Mental Health Books

The Jungians sets out to describe the social and political history of the Jungian communities throughout the world and accomplishes its aims admirably. It will be the gold standard for historical inquiry into the Jungian movement for decades to come with an informative discussion of the development of every institute and of the contributions of each significant figure in nalytic psychology.

From the beginning of the 20th century Jung championed a secular psychology that also viewed the human as essentially sacred and irreducible and by so doing set himself apart from and against the strictly positivistic science that the western world espoused at and since that time. Jung's ideas, far from succumbing to collective bias and oblivion, have disseminated themselves substantively throughout the entire world for the last 100 years in the form of the many psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, and professional and lay groups who presently identify themselves with Jung's ideas. Kirsch's book is a history of exactly how and through whom that dissemination has occurred and in whom and in what organizations it resides. Although Kirsch says his is a social and political history and not an intellectual one, that is not entirely correct, for, as he tracks people over time and about the world, he differentiates what aspect of Jung's spirit each tends most to embody (and defend): the philosophical, the clinical, the religious, the archetypal, the developmental. And in this weaving arise the confrontations, conflicts, and confluences that finally shape the ongoing state and living drama of Jungian psychology. No one other than Kirsch could have written this book. His life, like none other, has been part and parcel of the events and people he describes (see the Preface). Far from having become a passive cipher in the play, he has had a hand in its evolution and yet, in his story, he steps outside of the fray to portray its horizons. For a professional within the field itself, like myself, this gives rise to a dual gift: first, an invaluable aid in locating oneself and one's own ideas within the collective of the movement, and second, the spurring of intimations of what lies beyond the knowns of the present Jungian world. Concerning the book itself, Kirsch is a master of the matter of fact. In sweeping but trenchantly accurate statements (the accuracy is the gift) he avers simply what is and what isn't. In a brief paragraph he explains how the introduction of Jung's continental philosophying into England has given rise to a British traditionally empiricist reaction (and then spells out that reaction in the splits and vicissitudes of the English groups). In addressing Jung's monumentally injudicious gaffes of the mid 1930s, he says, "As we analysts know, timing is critical in analysis, and the same holds true for politics" His summing ups share the same precise and parsimonious qualities: "In my experience, almost all Jungians, in addition to amplifying and interpreting dreams, recognize the primarily symbolic nature of the unconscious, the importance of working with the transference/countertransference relationship, and the necessity for maintaining strict professional boundaries." In the reading, lesser known gems fall from the pages from time to time. I did not know that Jung had met Lacan. Kirsch says where and how. Nor did I know that he had spoken in England before 1925 (he gave a seminar in Cornwall in 1923; I do not think it is published as yet). The chapter on Germany alone is worth the price of the book. Kirsch has ferreted out and redacted material in strict temporal sequence that is more complete than any I have read before. This involves the history of Jungian psychology in Germany but, more importantly in my opinion, Jung's relationship to the Nazis. Kirsch is more even-handed and straightforward in his accounts than in any other I have read, including his father's extensive statements on the same subject. And Kirsch (the son) arrives at what feels to be extremely fair judgments, plainly delivered and patently devoid of polemical covering up. A second chapter of particular worth is the last one, "Observations and Conclusions." Again, it is the precision and the matter of factness that make it valuable for seeing in one place and through plain language the present edges of things Jungian. In the foreword, historian Peter Homans says that Kirsch is "generous" in this history. In my opinion, it is true beyond a doubt. Generous in its plethora of material, its reader-friendly expression, and in its sharing of personal information. In its historical place, its importance for the Jungian world resembles in kind the book Bollingen by William McGuire in which he, like Kirsch, fleshes out an intellectual movement related to the Jungian world in the specific details of the persons and places and modus operandi served by the foundation set up (now defunct) by Mary Mellon. Both books make people whose names and writings are synonymous with Jungiana come to full sentient life. Besides Kirsch and McGuire, we have only histories of Jung and his ideas. I highly recommend Kirsch's book as a very interesting read, a source of new information, and a singular documentation of Jungian ideas and their embodiment in the world. For the lay person, even one not familiar with the Jungian world, the book is a history of how a little known psychology - one that is unique and friendlier than probably any other to the spiritual - becomes a part of the culture of nations and the world.

This is a must for every psychiatrist and psychologist who is interested in the history of psychiatry and psychology, and for every layman who is interested in these fields.

You will enjoy reading this book!

