No comments about Jung.

5 comments about Another Way Home: A Family's Journey Through Mental Illness.

1. I met Janir a few months ago. He is an amazing man and I hope to someday meet his father, John. They have had a challenging life together and have prevailed with support from each other. I was emotionally involved in this book, but even if you do not know either of these men you will find this book hard to put down. I cried through the entire book and after reading the last sentence broke down myself. I was overwhelmed with lonliness and felt honored to be a part of Janir's life. This story is powerful, emotional, and REAL.



2. I read this book several years ago, after meeting Janir at summer camp. Knowing little of his background, I was overcome by the emotion in the story.
   A fantastic (if heart-wrenching) read.



3. This book is very well written, it gives a very honest depiction of the problems associated with being a single parent. I know John Thorndike's son personally as his summer camp counselor. Janir, now in his twenties, is enthusiastic, considerate, creative and full of energy. A tribute to John meeting the challenges presented to him in his life.



4. When I cracked open my copy of Another Way Home, I didn't have any idea what I was in for. Once I was reading, I couldn't put it down. I read for hours, crying and wishing I could reach out and hold Janir and John. The prose is smooth and emotional, darkly textured with passion. I feel like I know every character, like I know John. The imagery and characters are vivid, the style is clear and beautiful. And how badly I wanted to be in Athens, Ohio. I could feel the timelessness of the place: The brick house, the lawn, the boy and his father playing ball. The fields, that's what drew me in: John was creating life-- he was planting seeds and farming and tending his garden as well as tending his son, raising Janir. I can't imagine anyone *not* loving this book. The quote on the back of the book says not only fathers and sons, but mothers and grandmothers will love this book. But look at me. I'm a young woman, a daughter, and nothing could have affected me so proufoundly as hearing his stories: About affairs, trials with Clarisa, his schizophrenic ex-wife, about raising his boy. It pulled heart strings within me. I was raised, I know how it is to have parents cheat on each other, how it is to have crazy relatives, how it is to be lonely. I know you will love it. It contains some very valuable information, and if you pass this one up, you'll be missing out. I promise you that much.



5. I recommend this book highly! John Thorndike deserves critical praise and your money! Another Way Home is moving, truthful and YOU should read it! You hear me! Tell your friends!

No comments about Freud the Man.

1 comments about FREUD'S OWN COOKBOOK.

1. This unique cookbook is compiled from Freud's own recipes and comments. It is warm and fuzzy and highly amusing at times, and actually has great recipes. I have given three copies as gifts and they were well received.

No comments about Horace Mann: His Ideas And Ideals.

1 comments about The DAMNDEST RADICAL: The Life and World of Ben Reitman, Chicago's Celebrated Social Reformer, Hobo King, and Whorehouse Physician.

1. Ben Reitman was a hobo, medical doctor, anarchist, and social reformer of the early 20th century. This book reveals his world, a world that most history books tend to ignore- the world of the hobos and political radicals (they were often one and the same) of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is the world of "Hobohemia." Much of this world centered around old time Chicago (the winter quarters for most hobos) and such institutions as the Hobo College, the Dill Pickle Club, and Bughouse Square. I know that one doesn't think of hobos discussing politics, economics, literature, and the arts, but that was a large part of their world. In many ways it reminds one of the world of the Beats during the 1950's- Jack Kerouac would have fit right in. In fact, considering the surprising prevalence of jazz,"free love" and recreational drugs, it uncannily prefigured the Beat scene.

   The people that Reitman knew makes an impressive list: Emma Goldman, Jack Reed, Walter Lippman, Theodore Dreiser, Upton Sinclair, General Jacob Coxey, James Eads How (the "millionaire hobo") and Al Capone. The description of the many, now unknown, hobo philosophers is even more remarkable, for these were very remarkable men. These were free thinkers and intelligent and sensitive critics of the society around them. As for Reitman himself, I not only feel that I know him from reading this book, but I admire him and regret never actually meeting him.

   Oh yes, while most of the men covered in this book were labeled as "radicals" by the authorities of their time, all they really wanted was to improve life for the average working man (the hobo was essentially a migrant worker) and make society a little fairer. For this they were persecuted, imprisoned, beaten, and often murdered. Some things never change....

5 comments about The Bone Lady: Life As a Forensic Anthropologist.

1. Everyone who opens this book will not put it down until it's finished! I have spoken with Dr. Manheim regarding her forensic work. She is,undoubtedly,one of the most entertaining, knowledgable and caring teachers I have ever encountered. I look forward to her next book.



2. After hearing Mary Manhein speak I was very interested in her book. In the book she did record many cases, and gave a pretty good overview of the field. The best part of the book was her retelling what brought her to become a forensic anthropologist. I was disappointed at the lack of real detail and depth in talking about the cases and the politics of the field.



3. This is a wonderful book. It is fun to read about Mary Manheim's childhood and her career and the cases she has worked on. The short chapters focus on particular cases she has helped solve. It is sprinkled through out with stories of life in Louisiana.



4. Don't waste your time or money on this one as there are far better forensic books out there. This book was just a collection of short narratives reading more like a personal diary than any kind of scientific narrative laying out the facts of cases. I guess it lives up to its subtitle of "Life as a Forensic Anthropologist" in that she usually presents only HER part in each case with little presentation of the entire case. The forensic cases are not really the star of this book, the author is. I was frustrated with the lack of depth. Instead, read "The Body Farm" by Bill Bass. Excellent storytelling there! He gives you personal stories, but also provides all the fascinating forensic info to provide a complete picture for the cases he has investigated.



5. I found this book quite tedious, since the author makes the fundamental mistake of thinking the subject of the book should be herself instead of her work. There is almost no information on forensic anthropology; her descriptions of cases are very short and center mainly on how she felt about them, rather than what the actual details were. From the cover and the blurbs I expected actual case histories; the book doesn't deliver. The book as written would really only be interesting to people who know the author personally.

No comments about Margaret Mead (Women Who Dare).

2 comments about Wisdom Madness and Folly (Canongate Scottish Classics).

1. I read this about 10 years ago & have recently read it again. Laing's writing is easy & colloquial, more like conversation than some exercise with a thesaurus. Laing reviews the state of psychiatry today (1985) & reviews the events in his life that helped shape his iconoclastic views of medicine & society. He eschews the term "anti-psychiatry," seemingly preferring not to name or "institutionalize" his process & praxis for psychiatry. By the end of this book, Laing & his views seem incredibly human & humane, & one wonders, Why aren't all psychiatrists like Laing? Early on, Laing cites the changing psychiatric view in Italy; the new edition of WM&F coincides with the 20th anniversary of Italy's law 180, which pretty much altered the way psychiatric services are dispensed & which was promoted by both doctors & patients, proving that the camaraderie among patient & staff that Laing longed for was possible.



2. I first read this more than 10 years ago & found it a pleasant diversion from his more polemical writing. Laing is witty & honest: he cites but doesn't dwell on the cliches & sloganry that have fairly engulfed descriptions of his profession. Laing is incisive & wastes little time with exposition: he's on to another topic before you realize he's just alluded to rabid anti-Semitism in Great Britain during WWII! His descriptions of patients are heart-rending, especially the elderly women with whom he worked after his stint in the Army. Laing was & still is maligned by the psychiatric professional community in the U.S., but in Italy this year, it's the 20th anniversary of the "Basaglia Act," which was promoted by doctors & virtually altered the way "mental disorder" is viewed & treated. Laing made no small contribution here, & his easy style & good humor are evident in WM&F & just two reasons why he remains influential.

No comments about Young Carl Jung.