reich's biophysical research. Corrington either does not know about, or knows but for some reason fails to discuss, the multitude of controlled studies undertaken both during Reich's lifetime and after his death, which have verified the more controversial aspects of his biological and orgone energy discoveries. So, for example, the reader will learn nothing about: 1) DeMeo's 1970s University of Kansas replication of Reich's cloudbuster research, showing positive results, nor DeMeo's global cross-cultural study "Saharasia" which used standard anthropological evidence to prove the global accuracy of Reich's sex-economic findings on the origins of violence. 2) The double-blind and controlled studies of S. Mueschenich and R. Gebauer at the University of Marburg in the early 1980s, "The Psycho-Physiological Effects of the Reich Orgone Accumulator", verifying exactly Reich's original findings on the human physiological response to the orgone accumulator. Also not mentioned, the additional replication study of the orgone accumulator by G. Hebenstreit at the University of Vienna. (both of these are fully cited in DeMeo's "Orgone Accumulator Handbook") 3) The large number of replication studies on the orgone accumulator's effects upon plants and cancer mice by Richard Blasband, Courtney Baker, Robert Dew and others as published in many articles in the Journal of Orgonomy, Annals of the Institute for Orgonomic Science, Pulse of the Planet and (German) Emotion journals, from c.1965 up into the present. 4) Replication studies on Reich's bions, as made by biologists from R. duTeil in France, who presented his results to the French Academy of Science in 1938, to B. Grad in Canada to Dew, Blasband, and a whole list of others who made replications of Reich's biogenesis and bion experiments -- none are mentioned except in a single passing footnote (p.280, n.10) The recent issue of Pulse of the Planet (subtitled "Heretic's Notebook") shows color photos of protocells and bionous forms well on the path to life made from completely sterile and previously "dead" preparations, following or building upon Reich's original protocols, by Grad, Snyder and DeMeo, equal to anything published by NASA in the nature of contemporary "origins of life" research. 5) Also not mentioned, clinical studies from German physicians, where "Orgone Accumulator Therapy" has shown dramatic help to cancer patients and against other immune-system disorders. Unlike the USA, where the FDA uses policemen and the courts to assure a pharmaceutical monopoly, in Germany the orgone accumulator has a legal status similar to acupuncture and homeopathy, as an accepted form of "energetic medicine" which is even recommended to the EU by the German government for harmonization of medical practices. And so on. Corrington is an academic, sympathetic to Reich, and so he should have dug into and explicitly reported on these matters. He also apparently got the ear of Roger Straus, head of Farrar, Straus and Giroux publishers, who is intimate with the Wilhelm Reich Museum and also claims to be sympathetic to Reich -- so both the author and editor are in the "Reich circles" sufficiently to know about these studies, or at least to have been asking some questions. Why are the "friends of Reich" so systematically oblivious to these facts, or unwilling to mention them in new books such as this one? I know for a fact, that Straus was approached to publish other books which gave these facts on Reich's biophysical work, but those books were politely refused.Why?Why is it that those who are interested in Reich's therapeutic work, often denigrate and ignore his biophysical work. Why? A half-dozen emails by author Corrington to senior researchers following up on Reich's work over the years would have provided him with an abundant list of such replication studies -- the orgonelab.org website has an entire lengthy "Bibliography on Orgonomy" online and available to anyone, with an entire separate list of citations to Reich's work and the many replication studies. Nearly none of it is mentioned in the Corrington book, save for the materials on Reich's early work. Why? This is a glaring omission, a "condemning with faint praise" of his later biogenesis, cancer and orgone energy discoveries, and it stands out like a sore thumb.This book will help the dishonest "skeptics" to once again sit comfortably with their long-time disinformation and outright lies about Reich, which were responsible for his death in prison, for the burning of his books, and for the contemporary academic distortions and black-out on his important discoveries. This book will be a frustrating and upsetting read for those who know the facts.

