34 used & new from $1.19
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
American Nervousness, 1903: An Anecdotal History
 
Customer image from Paco Alameda "ballisticrose" 
See 1 customer image
Share your own customer images
I own the rights to this title and would like to make it available again through Amazon.
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.
 
  

American Nervousness, 1903: An Anecdotal History (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


3 new from $39.94 28 used from $1.19 3 collectible from $10.00

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
  Hardcover, May 31, 1991 -- $39.94 $1.19
  Paperback, January 31, 1993 -- $3.98 $2.25

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Rebirth of a Nation: The Making of Modern America, 1877-1920 (American History)

Rebirth of a Nation: The Making of Modern America, 1877-1920 (American History)

by Jackson Lears
3.6 out of 5 stars (9)  $18.47
Shattered Nerves Doctors, Patients, and Depression in Victorian England

Shattered Nerves Doctors, Patients, and Depression in Victorian England

by Janet Oppenheim
4.0 out of 5 stars (1)  $35.00
Before Freud: Neurasthenia and the American Medical Community, 1870-1910

Before Freud: Neurasthenia and the American Medical Community, 1870-1910

by Francis G. Gosling
3.0 out of 5 stars (2) 
The History of Sexuality, Vol. 3: The Care of the Self

The History of Sexuality, Vol. 3: The Care of the Self

by Michel Foucault
3.7 out of 5 stars (3)  $10.20
Culture and Depression: Studies in the Anthropology and Cross-Cultural Psychiatry of Affect and Disorder (Comparative Studies of Health Systems and Medical Care)

Culture and Depression: Studies in the Anthropology and Cross-Cultural Psychiatry of Affect and Disorder (Comparative Studies of Health Systems and Medical Care)

by Arthur Kleinman
1.0 out of 5 stars (1)  $31.59
› Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Hysteria, insomnia, hypochondria, asthma, skin rashes, hay fever, premature baldness, inebriety, nervous exhaustion, brain-collapse--all were symptoms of neurasthenia, the bizarre psychophysiological illness that plagued America's intellectual and economic elite around the turn of the century. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 344 pages
  • Publisher: Cornell Univ Pr; 1st ed edition (June 1991)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0801425816
  • ISBN-13: 978-0801425813
  • Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,419,052 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category: (What's this?)

    #96 in  Books > History > United States > 20th Century > 1900s-1920s

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

More About the Author

Tom Lutz
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

› Visit Amazon's Tom Lutz Page

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

American Nervousness, 1903: An Anecdotal History
94% buy the item featured on this page:
American Nervousness, 1903: An Anecdotal History 4.0 out of 5 stars (2)
Doing Nothing: A History of Loafers, Loungers, Slackers, and Bums in America
6% buy
Doing Nothing: A History of Loafers, Loungers, Slackers, and Bums in America 4.0 out of 5 stars (10)
$3.60
Explore similar items

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).
 
(7)
(4)
(4)
(3)
(3)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

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 Reviews

2 Reviews
5 star:    (0)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars In the Gay 90s they suffered from Neurasthenia, March 3, 2001
By A Customer
This book was a big surprise to me. I did not know that in the late 1800s through the 1920s, the prevaling medical analysis of mental disorder was called neurasthenia. The (pre-)psychological world of the time believed that mental health derived from a balance of nervous energy in the body. Too much? Excitement, hysteria, insanity. Too little? Lethargy, melancholia, death. This non-empirical "science" was White, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant Gentry Male-centric. And the "American" variant of the disease was the worst because of our modern conveniences like trains and telegraphs. 1903 may stand as the epicenter of this medical marvel. Tom Lutz uses examples of 1903 events grouped as anecdotes about public figures like Teddy Roosevelt and Theodore Dressier. This device effectively demonstrates the ubiquity of neurasthenia in people's perceptions of private and public events.

A woman might be prescribed a month in bed drinking milk to combat an excess of nervous energy (ambition?), while her husband might go ride horses out West to lift him out of a professional rut. Sounds fair, right?

The polital conservative movement has roots in the period. "Conservatism" attempted to reuse excess nervous energy by spending excess business income on business expansion. This justified low wages in an early trickle-down mentality.

One caveat - Tom Lutz's writing is incisive and revealing but it's also erudite and scholastic at times. He carefully illuminates the influence of the most important social/medical theory of the time - keep your thinking hat on.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars In the Gay 90s they suffered from Neurasthenia, March 3, 2001
By A Customer
This book was a big surprise to me. I did not know that in the late 1800s through the 1920s, the prevaling medical analysis of mental disorder was called neurasthenia. The (pre-)psychological world of the time believed that mental health derived from a balance of nervous energy in the body. Too much? Excitement, hysteria, insanity. Too little? Lethargy, melancholia, death. This non-empirical "science" was White, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant Gentry Male-centric. And the "American" variant of the disease was the worst because of our modern conveniences like trains and telegraphs. 1903 may stand as the epicenter of this medical marvel. Tom Lutz uses examples of 1903 events grouped as anecdotes about public figures like Teddy Roosevelt and Theodore Dressier. This device effectively demonstrates the ubiquity of neurasthenia in people's perceptions of private and public events.

A woman might be prescribed a month in bed drinking milk to combat an excess of nervous energy (ambition?), while her husband might go ride horses out West to lift him out of a professional rut. Sounds fair, right?

The polital conservative movement has roots in the period. "Conservatism" attempted to reuse excess nervous energy by spending excess business income on business expansion. This justified low wages in an early trickle-down mentality.

One caveat - Tom Lutz's writing is incisive and revealing but it's also erudite and scholastic at times. He carefully illuminates the influence of the most important social/medical theory of the time - keep your thinking hat on.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums

Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)

Look for Similar Items by Category

Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Books by subject:


























i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...
 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.



Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.