Sylvia Plath, Friedrich Nietzsche, Eugene O'Neill, Jean-Paul Sartre, Enrico Caruso....Is there a link between creativity and madness? Seeking to answer this age-old question, The Price of Greatness explores the lives and achievements of over 1,000 extraordinary men and women. Filled with colorful anecdotes about the most eminent people of our times people from the arts, sciences, politics, business, sports, and the military this book provides a fascinating description of what makes some of us achieve greatness.
FREE Two-Day Shipping for Students. Learn more |
| |||||||||||||||
 Sell Back Your Copy for $17.45
Whether you buy it used on Amazon for $35.00 or somewhere else, you can sell it back through our Book Trade-In Program at the current price of $17.45.
Used Price$35.00
Trade-in Price$17.45
Price after
Trade-in$17.55 |
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"This is an excellent research report that should, once and for all, resolve senseless controversies about the correlation of creativity with psychopathology." --John Gedo, M.D. in The Review of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy
"... thought-provoking, informative, well-researched, and interesting... instructs like a textbook..., reads like a novel." --Margaret Chaplin, M.D.
"Rare, creative individuals are the spark of any culture. In The Price of Greatness, Professor Arnold Ludwig has compiled an unexampled statistical ensemble of life histories, taken from published biographies reviewed in the N.Y. Times Book Review. He applies his humane and experienced insight into human personality to the controversial relationship of psychopathology to creativity. There can be no doubt that severe pathology is crippling; and we know of too many tragic consequences of untreated or poorly managed disease. Creativity is likely to be multidimensional; and I am not sure there is so much commonality between the traits that define a rock star, a novelist, a prime minister, a general, or a scientist. Yet, perhaps in all of these fields, the greatest acclaim will entail an unceasing battle between Dionysius and Apollo, of imaginative iconoclasm with rigorous logical discipline and self-management. Ambition for that acclaim may also be impelled by, as well as perhaps lead to, a touch of the daft. There will be no further discussion of the psychology of creativity that would not be well-informed by Professor Ludwig's work." --Joshua Lederberg, Ph.D., M.D. (hon. c.), Nobel Laureate and past President, Rockefeller University
"The Price of Greatness is a fascinating book, a vast study of those things that go into the making of great artists, scientists, and leaders of society. The 'touch of madness' that affects so many great writers seems far less likely to be present in great scientists. Dr. Ludwig describes the possible reasons for this intriguing finding in a lucid and informed manner. The book is both enjoyable and important." --Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, author of Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament
"How many of us have fantasized about attaining fame and fortune? Who hasn't at one time or another dreamed of winning a Nobel Prize, an Olympic Gold Medal, or some other prestigious honor? Well, glory has its price, as Dr. Ludwig reveals in his monumental study of over a thousand eminent personalities of the current century. After reading this volume, the obscure and unrecognized among us may count their blessings."
"Is genius mad? Are creativity and insanity intertwined? Is stability a sign of mediocrity? These are ancient questions that have provoked controversy to the present day. In this impressive study of the lives of more than a thousand eminent personalities, Dr. Ludwig comes closer than anyone else to resolving this recurrent issue. Anyone who wants to know whether happiness is an enemy of greatness simply must read this book." --Dean Keith Simonton, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of California, Davis, Author of Greatness: Who Makes History and Why
"If ever a book was true to its title this one is. It is a masterful exploration of an age old controversy, which has bedeviled Western thinkers and social scientists for centuries as well as been the basis of unfounded bias and fear. Dr. Ludwig has taken the simple, and simplistic, belief that creativity and madness are invariably joined, and by unwinding its many strands of assumption, given us one of the few hard looks at the relationship. Judiciously applying up-to-date methodology and statistical analyses he has separated a number of broad popular ideas about creativity and creative persons into testable hypotheses. In doing this, what might seem to some as ironical, he has infused more 'honest' real life in to the creative process and creative persons, while he offers the reader a much realistic and cogent model of the achievement of eminence and the high levels of creative efforts behind it.