Returning to Reich
Few important thinkers have been as marginalized as the psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich (1897-1957). Critics tend to focus on Reich's late, almost mystical writing, at the expense of his early breakthroughs in the analytic field. Indeed, Reich's critical ostracize repeats his personal and professional isolation from the 1930s onward. Rejected by the psychoanalytic community, and separated from his children, Reich ended his life in a federal prison on a charge, from of all places, the Food and Drug Administration. Robert Corrington's new book seeks to restore Reich's rightful place among other important twentieth century thinkers. A professor of theological philosophy at Drew University, Professor Corrington, places Reich's late work in a theological framework. More importantly, Corrington writes about Reich's work as a unified oeuvre whereby the later visions emerge logically from an earlier, more noted foundation.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1897-1957    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. History Of Psychology    7. Medical - General    8. Movements - Psychoanalysis    9. Psychoanalysis    10. Psychoanalysts    11. Reich, Wilhelm,    12. Social Scientists & Psychologists    13. United States    14. Psychology & Psychiatry / Psychoanalysis    15. Reich, Wilhelm   

Subjects:  1. Asian Americans    2. Ethnic Studies - Asian American Studies    3. Ethnic identity    4. History    5. Mental Health    6. Psychology    7. Research & Methodology    8. Social Psychology    9. Social conditions    10. United States    11. American studies    12. Asian studies    13. Multicultural studies    14. Research methods: general    15. Social, group or collective psychology   

Reviews (2)

Bringing the Social back to Psychiatry
The Director of my college's library puts out a newsletter every month telling us about new acquisitions in our areas, and this book was featured in the February 2006 newsletter.Since the topic, depression, applies to some research I'm doing right now I decided to check it out.It discussed the social origins of depression, but it also discussed the history of psychiatry, defined social psychiatry, and discussed how the author believes psychiatry should change in order to be more useful.
An excellent argument
Depression levels are skyrocketing: in recent decades medication has been used to treat psychological depression, but the condition has its roots in society as well, and thus society should be held accountable: that's the message of The Age Of Melancholy: "Major Depression" And Its Social Origins. Chapters promote social psychiatry, which looks at social trends and environmental factors in an effort to understand depression. While the modern emphasis has been upon biomedical response, there's room for a different social psychiatry to balance the effort: such a new science can complete the clinical research models and provide alternatives to Prozac and other medical treatments. An excellent argument.
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Subjects:  1. Depression    2. Depression, Mental    3. History    4. Mental Health    5. Psychology    6. Psychopathology - General    7. Social Psychology    8. Social aspects    9. Social psychiatry    10. History of ideas, intellectual history    11. Mental health services    12. Psychiatry    13. Psychology & Psychiatry / General   

Reviews (3)

What every therapist needs to know
Lynn Hoffman is one of the most brilliant writers and teachers in the field of family therapy. Few have her capacity make the difficult comprehensible and the obtuse theoretical accessible. This book like her earlier ones brings together the diverse roots of family therapy and their impact on present and future directions.There is no other work like it. The best family therapy book of this year.

Postmodern Philosophy: An Autobiography
Part memoir, part text, this book will provide practitioners andpsycho-historians trying to decipher and understand the cultural contributions of family therapy with their own version of the Rosetta Stone. Family Therapy:An Intimate History offers readers a map of the key concepts and theories that will guide our thinking and practices into the 21st century. This book is a much needed sequel to family therapy's other flagship (also authored by Hoffman), Foundations of Family Therapy. In Foundations of Family Therapy Hoffman presented all the major developments and types of practice that have taken place in the profession in the last half century (e.g., systems thinking, cybernetics, structural family therapy, etc.). In her latest effort she points out what I've come to think of as the "cracks in the foundation" that have resulted in our seeking new voices and more collaborative models of practice that put the voices of our clients before the voices of our theories. Ironically, driving this shift in thought and approach to the work are some very complex thinking and erudite concepts that fall under tent terms with names like narrative, constructivism, social contstructivism, and social constructionsim. An alternative title for this volume could be Postmodernism: An Autobiography. Hoffman unpacks the history of the ideas and events that brought postmodern thinking and concepts into the therapy arena. Documenting its migration from philosophy, biology, literary critisism, cultural anthropology, and other disciplines Hoffman provides some of the best interpretation and commentary available on the ideas of such heady thinkers as Foucault, Derrida, Bateson, and Maturana and Varela. The wide angle lens Hoffman uses to examine these developments in the field are punctuated with intimate portraits of some of the most tender and useful therapy conversations that students and (both new and seasoned) practitioners will find in print. One particularily moving example of this sort of storytelling is "The Christmas Tree Story" about a young man and his lover's attempt to use his death and dying from AIDS as a way of celebrating his life, honoring their relationship, and reaching out to his parents and family. What makes this book so special is not the poetic voice of Hoffman's writing or intellectual rigor she brings to bear on all her subjects, rather it's the intimate relationship she establishes with her reader and personal insights she provides into the developments she's discussing. This is generous writing from one of family therapy's most brilliant thinkers and one its most decent and generous citizens.-Jonathan Diamond, author Narrative Means to Sober Ends

