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The Age of Madness: The History of Involuntary Mental Hospitalization
The Age of Madness The History of Involuntary Mental Hospitalization Author:Thomas Szasz (Editor) During the past three hundred years, forced confinement, cruel "cures," political repression, and ritualized personal degradation have all been rationalized and justified by appeals to the dogmas of psychiatry. This book presents an account of the accumulated injustice, inhumanity, and insensitivity that man has generated in his effort... more » to "save" his fellow man from "insanity."
Dr. Thomas Szasz, one of the most renowned psychiatrists writing today, here offers the reader a clear and dramatic picture of the origin and development of our present attitudes toward involuntary psychiatric interventions. The materials he has assembled span three centuries and several continents, and include works never before translated into English. The result is a fascinating and instructive mixture of psychiatric history, medical politics, literature, and social science. Among the authors includes are Daniel Defoe, Philippe Pinel, Benjamin Rush, Anton Chekhov, Jack London, Karl Kraus, James Thurber, Sylvia Plath, Janet Frame, and Valeriy Tarsis. These selections strongly support Dr. Szasz's suggestion that the "Age of Reason" might more aptly be called "The Age of Madness."« less