One closes this book with far more understanding and appreciation of those men and women who make their mark and enrich our lives. In the process, by reviewing in detail many studies of creativity and eminence based on less comprehensive samples of subjects and narrative analysis, and comparing them to his own sample of over 1,000 subjects of highly creative men and women, Arnold Ludwig has demonstrated the power and validity of two long standing scientific 'truths': First, the man and woman with facts almost always wins and settles the argument, and secondly, that science makes its greatest progress when a significant problem is investigated with powerful and appropriate empirical tools.
This is a rare and welcomed book. It is safe to say that laypersons, educators, clinicians, and professional researchers will be in Ludwig's debt for years to come." --Robert S. Albert, Ph.D., Past President of The Division, Psychology and the Arts, American Psychological Association, Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, Pitzer College
"Finally a book of great enough scope to address the relationship between creativity and mental illness analytically instead of anecdotally, and to place the subject within the broader contexts of family, education, personality, and profession. Full of insights and surprises, and based on the most rigorous scholarship, this book is certain to become the standard work in the field for decades to come." --Robert S. Root-Bernstein, Ph.D., Michigan State University, Author of Discovering, MacArthur Prize Fellow (1981-1986)
"The Price of Greatness takes a large step toward understanding the relationships among creativity, exceptional achievement,and mental health. Ludwig draws from what may be the most extensive study yet completed and can offer very convincing conclusions about mood disorders, suicide, alcoholism, and the general health of exceptionally creative persons. I am not exaggerating when I say that this book is required reading for anyone interested in the nature of creativity and greatness." --Mark A. Runco, Ph.D., Editor, Creativity Research Journal, Curator, Milken Creativity Museum Project
"... thought-provoking, informative, well-researched, and interesting... instructs like a textbook..., reads like a novel." --Margaret Chaplin, M.D.
"Rare, creative individuals are the spark of any culture. In The Price of Greatness, Professor Arnold Ludwig has compiled an unexampled statistical ensemble of life histories, taken from published biographies reviewed in the N.Y. Times Book Review. He applies his humane and experienced insight into human personality to the controversial relationship of psychopathology to creativity. There can be no doubt that severe pathology is crippling; and we know of too many tragic consequences of untreated or poorly managed disease. Creativity is likely to be multidimensional; and I am not sure there is so much commonality between the traits that define a rock star, a novelist, a prime minister, a general, or a scientist. Yet, perhaps in all of these fields, the greatest acclaim will entail an unceasing battle between Dionysius and Apollo, of imaginative iconoclasm with rigorous logical discipline and self-management. Ambition for that acclaim may also be impelled by, as well as perhaps lead to, a touch of the daft. There will be no further discussion of the psychology of creativity that would not be well-informed by Professor Ludwig's work." --Joshua Lederberg, Ph.D., M.D. (hon. c.), Nobel Laureate and past President, Rockefeller University
"The Price of Greatness is a fascinating book, a vast study of those things that go into the making of great artists, scientists, and leaders of society. The 'touch of madness' that affects so many great writers seems far less likely to be present in great scientists. Dr. Ludwig describes the possible reasons for this intriguing finding in a lucid and informed manner. The book is both enjoyable and important." --Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, author of Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament
"How many of us have fantasized about attaining fame and fortune? Who hasn't at one time or another dreamed of winning a Nobel Prize, an Olympic Gold Medal, or some other prestigious honor? Well, glory has its price, as Dr. Ludwig reveals in his monumental study of over a thousand eminent personalities of the current century. After reading this volume, the obscure and unrecognized among us may count their blessings."