Going Back to the Roots
There is a new generation of professionals working with families that will greatly benefit from Lynn Hoffman's newest book. Lynn was fortunate enough to be at "the right place at the right time", when the family therapy pioneers started its development. Lynn was never totally in and neither totally out. This provides her with a unique lens to write about the development of the therapy with families. She entered through the backdoor and slowly established herself as one of the best poetic writers of the family therapy literature. It is a personal account, seasoned with the historical struggles of a new discipline. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Family Psychotherapy    2. History    3. Psychology    4. Psychopathology - Compulsive Behavior    5. Psychotherapy - Couples & Family   

Reviews (6)

Entertaing and informative introduction for many
As a reader familiar with the basic concepts of psychoanalysis, but
Fluent and Sophomoric
Matthew von Unwerth's precocious book rehashes (and often repeats two and three times) facts already well known about Freud, Rilke, and Lou Andreas-Salome. It relies on an admittedly charming ramble through various episodes in the lives of these major characters, and there isn't a single clumsy sentence in the whole. But FREUD'S REQUIEM lacks something one would think an editor would demand, namely a thesis. To claim that a probably fictional walk -- Rilke and Freud strolling along together -- has an "invisible history" is not a thesis, and in fact Von Unwerth quickly shows us that Freud incorporated several experiences into the story of the walk in his essay "On Transience." Von Unwerth rubs two sticks together -- Freud's notions of mourning (confrontation and acceptance of loss, as spelled out in his essay) in tension with Rilke's desire for a truth beyond mere existence. Von Unwerth seems uncertain about the very antitheses between Freud and Rilke he otherwise insists upon -- which, of course, might have yielded an original insight into the material if the author had the ability to find one. It is as if he is prodding the reader to synthesize material and provide critical thought in absence of his talent to do so. One of the overheated blurbs says the book is a "well-informed meditation." This is a euphemism for "factual drift" -- lots of facts, no insight. For insights into the contentious and complementary relationship between literature and psychoanalysis, read the stimulating, unsentimenalized essays of Adam Phillips. Von Unwerth loves an anecdote; why does he describe the last days of Freud in London, and how do these facts illuminate the thesis he fails to provide? His understanding of Rilke's poetry is so pedestrian as to serve only his simplistic (and boringly repeated) image of Rilke and Freud as polar opposites. The only glimmer of creativity comes toward the end of the book, as he suggests (tantalizingly, but alas, sputteringly) that Lou had seen the potential for a synthesis of the two men's positions on art and poetry. His final sentence: "In learning to give himself over to the symphony of life and death, he [Freud] rediscovers himself, and so realizes the potential inherent in all beings to love and work." Is that so? In all beings? I think not, and Von Unwerth gives at least one striking example where Freud thought otherwise, too. But Von Unwerth can't help himself, symphony and all. A fluent but sophomoric attempt.