For the first time there is a telling of the tale of the Jungian movement from the

beginnings in Switzerland to every continent through places, persons, events and

publications. This book will leave you with a new and larger understanding of a

story that was previouly known mostly in fragments. Included are colorful nuances

and first hand accounts, even a few never before published photographs, from the

author who grew up in the midst of the Jungians and has been one of its most

prominent contributors.

Whether you read this book for the fun and enjoyment of it or for professional

research, you will find a wealth of facts, insights and useful references to places

and persons you probably know and books you probably have read, and you may find

yourself referring back to specific sections, places and persons many times.

I recommend this book highly!

As an avid reader and lover of books, I consider the discovery of a good book to be one of life's most delicious pleasures. Learn to Be an Optimist, by Lucy MacDonald was one such discovery. The first item to strike the eye is the beautiful presentation of the book. Its softly-coloured illustrations and helpful sidebars offering additional tips and information relating to the subject of discussion make it a very enjoyable read. Backed by solid research, the book covers a broad range of issues including the benefits of optimism, how to manage health, overcoming depression, aging with attitude, stress management, how to use visualization and healing techniques, the benefits of laughter, and how to develop optimistic relationships.

With a writing style that is clear and accessible, you will acquire techniques and approaches that will serve you well for the rest of your life, and perhaps maybe even pass on to your children and grandchildren. Although I was familiar with most of its concepts, reading it was like taking a refresher course in all that is good, and positive and worthwhile in life. What a wonderful gift idea!

Pauline Edward, author of Astrological Crosses in Relationships

I found this gem of a book at a bookstore, took a picture of it to remind myself and got it at Amazon. Good book. Some find it too simplistic...but I guess I like to get to the meat of the matter. Gives insights from someone who had to learn and use these steps to become more optimistic.

I am doing the exercises and I feel much better.

But with anything...consistancy makes it work...not just reading it.

This is a clear and well-written self-help book. If you have any doubts or misgivings about your strengths, abilities, self-esteem or happiness, you're sure to find valuable information here.

Ms. MacDonald discusses the theory of optimism, how to acquire it, how it benefits your physical and mental health, and how to use and share your optimism skills at work and at home. She encourages you early in the book to start a journal to record your strengths, weaknesses, and fears and to keep this journal going indefinitely--it's the heart of your commitment. She offers practical advice and exercises as well. However, she doesn't expect perfectionism. Even optimistic people hit hurdles now and then. But the foundation for being optimistic--the sense of control over your life--is what helps these people get through the tough times in fine shape. And when you're optimistic, you have the ability to approach a situation as a challenge rather than a problem.

If you want to enrich your own life, your kids' lives and your family life, this is the book for you. After all, your optimism is your gift to the world.

Warm and friendly, like a comfort food!

As an avid reader and lover of books, I consider the discovery of a good book to be one of life's most delicious pleasures. Learn to Be an Optimist, by Lucy MacDonald was one such discovery. The first item to strike the eye is the beautiful presentation of the book. Its softly-coloured illustrations and helpful sidebars offering additional tips and information relating to the subject of discussion make it a very enjoyable read. Backed by solid research, the book covers a broad range of issues including the benefits of optimism, how to manage health, overcoming depression, aging with attitude, stress management, how to use visualization and healing techniques, the benefits of laughter, and how to develop optimistic relationships.

With a writing style that is clear and accessible, you will acquire techniques and approaches that will serve you well for the rest of your life, and perhaps maybe even pass on to your children and grandchildren. Although I was familiar with most of its concepts, reading it was like taking a refresher course in all that is good, and positive and worthwhile in life. What a wonderful gift idea!

This book is primarily about pathological liars. It explicitly does not address issues of right and wrong with respect to lying. It is well written and the case studies presented in an interesting manner. Among the notable items presented are studies that indicate that police officers cannot distinguish liars from the honest any better than anyone else and that the rest of us don't generally do much better than chance at it. For a book that does address the moral questions of lying, and as a complement to this book, read Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life

Straightforward. Well written and referenced. A very well laid out book with excellent references for further study on the subject. I gained a great appreciation for the psychological causes of lying. Highly recommended.

