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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 150
EAN num: 9780029286678
ISBN number: 0029286670
Label: Free Press
Manufacturer: Free Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 420
Printing Date: June 07, 1993
Publishing house: Free Press
Release Date: February 09, 1970
Sale Popularity Level: 811456
Studio: Free Press
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
The very first book to put the physical symptoms of stress in their historical andcultural context, Shorter's fascinating history shows how patients throughoutthe centuries have experienced symptoms of stress in tandem with the culturalshifts of larger society.
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Rated by buyers 
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This is a very well researched book which is also very easy and pleasant to read. The author has scoured libraries for contemporary accounts of psychosomatic illness, mostly from physicians but sometimes from patients as well.
Shorter describes the history of psychosomatic illness from the very first written accounts up to the present day. In doing so he shows how theories have changed over the centuries, and also how the symptoms themselves have changed as patients unconsciously "choose" which symptoms will be believed (although I have my doubts about whether or not this is actually the case).
The book contains many accounts of psychosomatic illness, some of which are quite entertaining (although probably not for the patients themselves).
My only criticism of the book is the lack of science. Shorter doesn't try to give any theories about the nature of psychosomatic illness and seems to think that all psychosomatic symptoms are simply generated by the unconscious mind, which can change them at will. This seems to go against known physiology, which shows that certain psychosomatic reactions (such as the defecation response to fear) are hard-wired into the nervous system and happen in animals as well as humans. Perhaps there are different types of psychosomatic illness with different causes and different physiology, but Shorter doesn't address this. While this isn't a major shortcoming for a book that only professes to discuss the history of psychosomatic illness, Shorter does give the impression of having a mildly negative opinion of the "somatizers" he describes.
Overall, however, it is a very good read and I couldn't put it down. For anyone at all interested in psychosomatic illness this book is a must-have.
Rated by buyers 
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The author has successfully applied an historian's long range perspective to currents fads and trends in health care. His view will save us from the laughter of our grandchildren and perhaps keep us and them from making the same mistakes over and over. This is history that is useful today. History as a prescription for todays ills.
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