Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
"An astonishing book: honest, sober, exciting, and humane... Shrinks] brings you to the very forefront of one of the most amazing medical journeys of our time." --Siddhartha Mukherjee
Psychiatry has come a long way since the days of chaining "lunatics" in cold cells. But, as Jeffrey Lieberman, MD, reveals in his eye-opening book, the path to legitimacy for "the black sheep of medicine" has been anything but smooth.
Dr. Lieberman traces the field from its birth as a mystic pseudo-science to its late blooming maturity--beginning after World War II--as a science-driven profession that saves lives. With fascinating case studies and portraits of the field's luminaries--from Sigmund Freud to Eric Kandel--SHRINKS is a gripping read, and an urgent call-to-arms to dispel the stigma of mental illnesses by treating them as diseases rather than unfortunate states of mind.