R.D. Laing: A Biography [Paperback]

Adrian Charles Laing (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1997

Laing was one of the most controversial and innovative psychiatrists of modern times. Written by his son, this is the first comprehensive, candid, and objective biography of the pioneer psychologist and guru who died in 1989. This definitive study discusses Laing's successes and failures, his troubled personal life, his decline and use of alcohol and drugs. - Publishers Weekly calls the book a sad, revelatory portrait.""A thorough assessment of his work is included, based on the author's years of research and interviews with Laing's close associates. In the mid-60s, he became famous for his experiments with LSD. In the `70s he studied Zen Buddhism, published poetry, recorded an LP, and ran rebirthing workshops in Europe, Britain, and the US. These activities made him a guru of radical chic. ""He did what no other succeeded in doing in this era of mass communication. He gave a voice to madness."" - Psychiatric Bulletin.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British psychiatrist, guru, LSD therapist and critic of mainstream psychotherapy with his theory of madness?one that questioned the sanity of society itself?Ronald Laing (1927-1989) neglected and abused his own family, according to this painfully candid, demythologizing biography written by the second of his six sons. Ronald Laing's relationship with his undemonstrative mother left him feeling emotionally deprived and bewildered throughout his life. In the mid-1960s, he transformed a London settlement house into a center for schizophrenics, who were given hallucinogenic drugs under supervision; yet it became a refuge mainly for dropouts attracted to Laing's radical-chic charisma. His wife, Anne, humiliated by the open secret of his having a girlfriend, left him in 1966, taking the children, including Adrian, then nine years old. Laing's last two decades were a "constant blur" of touring, drinking binges and disruptive behavior, reports the author, a lawyer in London, who writes seemingly without bitterness in a sad, revelatory portrait.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

Any reader with an interest in the controversial psychiatrist's life will find R. D. Laing an important biographical acquisition. The foundations of Laing's unorthodox views and his unusual studies are probed in an exciting coverage. -- Midwest Book Review --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Pr (March 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560251050
• ISBN-13: 978-1560251057
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,237,106 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars nice work, August 13, 2002

By 

Author Brian Wallace (Mind Transmission, Inc.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: R.D. Laing: A Biography (Paperback)

a most enjoyable, penetrating look into the mind of a genius. We see the beauty of Laing's thought and his amazing contributions to the field of mental health. We are treated to a thorough character assessment and loving, if at times probing, analysis of what Laing was all about.

This work is written in a conversational but educated tone that lends itself nicely to the subject matter.

Highly recommended if you have not read all the others.