A certain dry humour makes the book very readable. The description of social pressures in learning to lie, and animal world comparisons, are a useful perspective. The central theme - the danger of lying to oneself, or self deception - is of great importance in working in any large organisation. I would prescribe it as essential reading for managers and directors of most modern organisations Many readers may lack the objectivity to appreciate and believe the reports contained in the book, though they are well researched and well documented. I hope the next edition may spend more time in coping with lies. There are 13 pages in this book on therapeutic approaches toward the deceitful person. The comments on "groupthink", which involves bias of group behaviour, could also be expanded in future editions, with comments on the efficacy of countermeasures.

I am a compulsive liar. I admit it. I read this book and now I have greater insight into why I lie all of the time. A great read even if you are "honest."

This is exactly what I was looking for! Yes! Concise, beautifully written, and compassionate. And a little cheesy. I don't agree with every bit of it, I didn't do the "actions" (other than the couple that made sense to me) and I didn't do any of the affirmation-repeating, but just reading it was enough. It really did make a difference in how I feel (and a little bit in how I live). A must-read for anyone who is feeling limited in life by their weight.

Live the life you want now, not at some imaginary time when you might lose weight. Since diets don't work, that time will never come. You are fine the way you are, and this book will help you to follow your dreams regardless of your body size.

This book is amazing. It's all about taking your life back. Society has told fat people that we are bad, guilty, lack self control, shameful...and that if we were to just try harder then we could lose the weight and be accepted. What a load of &^&*()%$#&. Most people I know who have a few extra pounds have left no stone unturned in the quest for a thin body and societal acceptance. Self hatred and denial of myself, my size has robbed me of my life because I only thought I deserved to live if I were thin and EVERYTHING, all my hopes, plans, dreams, goals....were universally on hold. Every time I would "get thin" I would try to cram in all those things I was missing as a fat person.

This book is about getting back to business, despite your size. It debunks all the myths and stereotypes about fat people, that we are all lazy, unmotivated and hate ourselves. It teaches us self love despite the challenges of living in a society that clearly hates fat people.

Everyone is entitled to a life and a chance to live it. This book does not tell you what to eat or how to eat, or even that you should go out and eat a dozen doughnuts. It tells you that if you start loving yourself at your size and stop trying to change yourself it is amazing how your life will automatically change for the better! Stop putting your life, dreams on hold. Start loving yourself starting today...even if you're fat.

"Affirmations for living the life you want in the body you already have."

Although this book was first written almost ten years ago it is still relevant to today's lush woman. In the introduction, Cheri K. Erdman, EdD says, Live Large! brings a positive voice into your life and helps that voice to become your own. This is so true.

The 148 pages of affirmations are divided into four parts: initiation, inspiration, determination and live large. Each page has a title like the 'Mirror Lies' or 'Live For Today'. Erdman provides a brief commentary on the topic followed by a one line affirmation like: I see myself as acceptable, lovable and beautiful. This is then followed by 'Size-wise action' which further describes how you can put intention behind the affirmation. This can be a simple visualization or journaling activity.

I loved this little book. Erdman's voice is not condescending and her concepts are legitimate and easy to understand. You can journal along with each prompt or just use it for bedside or bathroom reading. Each page is filled with valuable insight into our bodies, psyche and the world around us. She doesn't just tell you how it is but how you can choose to make a difference.

There is a small section of resources at the back, some outdated. This really has no affect on the rest of the content which is positive, inspiring and easy to relate to your own life. This is a definite must for your plus size library. I highly recommend this mini book. Reviewed by M. E. Wood.

Living With Autism is a collection of candid, informative and revealing parental stories of what it is like to live with autistic children on a day to day basis. Author Kathleen Dillon provides a review of the professional literature defining and diagnosing autism, securing adequate treatment, family stress, social stigma, and all of the aspects and elements of life with an autistic charge. Highly recommended reading for parents and caretakers of autistic children, Living With Autism is enhanced with a "Parent's Questionnaire" and "Suggestions For Parents", references, glossary, and an index.

THIS BOOK WAAS VERY GOOD. IT GAVE THE EXPEIRNCES OF PARENTS MWHO HAD KIDS THAT WHERE AUTISTIC. I BOUGHT AND READ IN ONLYA FEW DAYS.

