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Recovery from Schizophrenia: Psychiatry and Political Economy

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(I have not yet read the second edition of this book but it is reasonable to assume that it is an updated version of the first edition, which is the book I am referring to.) This is an extraordinary book which reviews the entired field of social structure and mental illness. (In fact my only objection to the book is the title, which suggests a far narrower field than is actually covered in the work.) Warner seems to have read all the relevant literature and has the distinct advantage of being able to place studies of mental health in a social, historical and cross-cultural context. His analysis is thorough and creative and he makes a very persuasive case that the predominant causes of mental illness, including schizophrenia, are more deeply rooted in the social system than the myopic, insulated views of most psychiatrists, psychologists and therapists can envision. His arguments against the "social drift" hypothesis and other self serving illusions of contemporary psychotherapeutica reaserch are extremely important. His willingness to incorporate insights from a variety of social thinker, including Marx (yet, that Marx) give the book a deep analyitic resonance. It is not accidental that this book is not widely known for it does not fit easily into the reified bioligical accounts of mental illness that have been playing havoc with the field for the last 25 years or so.