Fascinating Freud
A very favorable review in the New York Times led me to "Freud's Requiem." The book gave me a fascinating entry into the world of Freudian thought and concise explanations of many of Freud's key concepts, including his view of love, memory, repression sublimation, mourning,and death.It also told intriguing stories of Freud's relationships with figures, including Nietzsche, Rilke and the little-known, remarkable, serial lover, Lou Andreas-Salome. And, the book provided delightful tidbits, like Freud's teenage enjoyment at reciting the Gettysburg Address - in English - and his first scientific discovery that eels are bisexuals. I came away with a new understanding of how Freud connected literature and art with his theories and a greater appreciation of his personal struggles to arrive at his insights in how we think, feel and react."Freud's Requiem" does require some mental exertion, but I felt better after the workout.
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Subjects:  1. 1856-1939    2. 1875-1926    3. Bereavement    4. Creation (Literary, artistic, etc.)    5. Death, Grief, Bereavement    6. Freud, Sigmund    7. Freud, Sigmund,    8. General    9. Movements - Psychoanalysis    10. Psychological aspects    11. Psychology    12. Rilke, Rainer Maria,    13. Thanatology    14. Verganlichkeit    15. Psychology & Psychiatry / History   

Reviews (10)

Just a Suggestion
Read about 1,000 pages of Freud's writing before you make any judgements.

excellent job but not finished yet
Richard Webster has done a marvellous job to show how fraudulent Freud really was. More revealing is that all ideas about the human psyche are to be questioned hereafter: the existence of defense mechanisms, existence of the death wish, the existence of the Ego, Superconscience and Id. If you ask me: nothing of these speculative concepts are really true. Webster shows quite convincingly the case against the 'diagnosis' conversion-hysteria. Still accepted in modern psychiatry but a complete misnomer: intrapsychic energy to be converted in physical pain/disorders, how? The whole Freudian thinking is still present in movies, television soaps and more frightening in forensic psychiatry, the military, national intelligence agencies, police departments. Obviously the 'dark side of mankind' has an extremely attractive side to it. What is frightening and disturbing is the fact that this whole conceptual pseudo-thinking about the human psyche (originated with Freud) really is a religionlike belief system. Very difficult to replace and really hindering better therapies for people who are suffering emotionally. Richard Webster's book should be th� textbook in psychology en psychiatry courses to show two things: 1. how our ideas about the human psyche and emotional system is largely based on a pseudo-theory and therefore a better alternative model of emotions and cognitions should be sought (for example in scientifically driven cognitive behaviour therapy). Riddle of the Sphinx, Riddle of Freud
One looks back on the Freudian age with as much wonder at its flourishing as its sudden demise. The confusions of psychoanalytic thinking and the poor foundations on which it was laid were always concealed in the humanistic insights that gave the theory appeal and seeming cogency in the reign of positivism. This brilliant disguise behind an incoherent metapsychology hides a theory that was a casualty of the impossible demands placed on a science of psychology by the demands of reductionist science.Finally, in the account of Webster, we see the fatal account of the details of record in Freud's early research whose great success seems more a brilliant feat of paradigm promotion than of any breakthrough in science. The oddity of Freud's thinking is and remains a mystery in itself. The legacy of the invisible strain of Schopenhauer botched is seldom seen here, and the source of confusion over the 'unconscious' can be instantly clarified by seeing this positivist nosedive of the earlier 'right sense of the noumenal self' and its unknowability. Perhaps this was the poignant ambition of the scientist triumphant here, where defeat was foreordained by the philosopher. Read more

Subjects:  1. 1856-1939    2. Freud, Sigmund,    3. History    4. Psychoanalysis    5. Psychology    6. Reference    7. Sociology    8. Biography: general    9. Psychoanalysis & psychoanalytical theory   

Reviews (1)

Frightening
Though nearly 150 years old, modern psychiatry and psychology are, really, in their infancy. They'll scarcely grow much older if the occultism (using oracles), parapsychology, fringe thinking (UFOs? Why not crop circles?), and you-too-can-be-a-shaman marketing of Jungist analysis continues to entice people to spend small fortunes in years of discussion.
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Subjects:  1. (Carl Gustav),    2. 1875-1961    3. History    4. Jung, C. G    5. Jungian psychology    6. Movements - Psychoanalysis    7. Psychoanalysis    8. Psychology    9. Psychotherapy - General    10. Psychoanalysis & psychoanalytical theory    11. Psychology & Psychiatry / General    12. Psychotherapy   

Reviews (5)

Why is this not manditory reading for psychology?
A fascinating, entertaining book. I cannot recommend Cushman highly enough! It is truly disappointing thatbook has been overlooked by the discipline of psychology. However, the reasons it has been are obvious once you read it. Cushman details how psychology ignores its basic assumptions (e.g., about the self, the nature of understanding) and consequently perpetuates the problems it seeks to allieviate. This is a central point -- psychology is elevating a notion of self (i.e., the empty self) that is only filled by psychotherapy, not "cured". For those who are willing to reflect on how the profession is influenced by moral presuppositions, and political and economic factors - this is a must read. Moreover - Cushman offers solutions. For those who know of this book -- it is a hidden classic.

