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A History of Psychiatry: From the Era of the Asylum to the Age of Prozac"PPPP . . . To compress 200 years of psychiatric theory and practice into a compelling and coherent narrative is a fine achievement . . . . What strikes the reader most] are Shorter's storytelling skills, his ability to conjure up the personalities of the psychiatrists who shaped the discipline and the conditions under which they and their patients lived." Ray Monk The Mail on Sunday magazine, U. K. "An opinionated, anecdote rich history. . . . While
"PPPP . . . To compress 200 years of psychiatric theory and practice into a compelling and coherent narrative is a fine achievement . . . . What strikes the reader most] are Shorter's storytelling skills, his ability to conjure up the personalities of the psychiatrists who shaped the discipline and the conditions under which they and their patients lived."--Ray Monk The Mail on Sunday magazine, U.K."An opinionated, anecdote-rich history. . . . While psychiatrists may quibble, and Freudians and other psychoanalysts will surely squawk, those without a vested interest will be thoroughly entertained and certainly enlightened."--Kirkus Reviews.
"Shorter tells his story with immense panache, narrative clarity, and genuinely deep erudition."--Roy Porter Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine.
In A History of Psychiatry, Edward Shorter shows us the harsh, farcical, and inspiring realities of society's changing attitudes toward and attempts to deal with its mentally ill and the efforts of generations of scientists and physicians to ease their suffering. He paints vivid portraits of psychiatry's leading historical figures and pulls no punches in assessing their roles in advancing or sidetracking our understanding of the origins of mental illness.
Shorter also identifies the scientific and cultural factors that shaped the development of psychiatry. He reveals the forces behind the unparalleled sophistication of psychiatry in Germany during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as well as the emergence of the United States as the world capital of psychoanalysis.
This engagingly written, thoroughly researched, and fiercely partisan account is compelling reading for anyone with a personal, intellectual, or professional interest in psychiatry.
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Published: 02/17/1998
ISBN: 9780471245315
Pages: 448
Weight: 1.50lbs
Size: 9.08h x 6.22w x 1.17d
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4.2 ★★★★★
Based on 16 reviews
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 5
A thoroughly-researched, thoughtful, and nuanced work about the 1692 Salem withcraft panic.
Format: Paperback
This graphic novel recounts the 1692 Salem (Massachusetts) witchcraft panic that engulfed Salem, Salem Village (now Danvers), and adjacent communities. About two dozen men and women were convicted and hanged, one was pressed to death (tortured) to try to force him to acknowledge the Court’s authority. That man was Giles Corey, aged 80. The book focuses on him, but it covers others among the accused and executed as well as on the judges, politicians, and other involved. (No so much on the accusers and their motives.). The narrative plays out chronologically with interstitial vignettes in which 19th Century literary figures Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wander around Salem during the 1800s discussing the trials and their legacy. (Hawthorne lived in Salem for a time and was a descendant or the Court of Oyer and Terminer Judge Hathorne.). The work concludes with a chapter, More Wonders of the Invisible World, that follows how Salem developed economically up to the present day in which witchcraft-related Halloween tourism turns Salem town into arguably the least attractive “tourist attraction” on Cape Ann. (Do not skip this chapter, it is engrossing.) An extensive series of endnotes provide scholarly references and background information.
The artwork veers back and forth between caricatures (the 17th century events) and realism (19th century and onwards). In both cases the line art is exquisite. The text includes quotes from transcripts of the trials and other contemporary documents as well as fictional dialog.
Wickey worked on this book for more than a decade, and it shows in his thorough scholarship. This is, in all seriousness, Pulitzer/Eisner-level work. Wickey was born in Beverly and resides on Cape Ann. Most of us born and raised on the “North Shore” learn about the Salem witchcraft panic in high school -often as a cautionary tale about politics, spectral evidence, and what we would today call “lawfare.” I thought I knew a fair amount about the 1692 panic, but I learned something new with nearly every other page. I was especially glad to see Wickey cover now-debunked ergot-poisoning theory and that he dismissed the vile slander that some among the convicted and executed were actually witches. There’s nothing really “missing” from the book, though one wishes one could learn more about the fates of the accusers other than Ann Putnam. That their motives appear to have been “sport” is bone-chilling fully three centuries later. Read her "apology" years later and try not to think, "psychopath."
At 500 plus pages, it's too long to read at one setting, but it is a pleasure to read at shorter intervals.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2025
★★★★★ 5
Masterpiece
Format: Kindle
It has been said that any work of literature should be gauged upon how much the work makes the reader think. Ben Wickey has certainly achieved this - in spades - as one of the “civilised” world’s most frightening episodes is revisited with respect and thoughtfulness on the human condition.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Books
Format: Paperback
I bought this book for my husband as a Christmas present and he enjoyed the book!
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Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2026
★★★★★ 4
The Tale of Salem
Format: Paperback
If you’re not familiar with the history of Salem and its witch trials, this graphic novel is a solid entry point. The author, while not a historian, clearly put in the work—spending time in Salem, connecting with residents, and striving to honor both the historical record and the modern-day sentiments of those who live with that legacy. His goal was to get the facts right while also capturing how the people of Salem view their own history, and I think he succeeded in that respect.
The artwork fits the subject matter well. We often imagine people of that time as living hard, joyless lives, and the art conveys that sense of austerity. The mix of black-and-white and color panels is sometimes striking—there are moments where the color really enhances the impact of a scene—but other times I wasn’t sure what it added. Still, the black-and-white aesthetic ties neatly into the grim tone of the era.
That said, the book is quite long, and if you’re already well-versed in the Salem Witch Trials, you may not learn much new in terms of facts. But if you enjoy studying the trials or want to explore the story through a different medium, this graphic novel is definitely worth picking up.
For me, it landed at a 3.5 stars, which I’ll round up to 4 (since I usually do that when posting on review sites).
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Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2025
★★★★★ 5
Salem's a Lot
Format: Paperback
Great comic that deserves to be at the top end of best of 2025 lists. Intensively researched with multiple art approaches to the varied settings. It also made me want to take a trip to Salem in the off-season. A virtuosic undertaking!
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Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2026