Is insanity a verifiable disease--or is it legal fiction, an excuse for crime and misbehavior, a euphemism for problems in day-to-day living? In this provocative book, Dr. Thomas Szasz, one of the most celebrated and controversial psychiatric thinkers of our time, presents a carefully crafted, systematic analysis of the precise character and practical consequences of the idea of mental illness. His findings and opinions are sure to capture the attention--and anger--of organized psychiatry, and give everyone else concerned with the human condition a better understanding of this almost universally misunderstood "disease."
Editorial Reviews
"[W]ill confirm and delight general readers, especially those with a critical eye for current psychiatric positions." --Choice
"Szasz is a brilliant debater....He can turn a topic as somber as insanity and its social context into a book that is extraordinarily entertaining. He is as likely to quote Shakespeare or Moliere as Freud and Jung, and when it suits him, he quotes Ann Landers and Dear Abby, too. This irreverence and moral outrage fairly sizzle on the page." --The New York Times Book Review
"The questions he raises are critical ones for those in the medical, legal, and religious communities to consider." --The Christian Century
"Arguably, Szasz has had more impact on the actual practice of psychiatry in this country than anyone since Freud." --The Journal of Psychiatry & Law
About the Author
Thomas Szasz, MD, is considered a brilliant revolutionary thinker by some--a dangerous renegade by others. In either case, the author of The Myth of Mental Illness (1961), Schizophrenia: The Sacred Symbol of Psychiatry (1988), Sex by Prescription (1990), and Our Right To Drugs (1992) is one of the most important writers in psychiatry.
