books

This is a personal list of books that I own, have read, in part or in whole, or am reading at the moment. They are all part of my personal collection except, "On the Construction, Organization and General Arrangements of Hospitals for the Insane" by Kirkbride.

Below you will find a key as to my personal reading status of these books.

(RP)=Read Part    (RM)=Read Most    (RN)=Reading Now   
(RA)=Read All    (POR)=Plan On Reading

Book Shelf

FEATURED BOOKS  
AAA

ACCESS ALL AREAS
a user's guide to the art of urban exploration
by Ninjalicious

"More than 250 pages of illustrated expert advice from Ninjalicious, the editor of Infiltration zine."

On the evening of Tuesday, August 23nd, 2005, Infiltration.org founder, and father of modern "urban exploration", Ninjalicious passed away after a losing battle with cancer. He was a great explorer, good friend and a wonderful human being. I'll miss you Ninj!

"Great people are those who make others feel that they, too, can become great." - Mark Twain (...and "Ninj" was nothing less than great.)

NOT COPYRIGHTED by TMP

AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY
OF THE ILLINOIS PUBLIC
MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES:
1847-2000

Joseph Mehr, Ph.D

Publisher: Trafford
Victoria, B.C. : Trafford, 2002.
ISBN: 1553952154
http://www.trafford.com/robots/02-0929.html

BOOK REVIEW

(RM)The Art of Asylum-Keeping
Thomas Story Kirkbride and the Origins of American Psychiatry

Pennsylvania Press, 1994
by Nancy Tomes
ISBN: 0812215397
Comments: A good book about Thomas Story Kirkbride, his beginnings, ideas, life and work. The "Kirkbride Plan" was one of the most enduring designs of asylum architecture and many buildings based on Kirbride's ideas, still stand today.

(RP)Masters of Bedlam
Princeton University Press,1996
by Authors: Andrew T. Scull , Charlotte MacKenzie , Nicholas Hervey
ISBN: 0691034117
Comments: I wasn't going to read this one, but after "Madness and Civilization", I thought it might be interesting historically.

(RA)Discovery of the Asylum
Social Order and Disorder in the New Republic
Little, Brown and Company, 1971
by David J. Rothman
ISBN: 0202307158
Comments: This book addresses the question, "How did changing colonial ideas contribute the the creation of asylums in America?" From family and societal care to institutionalization and incarceration, a truly interesting read about the changing views of children, the mentally ill, the poor, the elderly and the criminal in American history. One can only ask oneself, what's next?

(RA)Asylums
Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and other Inmates

Doubleday Anchor, 1961
by Erving Goffman
ISBN: 0385000162
Comments: One of my most favorite reads, so far. This book is a sociological view of "total institutions" focusing mainly on mental institutions. I believe it really gives one an idea of the social structure of institutionalization and points out many influential behaviors. One in particular that I found most interesting was the behavior of "stashing" items in various places within an institution and on an institution's grounds.

(RA)The History of Psychiatry:
An Evaluation of Psychiatric Thought and Practice from Prehistoric Times to the Present

Harper and Row, 1966
by Franz G. Allexander M.D. and Sheldon T. Selesnick, M.D.

Comments: Well, I stopped into a University of Chicago used bookstore and this one jumped off the shelf at me. Plus, it had some interesting pictures....and "from Prehistoric Times"? Well, what can I say? It grabbed my curiosity.

(RP)On the Construction, Organization and General Arrangements
of Hospitals for the Insane

(1st edition published in 1854)
2nd edition, Philadelphia, J. P. Lippencott, 1880
by Thomas Story Kirkbride
ISBN: 0608415502

Related Link:
Read some of this book online at kirkbridebuildings.com

(RA)The History of Elgin Mental Health Center
Evolution of a State Hospital

Crossroads Communications,1997
by William Briska, MSW
ISBN: 0916445453
Comments: An excellent book on the history of Elgin State Hospital, chalk full of photographs and information.
Related Link: http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/157/6/1029

(RP)Asylum, Prison, and Poorhouse
The Writings and Reform Work of Dorothea Dix in Illinois

South Illinois University Press, 1999
by David L. Lightner
ISBN: 0809321637
Comments:I was somewhat shocked to learn that Dorothea Dix was, basically a racist. She believed that African Americans were inferior, fairly immune to insanity and made other assumptions about a race of people that had once been made about the mentally ill in general. Another historical lesson learned.

(RN)The Mental Hospital
A Study of Institutional Participation in Psychiatric Illness and Treatment

Basic Books, Inc., 1954
by Alfred H.Stanton & Morris S. Schwartz
ISBN: NA

(POR) Mad in America:
Bad Science, Bad Medicine, and the Enduring Mistreatment of the Mentally Ill

Perseus Publishing (January, 2002)
by Robert Whitaker
ISBN: 0738203858

(RP)Therapy by Design
Implications of Architecture for Human Behavior

Charles C. Thomas Publishers, 1956
Compiled and edited by Lawrence R. Good, Saul M. Siegel, and Alfred Paul Bay
ISBN: NA

Comments: One of the authors, Alfred P. Bay, was Superintendent of Manteno State Hospital from 1947 to 1953. This is an interesting little book about the interior design and configuration of mental hospitals. This book is based on a project funded by NIHM. It has quite a few photographs and illustrations. In my opinion, most interior furnishings seem to be predictions of the modern cubicle.

(RA)Madness & Civilization
A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason

Vintage, 1973
by Michel Foucault
ISBN: 067972110X
Comments: This book is about the history of "madness", institutionalization and civilization. The history of the treatment of the mentally ill and the role of the medical professional in the asylum as a "thaumaturge" (performer of miracles or magical feats) is quite fascinating. Very interesting book.

(POR)The Private War of Mrs. Packard
Paragon House
by Barbara Sapinsley
ISBN: 1557783306
Comments: Although I have not yet read this book, I feel that the story of Mrs. Packard is a very important one. It is also interesting to note that she lived in Manteno, Illinois at the time she was committed to the asylum in Jacksonville. (I will write more after reading the book.)

(RA)Girl, Interrupted
Knopf Publishing Group or Vintage, 1993
by Susanna Kaysen
ISBN: 0679746048
Comments: After only seeing the motion picture about 5 times, I decided to read the book. If you haven't seen the movie, I highly suggest that you read the book first. If you have seen the movie, I highly suggest that you read the book which will fill you in on some things you missed in the movie. I think that each stand alone as individual works and really should not be compared. In my opinion, both are excellent but distinctly different.

(RP)Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania
Random House, 2002
by Andy Behrman
ISBN: 0375503587
Comments:
I picked this one up after reading bits of it online. Andy Behrman writes honestly, humorously and eloquently about his experiences and thoughts as a human being afflicted with manic depression.
http://www.electroboy.com

(RM)Scattered Remains
A Celebration of 750 Years of Bedlam

Tanjen, 1997
by Paul Pinn
ISBN 1901530051
Comments: This book is a collection of fictional short stories that are horrifying, yet intriguing. Reading it is like taking a most unwanted journey into the heart of insanity.

(POR) Wasted: The Plight of America's Unwanted Children
Ivan R. Dee, 1997
by Patrick T. Murphy
ISBN: 1566633338
Comments: Patrick T. Murphy was the Cook County Public Guardian, in Chicago, Illinois for many years. I believe that he is an outstanding person because of his intelligence, compassion and dedication to protecting the rights of children, the elderly, and the mentally ill.


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