No jargon. No hype. No claims of "miracle cures". Just an honest, realistic account of the lives of the families of six autistic children. Parents of autistic children are bound to find much to reassure them that they are not alone. Others will learn a great deal about the problems, pressures and challenges facing the parents of any disabled child.

i have read many books dealing with the subject of autism and i feel this book has the most accurate information. from the author's prospective & researched information you get a step by step introduction to the effects of autism on the families. honest & straightforward... w/o hyping miracle cures (i.e. vitamins, drug therapy) or understating the massive effect an autistic child has on the family. for anyone who is close to a family with an autistic child this is a must read..... the 6 children whose parents were interviewed give an honest, clear account of what day-to-day life is like with an autistic child. funny, heartwarming, sad and informative if you buy any book about autism, buy this one! i've read 24 plus books on autism, this one is by far the best

my book came in perfect condition!!! just as the reviews had said! i am really pleased with the outcome, and i will be purchasing my books from amazon more often
thank you!

This book was purchased for my granddaughter who is attending Texas Womens University. So I can't help you.

This book makes any movement--whether it be yoga, Pilates or just walking down the street--better understood and the analogies to how one carries one's self in the world and relates is interesting. It is also very well written and easy to follow. I like it because I came to Pilates etc from being more of an athlete... this can make anyone feel like a dancer and can lend to the practice of any movement, even by athletes!! (You will also see that what some of your teachers in whatever mind-body discipline you are studying might not be attributing to Bartinieff/Laban are well just that!)

Coming from the background of a dancer and Bachelor of Science in kinesiology, I found that this book was an excellent source to further combine and enhance my knowledge in both of these fields. Presently, I am in a graduate dance program and assisting with Bartenieff Fundamentals. This book works perfectly for any Bartenieff Fundamentals, Experiential Anatomy, Technique, and/or Pedagogy course. It is easy to read, and I can quickly find simple and beneficial exercises to use in the classroom and to prepare my body for dance and daily life.

This is an excellent book!! Andrea Hill is an inspiration to all of us. She understands the mind-set of actors and prepares the reader for the various pitfalls of the acting profession. She covers territory that is often overlooked in most of the "How-To-Make-It" type books. If you want to be an actor, whether you live in New York, L.A. or anywhere in between ... buy this book!

Finally, a book written by an actress turned psychologist who's empathetic and logical. Very insightful and helpful!

Finally, a book for actors written by an actress turned psychologist who's both empathetic and logical!

This book is a one of a kind look at the psychological issues that actors have. As a person who has been persuing acting for 10 years, I believe that this a a very unique and helpful book. Each chapter presents a real life problem and goes on to discuss, analyze and suggest contructive solutions. It has something for everyone from depression due to losing a role, to eating disorders. I personally found the chapter on structure and discipline very motivating.
This book should be in every actors' library. I have not seen anything else like it.

Managing Stress is one of the best textbooks I have seen and should be required reading at every school. The reason I enjoy the book so much is because it presents a whole new way of seeing stress - stress reframed from a positive, enlightened perspective. The book is such a comprehensive volume of information, including just enough of all the most important topics related not only to stress, but to mind-body health in general, as much as any author can encapsulate in such a huge, broad, and growing field.

Managing Stress is so good because Seaward helps readers and students recognize an important need in our culture for embracing a broader perspective of wellness, one that encompasses and touches every nuance of life including business, education, the arts, government, and so on.

Wellness is certainly not solely about taking care of the body, it is perhaps even more importantly about taking care of the mind and spirit. This book is endlessly full of great supporting holistic mind-body health research and tidbits, including fascinating studies proving the efficacy of the stress-management modalities provided. Through the study of this text alone I believe one can develop an in-depth knowedge of not only mind-body health, but of the whole human condition, what it means to be a human being. I cannot think of too many other books that I can make that statement about.

If you want to learn how to change your life, study this text in-depth, and then choose topics from it you are most interested in, and delve into them using many of the additional resources provided. Yet, perhaps most importantly, learn to put these techniques into practice and then you will find not only the jewel of analytical knowledge, but,even more, the crowning jewel of wisdom and enlightenment.

This book is an excellent source of data on Holistic Stress Management. It must be used by students and professional interested in getting a integrative understanding of the relation it has mind-body.

This book is well worth every penny and provides its reader with myriad inventive strategies on confronting and coping with stress. One such strategy is art therapy. I highly recommend that every person committed to a lifeway of health consider purchasing this book. Walk in Beauty, ANP

This is the "bible" of stress management books, a complete wholistic approach (mind-body-spirit-emotions) which is long overdue in the health profession. Reading this book is like having a conversation with a wise old sage. The CD of four relaxation exercises is wonderful. What a calming voice.

