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The Insanity Offense: How America's Failure to Treat the Seriously Mentally Ill Endangers Its Citizens 1st Edition
A leading expert on mental illness outlines the tragic consequences of deinstitutionalization and sounds the call for reform.
Beginning in the 1960s in the United States, scores of patients with severe psychiatric disorders were discharged from public mental hospitals. At the same time, activists forced changes in commitment laws that made it impossible to treat half of the patients that left the hospital. The combined effect was profoundly destructive. Today, among homeless persons, at least one-third are severely mentally ill; among the incarcerated, at least one-tenth. Of those individuals living in our communities, many are the victims of violent crime. Other untreated individuals commit crimes, including murder and assault. In The Insanity Offense, E. Fuller Torrey takes full stock of this phenomenon, exploring the causes and consequences as he weaves together narratives of individual tragedies in three states with sobering national data on our failure to treat the mentally ill. In the book's final chapters, Torrey outlines what needs to be done to reverse this ongoing―and accelerating―disaster.- ISBN-100393066584
- ISBN-13978-0393066586
- Edition1st
- PublisherW. W. Norton & Company
- Publication dateJune 17, 2008
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions6.5 x 1.1 x 9.6 inches
- Print length288 pages
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Product details
- Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (June 17, 2008)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 288 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0393066584
- ISBN-13 : 978-0393066586
- Item Weight : 1.2 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.5 x 1.1 x 9.6 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,883,322 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,462 in Medical Mental Illness
- #3,783 in Social Services & Welfare (Books)
- #4,349 in Medical Psychology Pathologies
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., is a research psychiatrist specializing in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. He is the executive director of the Stanley Medical Research Institute, the founder of the Treatment Advocacy Center, a professor of psychiatry at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and the author of twenty books. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book engaging and informative. They appreciate the thorough review of research and practical recommendations backed by case studies. The book is considered an excellent reference for mental health and law enforcement professionals.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book engaging and informative. They say it's an important read for mental health and law enforcement professionals, as well as governments officials. The case studies are detailed and the book does a good job of illustrating the problems with involuntary commitment.
"Torrey's eye-opening expose' about all that is wrong with our mental health system is a long overdue discussion...." Read more
"...through this book this book is so real it's scary, not only is it informative but it's hard to put this book down" Read more
"...There are several case studies detailed in the book which are really intriguing. The book is easy to follow, and reads like a fiction book...." Read more
"Very interesting and compelling argument for involuntary commitment under certain circumstances...." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's reliance on research and practical recommendations. They find the review of research and case studies useful. The book provides clear information backed by research and statistics. It is an excellent reference for anyone interested in US mental health.
"...is the answer, and this author is armed with the stories and stats to convince you. The downside is the cheap format...." Read more
"...The book is easy to follow, and reads like a fiction book. It's a great primer for anyone interesting in the US mental health system." Read more
"Very interesting and compelling argument for involuntary commitment under certain circumstances...." Read more
"...Dr. Torrey provides clear , information backed by research and numerous case studies, and presents the issues in a way all can comprehend." Read more
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Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2008This author is not kidding...he really tells it as it is, but with a light touch that may miss the mark. State legislators need to be slammed up side the head to get their attention and I fear he is a little too politically correct. As the father of a middle-aged bi-polar daughter, I was blindsided by the impact of her disease. She is one of the lucky ones who found a qualified psychiatrist and medications that are working to keep her off the streets, but barely. Unless you experience the family impact of mental illness most people just walk on by. The civil rights lawyers and courts who curtailed mandatory treatment are the real criminals in this crisis and the author is too easy on them. Mental illness still is a great social taboo in this culture of control and cure. When neither are possible our government seems paralized to respond. Unfortunately, I fear that it will take a lot more homeless people and mentally ill criminal behavior to get the needed attention and reforms. But, hey, never forget that a few highly dedicated people can change things. Meantime, you suffer and hope. Read this book and get involved. Contact the National Alliance for Mental Illness in your area.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2013Torrey's eye-opening expose' about all that is wrong with our mental health system is a long overdue discussion. Anyone who reads this book who has or has not experienced mental illness personally or through associations with friends or family members will have to agree that the system for dealing with these life-threatening illnesses is badly broken. Mental illness has been shamefully dismissed as something other than the biological illness of the brain that it is for far too long. Time to dish the stigma associated with it and confront it head on as we have with cancer, AIDS, dementia, diabetes, and all of the other illnesses which get priority with our attention and resources.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2013Because I have a 44+ year Prison Ministry AND have a daughter who has Bi-polar Affective Disorder - and is doing GREAT! I still write letters to several inmates still serving.2
And just as I was finishing the book, I received a letter from one of them with several copies of letters he was sending on behalf of his brother, who is in another prison - and had spent 20 years in SOLITARY CONFINEMENT because he was mentally ill! I wrote several of my own letters on his behalf. Your book and my circumstances wove together perfectly. (But I haven't received an answer to any of my letters.... heavy sigh......
- Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2013This book is frightening, but right here is the answer to what is going on with the mass murders. Psychotic control, not gun control, is the answer, and this author is armed with the stories and stats to convince you.
The downside is the cheap format. The book is hard to read because of little black/white contrast and inexpensive paper. In fact, it is a deterrent to reading it; I would otherwise have finished it already, I'm sure.
But if you are looking for evidence and historical precedence for the problem we have here in our society--- the huge problem--- read this book.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2020Im almost half way through this book this book is so real it's scary, not only is it informative but it's hard to put this book down
Im almost half way through this book this book is so real it's scary, not only is it informative but it's hard to put this book down
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- Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2013The book rates five stars, but I can't say I loved it. It is depressing that our inexcusable treatment of the mentally ill has continued for so long without correction. Torrey knows the problem, how widespread it is, and who caused it and continues to thwart a decent solution. The book has the data to evaluate the problem, but it cannot correct it.
- Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2016This book does a wonderful job at illustrating the problems with the mental health system in America. There are several case studies detailed in the book which are really intriguing. The book is easy to follow, and reads like a fiction book. It's a great primer for anyone interesting in the US mental health system.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2011The Tuscon shootings have spurred serious questions about why the mentally-ill shooter was free. After 40 pages or so of alarming anecdotes, this book becomes a highly repetitive compilation of more alarming anecdotes documenting the horrific unintended consequences of emptying our mental institutions starting in the 1960's and moving forward. If you are looking for ways to change the status quo in the treatment of the seriously mentally ill while protecting families and society from the dangerous, current white papers online from any number of sources will better help you find solutions. This work served well in helping identify the problem, its genesis and current manifestations - but little to direct or crystalize any energy around needed, practical legal changes.
