A History of Psychiatry: From the Era of the Asylum to the Age of Prozac, Paperback (2nd Ed.)

Contributor(s):

• Author: Edward Shorter

"PPPP . . . To compress 200 years of psychiatric theory andpractice into a compelling and coherent narrative is a fineachievement . . . . What strikes the readermost] are Shorter'sstorytelling skills, his ability to conjure up the personalities ofthe psychiatrists who shaped the discipline and the conditionsunder which they and their patients lived."--Ray Monk The Mail onSunday magazine, U.K.

"An opinionated, anecdote-rich history. . . . While psychiatristsmay quibble, and Freudians and other psychoanalysts will surelysquawk, those without a vested interest will be thoroughlyentertained and certainly enlightened."--Kirkus Reviews.

"Shorter tells his story with immense panache, narrative clarity, and genuinely deep erudition."--Roy Porter Wellcome Institute forthe History of Medicine.

In A History of Psychiatry, Edward Shorter shows us the harsh, farcical, and inspiring realities of society's changing attitudestoward and attempts to deal with its mentally ill and the effortsof generations of scientists and physicians to ease theirsuffering. He paints vivid portraits of psychiatry's leadinghistorical figures and pulls no punches in assessing their roles inadvancing or sidetracking our understanding of the origins ofmental illness.

Shorter also identifies the scientific and cultural factors thatshaped the development of psychiatry. He reveals the forces behindthe unparalleled sophistication of psychiatry in Germany during theeighteenth and nineteenth centuries as well as the emergence of theUnited States as the world capital of psychoanalysis.

This engagingly written, thoroughly researched, and fiercelypartisan account is compelling reading for anyone with a personal, intellectual, or professional interest in psychiatry.