American Nervousness, 1903: An Anecdotal History [Paperback]

Tom Lutz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1981 | ISBN-10: 0801498783 | ISBN-13: 978-0801498787

Hysteria, insomnia, hypochondria, asthma, skin rashes, hay fever, premature baldness, inebriety, nervous exhaustion, brain-collapse--all were symptoms of neurasthenia, the bizarre psychophysiological illness that plagued America's intellectual and economic elite around the turn of the century.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 223 pages
• Publisher: Cornell University Press (December 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801498783
• ISBN-13: 978-0801498787
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,578,163 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In the Gay 90s they suffered from Neurasthenia, March 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: American Nervousness, 1903: An Anecdotal History (Hardcover)

This book was a big surprise to me. I did not know that in the late 1800s through the 1920s, the prevaling medical analysis of mental disorder was called neurasthenia. The (pre-)psychological world of the time believed that mental health derived from a balance of nervous energy in the body. Too much? Excitement, hysteria, insanity. Too little? Lethargy, melancholia, death. This non-empirical "science" was White, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant Gentry Male-centric. And the "American" variant of the disease was the worst because of our modern conveniences like trains and telegraphs. 1903 may stand as the epicenter of this medical marvel. Tom Lutz uses examples of 1903 events grouped as anecdotes about public figures like Teddy Roosevelt and Theodore Dressier. This device effectively demonstrates the ubiquity of neurasthenia in people's perceptions of private and public events.

A woman might be prescribed a month in bed drinking milk to combat an excess of nervous energy (ambition?), while her husband might go ride horses out West to lift him out of a professional rut. Sounds fair, right?

The polital conservative movement has roots in the period. "Conservatism" attempted to reuse excess nervous energy by spending excess business income on business expansion. This justified low wages in an early trickle-down mentality.

One caveat - Tom Lutz's writing is incisive and revealing but it's also erudite and scholastic at times. He carefully illuminates the influence of the most important social/medical theory of the time - keep your thinking hat on.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In the Gay 90s they suffered from Neurasthenia, March 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: American Nervousness, 1903: An Anecdotal History (Hardcover)

This book was a big surprise to me. I did not know that in the late 1800s through the 1920s, the prevaling medical analysis of mental disorder was called neurasthenia. The (pre-)psychological world of the time believed that mental health derived from a balance of nervous energy in the body. Too much? Excitement, hysteria, insanity. Too little? Lethargy, melancholia, death. This non-empirical "science" was White, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant Gentry Male-centric. And the "American" variant of the disease was the worst because of our modern conveniences like trains and telegraphs. 1903 may stand as the epicenter of this medical marvel. Tom Lutz uses examples of 1903 events grouped as anecdotes about public figures like Teddy Roosevelt and Theodore Dressier. This device effectively demonstrates the ubiquity of neurasthenia in people's perceptions of private and public events.

A woman might be prescribed a month in bed drinking milk to combat an excess of nervous energy (ambition?), while her husband might go ride horses out West to lift him out of a professional rut. Sounds fair, right?

The polital conservative movement has roots in the period. "Conservatism" attempted to reuse excess nervous energy by spending excess business income on business expansion. This justified low wages in an early trickle-down mentality.

One caveat - Tom Lutz's writing is incisive and revealing but it's also erudite and scholastic at times. He carefully illuminates the influence of the most important social/medical theory of the time - keep your thinking hat on.