An overlooked masterpiece
This book looks at American cultural history since the Civil War through the prism of historical changes in the field of psychotherapy--and at the same time puts psychotherapy in a historical context.It's simply the best cultural history of the US I've ever read.It traces the threads--primarily unbridled capitalism, rugged individualism, and the decline of the family and community--that have left us with the "empty self" which so many suffer from today. That is, a self that is depressed, anxious, psychosomatic, addicted--desperate to be filled up, by consumer goods, by peak experiences, by celebrity, by psychotherapy--without recognizing how much of our suffering comes from social change.

The thread of self is woven into psychology and history
This is a fun and informative description of how history and psychology have influenced each other, resulting in a sense of self that shapes and is shaped by our culture. Many psychological approaches end up in navel gazing introversion. Cushman dispenses with these and paints a clear picture of history and psychology dancing together in an embrace that allows the self to be both a cultural artifact and a culture shaper. Ideas can change the world and Cushman's book is full of ideas that have changed history, for better or for worse. The combination of academic rigor, interesting anecdotal evidence and plain funny material are rare in a single volume. If you are tired of the standard psychological introversion, try this one for a refreshing perspective on the dynamics of history, culture and the self. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. Identity (Psychology)    3. Moral and ethical aspects    4. Psychology    5. Psychotherapy    6. Psychotherapy - General    7. Social aspects    8. United States    9. The self, ego, identity, personality   

Subjects:  1. History    2. Interpersonal Relations    3. Popular Culture - General    4. Psychology    5. American history    6. Behavioural theory (Behaviourism)    7. Social Science / General    8. Social history    9. USA   

Reviews (11)

A terrible oversight
I generally respect Hillman, but he has wildly misconstrued the nature of war.His basic failure is an utter lack of examining the gendered nature of warfare.In short: Men make war.Yes, there plenty of instances where women engage in war, but those are far and away the exception and not the rule.Both the leaders who build wars and the soldiers who fight them are almost exclusively male.This is a consistent fact across all cultures around the globe and throughout history.Broadly speaking, women simply do not make war.This single and glaring oversight immediately destroy's Hillman's hypothesis that war is somehow a universal human archetype.

abortion kills more than all the wars combined
This book doesn't address the condition of man and mans condition as its been forever, as in thousands of years.
Hillman finally delivers ...
Reads like drama. Just the time it takes to turn the page produced an anxiety reaction as I was so eager to keep reading.
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Subjects:  1. Military - General    2. Psychology    3. Psychopathology - General    4. Social Psychology    5. Violence in Society    6. Psychology & Psychiatry / History   

Reviews (2)

Well recommended history of war psychology
A fine, well researched history of military psychological practices in the 20th century and easily comprehensible by the layman.As an American, I found the English spelling and punctuation annoying (honourable British writers reverse the use of single and double quotations, don't you know, Love), but you can get past that.I'm sure the British have similiar feelings about the American writing style.I can best compliment War of Nerves by telling you that I am citing it in a book on mental disorders during the American Civil War.Aside from that, I was intrigued by Shephard's thoughts on the creation of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a recognized mental condition, i.e., that it came into the lexicon as much or more from social and political reaction to Vietnam as a step forward in mental evaluation.