I enjoy reading this book, but I wish there were more mechanisms for the more ivovlved reactions. But, the book takes its time to review concepts and ensure understanding.

Medicinal Natural Products: A Biosynthetic Approach is an excellent text for the subject of natural products. There are a number of other text available but many (especially the older text) are really biochemical text disguised as natural products text (such as focusing on fatty acid biosynthesis rather than polyketide synthesis). In addition, many text are too short (I possess a text that describes biosynthetic reactions in 29 pages, a far too brief discussion of this complex field). This book is available in softcover at reasonable cost (a very desirable characteristic for students). I particularly enjoy the historical and pharmacological discussions of famous natural products. It is a good text for 1st year graduate students.

This is really a wonderful book. The author has a deep insight in world of biosynthesis and medicinal natural products. I have read it all and am using it as a text to my undergaduate pharmacy students. It is just what i was looking for. Thanks Dr. Dewick, i am looking forward to see your second edition soon of this book, maybe this time we will have more about biosynthesis techniques!

This text is absolutely superb and the only regret I have is that I did not write it myself! I have used it almost exclusively for the natural products chemistry component of our Bachelor of Pharmacy degree course and it comprehensively covers all of the major types of bioactive natural products. Anyone interested in Pharmacognosy will find the book an invaluable reference text. This book will be of great importance for future students of natural products chemistry. I thoroughly recommend its purchase!

this is one of my favorite books of all time. NYRB is now my favorite place on earth! THANK YOU THANK YOU! (ps. this is a classic, all should read it)

Shortly after the death of Daniel Paul Schreber, Sigmund Freud used his (Schreber's) memoirs as the basis for a fantasy of his own. Everyday readers are lucky that Schreber wrote down so much of what he saw, heard and felt during his many years in German mental asylums, for his own observations are far more artistic and harrowing than anything Freud ever wrote.

In this book, Schreber takes us into his world--the world of the genuine schizophrenic. He writes of the "little men" who come to invade his body and of the stars from which they came.

That these "little men" choose to invade Schreber's body in more ways than one only makes his story all the more harrowing. At night, he tells us, they would drip down onto his head by the thousands, although he warned them against approaching him.

Schreber's story is not the only thing that is disquieting about this book. His style of writing is, too. It is made up of the ravings of a madman, yet it contains a fluidity and lucidity that rival that of any "logical" person. It only takes a few pages before we become enmeshed in the strange smells, tastes, insights and visions he describes so vividly.

Much of this book is hallucinatory; for example, Schreber writes of how the sun follows him as he moves around the room, depending on the direction of his movements. And, although we know the sun was not following Schreber, his explanation makes sense, in an eerie sort of way.

What Schreber has really done is to capture the sheer poetry of insanity and madness in such a way that we, as his readers, feel ourselves being swept along with him into his world of fantasy. It is a world without anchors, a world where the human soul is simply left to drift and survive as best it can. Eventually, one begins to wonder if madness is contagious. Perhaps it is. The son of physician, Moritz Schreber, Schreber came from a family of "madmen," to a greater or lesser degree.

Memoirs of My Nervous Illness has definitely made Schreber one of the most well-known and quoted patients in the history of psychiatry...and with good reason. He had a mind that never let him live in peace and he chronicles its intensity perfectly. He also describes the fascinating point and counterpoint of his "inner dialogues," an internal voice that chattered constantly, forcing Schreber to construct elaborate schemes to either explain it or escape it. He tries suicide and when that fails, he attempts to turn himself into a diaphanous, floating woman.

Although no one is sure what madness really is, it is clear that for Schreber it was something he described as "compulsive thinking." This poor man's control center had simply lost control. The final vision we have of Schreber in this book is harrowing in its intensity and in its angst. Pacing, with the very sun paling before his gaze, this brilliant madman walked up and down his cell, talking to anyone who would listen.

This is a harrowing, but fascinating book and is definitely not for the faint of heart. Schreber describes man's inner life in as much detail as a Hamlet or a Ulysses. The most terrifying part is that in Schreber, we see a little of both ourselves and everyone we know.