"Is genius mad? Are creativity and insanity intertwined? Is stability a sign of mediocrity? These are ancient questions that have provoked controversy to the present day. In this impressive study of the lives of more than a thousand eminent personalities, Dr. Ludwig comes closer than anyone else to resolving this recurrent issue. Anyone who wants to know whether happiness is an enemy of greatness simply must read this book." --Dean Keith Simonton, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of California, Davis, Author of Greatness: Who Makes History and Why
"If ever a book was true to its title this one is. It is a masterful exploration of an age old controversy, which has bedeviled Western thinkers and social scientists for centuries as well as been the basis of unfounded bias and fear. Dr. Ludwig has taken the simple, and simplistic, belief that creativity and madness are invariably joined, and by unwinding its many strands of assumption, given us one of the few hard looks at the relationship. Judiciously applying up-to-date methodology and statistical analyses he has separated a number of broad popular ideas about creativity and creative persons into testable hypotheses. In doing this, what might seem to some as ironical, he has infused more 'honest' real life in to the creative process and creative persons, while he offers the reader a much realistic and cogent model of the achievement of eminence and the high levels of creative efforts behind it.
One closes this book with far more understanding and appreciation of those men and women who make their mark and enrich our lives. In the process, by reviewing in detail many studies of creativity and eminence based on less comprehensive samples of subjects and narrative analysis, and comparing them to his own sample of over 1,000 subjects of highly creative men and women, Arnold Ludwig has demonstrated the power and validity of two long standing scientific 'truths': First, the man and woman with facts almost always wins and settles the argument, and secondly, that science makes its greatest progress when a significant problem is investigated with powerful and appropriate empirical tools.
This is a rare and welcomed book. It is safe to say that laypersons, educators, clinicians, and professional researchers will be in Ludwig's debt for years to come." --Robert S. Albert, Ph.D., Past President of The Division, Psychology and the Arts, American Psychological Association, Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, Pitzer College
"Finally a book of great enough scope to address the relationship between creativity and mental illness analytically instead of anecdotally, and to place the subject within the broader contexts of family, education, personality, and profession. Full of insights and surprises, and based on the most rigorous scholarship, this book is certain to become the standard work in the field for decades to come." --Robert S. Root-Bernstein, Ph.D., Michigan State University, Author of Discovering, MacArthur Prize Fellow (1981-1986)
"The Price of Greatness takes a large step toward understanding the relationships among creativity, exceptional achievement,and mental health. Ludwig draws from what may be the most extensive study yet completed and can offer very convincing conclusions about mood disorders, suicide, alcoholism, and the general health of exceptionally creative persons. I am not exaggerating when I say that this book is required reading for anyone interested in the nature of creativity and greatness." --Mark A. Runco, Ph.D., Editor, Creativity Research Journal, Curator, Milken Creativity Museum Project
About the Author
Arnold M. Ludwig is the E.A. Edwards Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Kentucky Medical Center. He is the former winner of the prestigious Hofheimer Prize Award given by the American Psychiatric Association for his research on alcoholism and LSD. He is the author of seven books and over 100 articles or book chapters, covering such topics as altered states of consciousness, schizophrenia, hysteria, cravings, disability, sensory overload, and the nature of the self. His investigations over the past ten years have focused on the relationship of mental illness to creative achievement, as well as the nature of greatness.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
amazing synthesis of a mountain of information,
This review is from: The Price of Greatness: Resolving the Creativity and Madness Controversy (Hardcover)
Great book that the author poured heart and soul into through ten years of research. He states in the Preface that he spent this time investigating the link between mental illness and exceptional creative achievement. However, it's also about the characteristics--life histories, personality traits, etc--of people who achieve historical eminence in general. What are the characteristics of those who achieve the highest level of eminence? I'll name just two of them and not spoil the rest of it for you: the personality trait of contrariness, and the tendency to be a loner. What's most impressive about this book is the sheer volume of biographical information that the author read through in order to write this. He read extensively on about 1000 eminent people who lived in the 20th century, and then summarized the information in a concise and highly readable fashion. Overall, a great read for anyone remotely interested in the subjects of creativity, mental illness, and high achievement, as well as their relationship to one another. Author of Adjust Your Brain: A Practical Theory for Maximizing Mental Health.