A Must Read
Any person interested in traumatic neurosis should read this book.It is meticulously researched, clearly written, and presents a balanced report of the struggles of the military psychiatrists of the 20th century to deal with the dilemma of war and its impact on soldiers.Any therapist, soldier, or veteran will finish much the wiser.Thanks, Ben Shephard! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. History    3. Mental Illness    4. Military    5. Military - General    6. Psychology    7. History / Military / General    8. Psychiatry    9. Warfare & Defence   

Reviews (1)

Otto Rank's charismatic sanity
This collection of talks given by psychologist Otto Rank in the U.S. is the best introduction to a major 20th century thinker.Less gifted as a writer than as a conversationalist, Rank has not won a large following with his other books, important as they are.His break with Freud put him on the psychoanalytic "enemies" list, but Rank's thinking anticipates much of what is now mainstream:here-and-now, relationship, will, creativity.Editor Robert Kramer has done a great job. --E. James Lieberman ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1856-1939    2. 1884-1939    3. Freud, Sigmund,    4. History    5. Movements - Behaviorism    6. Movements - Psychoanalysis    7. Psychoanalysis    8. Psychology    9. Rank, Otto,    10. Freud, Sigmund    11. History of Science and Medicine, Philosophy of Science    12. Philosophy    13. Psychology & Psychiatry / History    14. Rank, Otto   

Subjects:  1. 19th century    2. History    3. Human Sexuality    4. Medical    5. Psychiatry - General    6. Psychology    7. Psychology Of Sexuality    8. Sexology    9. Sexual deviation    10. Social Deviance    11. Social Science    12. Sociology - General    13. Treatment    14. Gender studies    15. Philosophy & theory of psychology    16. Psychology & Psychiatry / Human Sexuality    17. Sexual behaviour   

Reviews (3)

Really well done, insightful, no "dumbing-down"
I found this book after I had already read quite a significant amount of Jung's work. I was amazed at how peceptive and witty this treatment really is. It makes a great review for the already knowledgeable, and I can see where it would also be an excellent first introduction. A Quick Look at Jung
Introducing Jung Excellent Study Guide
Introducing Jung is not the only book I have from totem's "Introducing" series, but it is one of my favorites.It clearly presents many of the ideas that may be glossed over in your intro to psych class. Like all the "Introducing" books, it is not too muddled with details but rather serves as an excellent jumping off point for research in a subject you may be unfamiliar with.The drawings are also helpful and humorous, especially to those more visual learners.These books make great inexpensive gifts for college students, and they are much apreciated when recieved. They are an overall easy read on not so easy subjects and can be referenced over and over again. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. History    3. Movements - Jungian    4. Philosophy    5. Psychology   

Reviews (4)

PRETTY GOOD
I THOUGHT THE BOOK COVERED A GOOD AMOUNT OF GROUND. ALTHOUGH SOME WAS A LITTLE DEEP FOR ME IN THE CONTENT. BUT OVERALL I ENJOYED IT AND WILL BE READING SOME PARTS OVER AT TIMES.

The Insanity Plague!
_The Invisible Plague_ is written by psychiatrist E. Fuller Torrey and examines the issue of the increase in worldwide cases of insanity since the eighteenth century.The book is at once both a scientific study which attempts to explain certain statistical data from different parts of the world, including Europe, the United States, and Canada, as well as a history of the mental asylum.Torrey examines in particular the issue of insanity and it's two principal forms - that of schizophrenia and that of manic-depressive psychosis.He also examines the role of insanity within literature, examining writings of such figures as Edgar Allen Poe, Hawthorne, and Melville, among others of course.Data from successive censuses taken in various countires seem to support Torrey's conclusions that insanity is indeed increasing, though with the era of deinstitutionalization this becomes more difficult to prove.Thus, according to Torrey, this issue may be covered up, because where formerly patients were admitted to asylums today they are not.Explanations for this increase have traditionally varied.Torrey also discusses some of the theories as to the causes of insanity - all biological, including genetics, stress, and environmental factors, as well as toxins and microbes in the environment.While the warnings in this book may appear alarmist, this book offers an informative introduction to the issue of insanity, which continues to plague the modern world despite its ancient origins.As a history text this book is good in that it reveals some of the developments which were responsible for the birth of modern day psychiatry and the state mental institution or asylum.Perhaps we can see in insanity, a reflection of the larger struggles of civilization as it makes its way from its birth pangs in ancient times, to its growth development, and eventual old age and decline.

