Man Against Himself [Paperback]

Karl Menninger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 14, 1956

In this landmark book, the impulse toward self-destructiveness is examined as a misdirection of the instinct for survival, a turning inward of the aggressive behavior developed for self-preservation. "One of the most absorbing books I have read in recent years" (Joseph Wood Krutch, The Nation). Index.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Karl Augustus Menninger (July 22, 1893 - July 18, 1990), born in Topeka, Kansas, was an American psychiatrist and a member of the famous Menninger family of psychiatrists who founded the Menninger Foundation and the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas.

During his career, Menninger wrote a number of influential books. In his first book, The Human Mind, Menninger argued that psychiatry was a science and that the mentally ill were only slightly different than healthy individuals. In The Crime of Punishment, Menninger argued that crime was preventable through psychiatric treatment; punishment was a brutal and inefficient relic of the past. He advocated treating offenders like the mentally ill.

His subsequent books include The Vital Balance, Man Against Himself and Love Against Hate.

Product Details

• Paperback: 444 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (September 14, 1956)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156565145
• ISBN-13: 978-0156565141
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #214,429 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #97 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Death & Grief > Suicide

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book change my life - literally, March 18, 2006

By 

Anonymous "Anonymous" (Withheld (for obvious reasons)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Man Against Himself (Paperback)

This review is not a hoax: I read this book while in solitary confinement for assaulting another prisoner. It was my first exposure to analysis of self-destructive behavior and its damning cyclical pattern. I was a two-time loser. A career criminal who had followed the all too familiar progression from juvenile home, jail, to prison. This book change my life. After serving a decade and a half in prison, I am now at the top of my class in graduate school. It is never too late to pick up the pieces, but we must first learn what those pieces are and how and why they were smashed into pieces in the first place. This book will teach you how to do just that.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not the Usual Psycho-babble; A sensible look at self-violenc, July 15, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Man Against Himself (Hardcover)

Menninger discusses suicide and other forms
of self-directed violence. Although he
neatly categorizes motivations for suicide
(1. the wish to kill, 2. the wish to be killed
3. the wish to no longer exist),
he does not deny the complexity and
mystery of many of the extreme acts
used as examples. Whether or not
one agrees with his point of view,
the book provides well reasoned opinions
and a calm look at a subject that can
be too overwhelming to deal with plainly.

The book is also fascinating from a historical
perspective. It contains a zillion examples
of horrifying & bizarre self-destructive acts
that were collected from national magazines & newspapers
several decades ago (e.g. 30's & 40's).
It's enough to make one think that the "talk
show" culture of today is not something new
but just the pendulum swinging back to a place it's been before.<BR

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Read - especially for you Freudian theorists, June 5, 2001

By 

Angela Tomassetti - See all my reviews

This review is from: Man Against Himself (Paperback)

Not exactly the place to start but for those interested in an easier read this is it. Karl Menninger is awfully Freudian but this becomes a bit of a page turner. Introspective, incredibly insightful and definitely worth the time and money. This is an essential for your collection. If you like this one you will love his "Love Against Hate" (but it may be out of print).