Max Wertheimer and Gestalt Theory [Hardcover]

Michael Wertheimer (Author), D. Brett King (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0765802589 | ISBN-13: 978-0765802583 | Publication Date: December 15, 2004

In Max Wertheimer and Gestalt Theory, King and Wertheimer trace the origins of Gestalt thought, demonstrating its continuing importance in fifteen chapters and several supplements to these chapters. They begin by reviewing Wertheimers ancestry, family, and childhood in central Europe, and his formal education. They elaborate on his activities during the period in which he developed the ideas that later became central to Gestalt psychology, documenting the formal emergence of this school of thought and tracing its development during World War I. The maturation of the Gestalt school at the University of Berlin during 1922-29 is discussed in detail.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 438 pages
• Publisher: Transaction Publishers (December 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765802589
• ISBN-13: 978-0765802583
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,609,682 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, fascinating, important, May 29, 2006

By 

David H. Peterzell "Ph.D., Ph.D." (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Max Wertheimer and Gestalt Theory (Hardcover)

I hope to write a longer review when I have time, but here goes. I ordered this book a couple months ago and have been referring to it constantly.

Gestalt psychologists -- and by this I mean the original variety -- are among history's most fascinating and deep psychologists. This might not be evident from the few tidbits that show up in most basic psychology texts. But one hint that does get passed down frequently is that Abraham Maslow viewed Wertheimer as one of the few "self-actualized" people he had met. This book paints a portrait of the heroes of Gestalt psychology, and their profound outlooks on science, life and everything. They were creative, courageous, outrageous, profound... and human. Their long-neglected ideas were important then and they are important now.

This is Michael Wertheimer's long-awaited biography of his beloved and long-deceased father, completed with his long-time research collaborator, Brett King. I remember seeing him, and later them, work on the enormous project when I was a graduate student in the 1980s and 1990s in Boulder, Colorado. Professor Wertheimer's offices were cluttered with document after document related to his father and other Gestalt psychologists. The Gestalt/Wertheimer story was remarkably intricate, and it was clear that Professor Wertheimer wanted to do justice to the story. Well, the resulting book is remarkable, and I recommend it strongly.

Another book on Gestaltists that I recommend strongly - Ley's book on Wolfgang Kohler and the Apes of Tenerife.

Oct 16, 2006: New Book/translation of a classic and important Gestalt text:

LAWS OF SEEING
by Wolfgang Metzger (originally published 1936)
Translated by Lothar Spillmann, Steven Lehar, Mimsey
Stromeyer, and Michael Wertheimer
MIT Press.

I just ordered the Metzger/Spillmann et al. book.

I think it is great that there is so much "new" material on the great Gestalt thinkers. Taking a deeper look at Gestalt thinking has been well worth it. The school's thinking was much more deep and significant than the cartoon versions that are found in many textbooks.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Max Wertheimer and Gestalt Theory, December 6, 2007

By 

Stephanie Sabar (Los Angeles, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Max Wertheimer and Gestalt Theory (Paperback)

I originally bought this because of my interest in Gestalt Theory, but found myself even more taken by the story of Wertheimer's life, his feeling for justice, and his intellectual depth and breadth. A fascinating memoir!