Well written, well researched
This book was a delightful read. It is a fascinating trip back through history on a thought provoking topic, and the authors present their view in a scholarly manner. There is enough anecdotal information to keep it moving and interesting, and it is far from being "dry". If you have even a casual interest in the rise of mental illness in Britain and North America you'll definitely enjoy this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 18th century    2. 19th century    3. History    4. History Of Medicine    5. Medical    6. Mental Disorders    7. Mental Illness    8. Psychiatric epidemiology    9. Psychology    10. Public Health    11. 20th century    12. Abnormal psychology    13. Canada    14. England    15. History of specific subjects    16. Ireland    17. Psychiatry    18. USA    19. c 1700 to c 1800    20. c 1800 to c 1900   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Catholic Church    3. Christianity - Catholicism    4. Christianity - History - Catholic    5. History    6. Psychology and religion    7. Psychology of Religion    8. Psychology, Religious    9. Religion    10. Religion - Classic Works    11. United States    12. Psychology    13. Religion / Catholicism    14. Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholic Church   

Features

• Abridged
• Audiobook

Reviews (15)

Waste of money
Appalling - I only kept reading because I just couldn't believe it was going to be so bad all the way through! Just a list of complaints about food, hotels, everything he encountered, from London and Cardiff to the Isle of Mull in Scotland. Basically, for him, nothing is as good as America so it would have been better if he'd just stayed home. Also, there are several mistakes, particularly in his use of Welsh. Why didn't he do some proper research? And who needs to know about his medical problems or all the affairs he used to have (because he got bored with his wife early in their marriage). This poor woman was still being dragged around with him to see the few stones he got around to mentioning, all those years later. I read up to the bit about how this ego-on-legs felt he was being used as an instrument of God and that was it - I couldn't stomach any more. (Try Julian Cope's "The Modern Antiquarian" instead if you are interested in standing stones with some legends thrown in. It's a wonderful book written by a truly sensitive and INTERESTED author.)

Don't Trust This Title
As advertised on the cover of this book, anachronistic me-generation guru Peck and his wife Lily set off on a tour of Britain's legendary stone circles, right? Wrong. Peck and Lily do visit some circle sites but this book is about 1% stone circles and 99% Peck going on and on and on and on and on and on about himself, his life, his beliefs, his personal health, and why faithful Lily forgave him for all the pain his freewheeling, skirtchasing lifestyle as one of the "it" crowd of the '60's and '70's self-discovery movement caused her. This is not about Britain's heritage sites, or even about self-help, it's about Peck patting Peck on the back for being such a smart fella. A bad book without any redeeming qualities. A waste of money and time. Oh, and Dr. Peck, Scotland is not, as you claim, "larger than all the rest of the United Kingdom combined." Jeesh.

Not quite up to par with his other works
I think Dr. Peck is quite a smart man with many interesting, relevant things to say. That said, I also think that if I met him in person I might not like him very much. Just a hunch. Does this have anything to do with the book? Yeah, of course. Because this is his PERSONAL book. It's not like "The Road Less Traveled," where he is mainly focusing in on case histories and using them as a starting point to Illustrate Great Truths About the World, this is the book where he launches his Understanding About the Universe from his personal life. Since they came non-stop, I found his egotism and uncaring attitude to those around him a bit aggravating. As I struggled through the book--I struggled through because in spite of his faults still Dr. Peck had some true gems to offer--I felt like I was encaged in a closet with my least-favorite uncle, being preached at all the time by a man who can't manage his personal life.
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Subjects:  1. Audio - Inspiration / Philosophy    2. Audiobooks    3. General    4. Great Britain    5. History    6. Inspirational - General    7. Megalithic monuments    8. Religion    9. Religious biography    10. United States    11. Religion / General   

Subjects:  1. Care    2. History    3. Institutional care    4. Mental Illness    5. Mentally ill    6. Pictorial works    7. Psychiatric Hospitals    8. Psychology    9. United States    10. 20th century    11. Disability: social aspects    12. Mental health services    13. Photographs: collections    14. Social history    15. USA    16. c 1700 to c 1800    17. c 1800 to c 1900   

Subjects:  1. European - General    2. History    3. Movements - Psychoanalysis    4. Psychoanalysis    5. Psychology