11 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating book....one of the Best books on the subject!!,
By Skot Sheppard (Morgantown, WV USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Price of Greatness: Resolving the Creativity and Madness Controversy (Hardcover)
A very detailed book, the best I have read on the subject and one of the best books I've Ever read. It was very hard to put down. An Incredible book!
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence:
Salvador Dali said, "The only difference between me and a 'madman' is that I am not mad. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
famous first borns, initial professional success, eminent offspring, nonartistic professions, lifetime creative achievement, assorted results, first professional success, relative eminence, enterprising types, investigative types, lower elite, musical entertainers, first boors, upper elite, first boms, innovative accomplishments, eminent people, famous companions, social figure, artistic types, early parental loss, posthumous recognition, eminent persons, nonfiction writers, musical composers Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Jean-Paul Sartre, Leo Tolstoy, World War, Ernest Hemingway, Nobel Prize, Pablo Picasso, Truman Capote, Bertrand Russell, Eugene O'Neill, Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, Alexander Fleming, Andy Warhol, Charlie Chaplin, Duke Ellington, Ezra Pound, Jim Morrison, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Claude Debussy, Frank Lloyd Wright, Fred Astaire, Glenn Gould New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Salvador Dali said, "The only difference between me and a 'madman' is that I am not mad. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
famous first borns, initial professional success, eminent offspring, nonartistic professions, lifetime creative achievement, assorted results, first professional success, relative eminence, enterprising types, investigative types, lower elite, musical entertainers, first boors, upper elite, first boms, innovative accomplishments, eminent people, famous companions, social figure, artistic types, early parental loss, posthumous recognition, eminent persons, nonfiction writers, musical composers Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Jean-Paul Sartre, Leo Tolstoy, World War, Ernest Hemingway, Nobel Prize, Pablo Picasso, Truman Capote, Bertrand Russell, Eugene O'Neill, Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, Alexander Fleming, Andy Warhol, Charlie Chaplin, Duke Ellington, Ezra Pound, Jim Morrison, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Claude Debussy, Frank Lloyd Wright, Fred Astaire, Glenn Gould New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 100
books:
See all 100 books this book cites
24
books
cite this book:
See all 24 books citing this book
- Cradles of Eminence: A Provocative Study of the Childhoods of over 400 Famous Twentieth-Century Men and Women by Victor Goertzel on 5 pages
- Hereditary Genius (Classics in Psychology) by Francis Galton on page 17, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Manic-Depressive Illness by Frederick K. Goodwin M.D. in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- The Obstacle Race: The Fortunes of Women Painters and Their Work by Germaine Greer on page 88, and Back Matter
- Birth by Ernst in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 100 books this book cites
- Strange Brains and Genius: The Secret Lives Of Eccentric Scientists And Madmen by Clifford A. Pickover on 4 pages
- A Beginner's Guide to Immortality: Extraordinary People, Alien Brains, and Quantum Resurrection by Clifford A. Pickover in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Surviving Manic Depression: A Manual on Bipolar Disorder for Patients, Families, and Providers by E. Fuller Torrey in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Screenwriting From the Soul: Letters to an Aspiring Screenwriter by Richard W. Krevolin on page 33, and Back Matter
- Surviving Manic Depression: A Manual on Bipolar Disorder for Patients, Families, and Providers by E. Fuller Torrey M.D. in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 24 books citing this book
Books on Related Topics
(learn more)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
So You'd Like to...
|
|
Look for Similar Items by Category
- Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health
- Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Psychology & Counseling
- Books > History > Historical Study > History of Ideas
- Books > New & Used Textbooks > Medicine & Health Sciences > Medicine > Clinical > Mental Health
- Books > New & Used Textbooks > Social Sciences > Psychology
- Books > New & Used Textbooks > Social Sciences > Sociology
- Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences
- Books > Science & Math > Behavioral Sciences
