From Library Journal
Here is a book in the alternative medicine field in which the inventor of the method is more interesting than the system he devised. Dr. Milton Trager is the inventor of "Tragerwork," a bodywork technique that cannot easily be defined. A Trager practitioner feels how a client is holding his or her body and applies various movements to loosen stiff joints and muscles. Before going to medical school at the age of 42, Trager had been a postal worker, an actor, a boxer, and an acrobat. Calling his technique "beach acrobatics" and "mentastics" (mental gymnastics), Trager developed his approach by observing himself and others running at the beach. In this biography, Liskin, a Trager practitioner and assistant professor of clinical family medicine at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, describes Trager's struggle in getting this method of massage accepted by mainstream medicine. Liskin makes no sensational claims about his approach and in fact describes Trager in his opening chapter as a man in his mid-eighties using a walker in a retirement facility. Still, his book tells a fascinating story. For alternative medicine collections.?Natalie Kupferberg, Ferris State Univ. Lib., Big Rapids, Mich.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Milton Trager developed his concepts rhythmic harmonization and mentastics out of his experiences with acrobatics, boxing, and massage. The resulting Trager approach is primarily a mental process, but it also involves such physical elements as touching, stroking, and feeling. Liskin gives us a lively picture of Trager, his supportive wives Marcie and Emily, and his method and how it grew. Unfortunately, Trager, who battled his way through medical education, seems not to be well organized and relies heavily on his mental and psychological relationships rather than detailed planning. The downside of this disposition is that he does not do well in formal meetings; the upside, that he shines in one-on-one teaching and practice. A growing body of Trager students and instructors has provided structure for his method and helped it make an impact. Those who have been treated with or heard of the Trager approach will be informed and even entertained by Liskin's effort. William Beatty
