Seeing the Insane [Paperback]

Sander L. Gilman (Author), Eric T. Carlson M. D. (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 1996

Seeing the Insane is a richly detailed cultural history of madness and art in the Western world, showing how the portrayal of stereotypes has both reflected and shaped the perception and treatment of the mentally disturbed.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Mixing art criticism with psychology, Gilman examines how stereotypes of mental illness have been portrayed through visual images.

Copyright 1996 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Sander L. Gilman is Henry R. Luce Professor of the Liberal Arts in Human Biology at the University of Chicago. The late Eric T. Carlson, M.D., was a clinical professor of psychiatry at New York Hospital–Cornell Medical Center.

Product Details

• Paperback: 253 pages
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (September 28, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080327064X
• ISBN-13: 978-0803270640
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #793,784 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary Indeed, December 15, 2001

By 

Amanda Chesworth (New Mexico, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Seeing the Insane (Paperback)

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book - both for its artwork and for the descriptive text and content. The fact that it is in black and white does not detract in any way, shape or form from the enjoyment of browsing through its pages. It has become one of my favorite books that I recommend to others with a diversity of interests - mental states, the architecture and design of asylums and sanitariums, the questionable diagnoses and treatments of mental illness through the ages, the abuse and exploitation of vulnerability, authentic facial expressions of great terror, pain and suffering, and the misguided views and prejudice of various historical periods. It even makes a fine coffee table book for those of us that are a little out of the ordinary.