Others who have posted reviews of this book are certainly correct in their assessment -- it's engaging, harrowing, enlightening, etc. HOWEVER, nobody has addressed the actual CAUSE of Schreber's insanity which, of course, is key to the reading of his memoir. The patient in most cases, and certainly in this case, is unable to tell us matter-of-factly what is troubling him. Instead, he tells us of his dreams or his imaginings, or his horrible delusions. It is then the psychiatrist who untangles the web. I can't recommend highly enough, as a companion to Schreber's memoir, the book "Soul Murder: Persecution in the Family," written by the psychiatrist Morton Schatzman. The book is now out of print, but can still be found used. Instead of describing the book,I'll quote from the jacket flap: "Daniel Paul Schreber (1842-1911), an eminent German judge, went mad at the age of 42, recovered, and eight and a half years later, went mad again. It is uncertain if he was ever fully sane, in the ordinary social sense, again. His father, Daniel Gottlieb Moritz Schreber (1808-1861), who supervised his son's upbringing, was a leading German physician and pedagogue, whose studies and writings on child rearing techniques strongly influenced his practices during his life and long after his death. The father thought his age to be morally "soft" and "decayed" owing mainly to laxity in educating and disciplining children at home and school. He proposed to "battle" the "weakness" of his era with an elaborate system aimed at making children obedient and subject to adults. He expected that following his precepts would lead to a better society and "race." The father applied these same basic principals in raising his own children, including Daniel Paul and another son, Daniel Gustav, the elder, who also went mad and committed suicide in his thirties. Psychiatrists consider the case of the former, Daniel Paul, as the classic model of paranoia and schizophrenia, but even Freud and Bleuler (in their analyses of the son's illness) failed to link the strange experiences of Daniel Paul, for which he was thought mad, to his father's totalitarian child-rearing practices. In "Soul Murder," Morton Schatzman does just that -- connects the father's methods with the elements of the son's experience, and vice versa. This is done through a detailed analysis and comparison of Daniel Paul's "Memoirs of My Nervous Illness," a diary written during his second, long confinement, with his father's published and widely read writings on child rearing. The result is a startling and profoundly disturbing study of the nature and origin of mental illness -- a book that calls into question the value of classical models for defining mental illness and suggests the directions that the search for new models might take. As such, the author's findings touch on many domains: education, psychiatry, religion, sociology, politics -- the micro-politics of child-rearing and family life and their relation to the macro-politics of larger human groups." For me, this book shed a great light on "Memoirs of My Nervous Illness." In reading the other reviews, I get the sense that some people have concluded that Daniel (the son) "simply went mad," or "something went wrong," when the truth is that his father was a border-line personality and one sadistic man who inflicted his own brand of insanity on his children. If only we had something to document the father's childhood . . .

To begin with, the reader should be forewarned that what the author suffers from is not the idiomatic English "nervous illness," or mild neurosis, but a fundamentally different way of seeing the world, stated best by the author at the beginning of Chapter 5:"Apart from normal human language there is also a kind of nerve language of which, as a rule, the healthy human being is not aware." The book's profundity and the author's depth of insight are such that, after reading a few pages of the first chapter, one is reminded of nothing so much as Proust's Remembrance of Things Past: "Souls' greatest happiness lies in continual reveling in pleasure combined with recollections of their human past."....But, after this, the book becomes as disturbing as Proust is essentially soothing. For the author feels himself utterly isolated from other men, not even deigning to recognize them as men at all but as "fleeting-improvised-men" which "creates a feeling in me at times as if I were moving among walking corpses." (Ch. 15) What I found so disturbing about the elaboration of the author's viewpoint and recounting of his tribulations in the asylum is that there is something in his viewpoint that rings essentially true: We do not and can not know even those closest to us on the deep spiritual or "nerve language" level the author exists on in perpetuum. It is this essential truth combined with the author's matter-of-fact, almost cheery, tone that made reading this work such a strange experience for me. For English readers, such characters do exist in fiction (Poe's Usher kept occuring to me, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein), but the tone of such psychically unstable characters and what we would call their nervous disposition are consonant with a mind gone awry and thus not to be taken so seriously. Of Schreber, just the opposite impresses itself upon the reader. It is this dissonance between tone and subject matter that render the book strange. For the view it expresses is essentially a dark one. If one reads closely, a terribly dark one. The only thing comparable to it is the worldview of the Gnostics: That this world is essentially some sort of mistake, and that there may be no way to "fix" it, as it were. The main reason to read the book, to my mind, is that it is a well-written,non-fiction account of a unique state of being (although readers might want to check out Proust as well as The Gnostic Religion by Hans Jonas for similarities.) But, caveat lector, the book is not for the faint of heart. It may keep you up many a night. It did me!