Outerwear Edit from Shopbop
To share your reaction on this item, open the Amazon app from the App Store or Google Play on your phone.
Add Prime to get Fast, Free delivery
Amazon prime logo
Buy new:
-19% $18.60
FREE delivery Saturday, January 25 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$18.60 with 19 percent savings
List Price: $22.95
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Saturday, January 25 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35. Order within 3 hrs 25 mins
In Stock
$$18.60 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$18.60
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
30-day refund/replacement
30-day refund/replacement
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$16.74
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Tuesday, January 28 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or Prime members get FREE delivery Thursday, January 23. Order within 3 hrs 25 mins.
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$18.60 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$18.60
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Edward Shorter
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

From Paralysis to Fatigue: A History of Psychosomatic Illness in the Modern Era Paperback – June 7, 1993

by Edward Shorter (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 28 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$18.60","priceAmount":18.60,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"18","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"60","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"Idw19Vxg6bPSoQMrbaI%2FPS5LsFcx%2FlLK8n9Vxhm99HiUQFb98bnD8OVkbktzNaOumk6ep%2FBIb7B7L72nakocyrTI7s4iFjhFb8QU22SCzEa1snk%2BaEedx%2FH7xocfGtsIpPVSBxQFTcE%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$16.74","priceAmount":16.74,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"16","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"74","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"Idw19Vxg6bPSoQMrbaI%2FPS5LsFcx%2FlLKEiVXsrKB3v6XGEgLiLwUNJCR5RnvWdGHPauBCpUudt9bjSLu5yjL3W7rsYMjndCECioyai3%2FRiGaBBBZTo8vUOUcY1mUR7ljaFGRdv%2BGwsIsnEx5GgSuYs74W45KMQqReBRuFdRcVvitshJqDbiuHFtoGAwIQvvD","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

This fascinating history of psychosomatic disorders shows how patients throughout the centuries have produced symptoms in tandem with the cultural shifts of the larger society. Newly popularized diseases such as "chronic fatigue syndrome" and "total allergy syndrome" are only the most recent examples of patients complaining of ailments that express the truths about the culture in which they live.
Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    420 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Free Press
  4. Publication date
    June 7, 1993
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1.1 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0029286670
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0029286678
  8. See all details
Next slide of product details
The%20Amazon%20Book%20Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Edward Lazare Shorter is a historian who is Professor & Hannah Chair in the History of Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. His specializations are in the history of medicine and psychiatry.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Free Press; Reprint edition (June 7, 1993)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 420 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0029286670
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0029286678
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.1 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 28 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Edward Shorter

Edward Shorter

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Professor of the History of Medicine, Professor of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. Currently doing research on the history of psychiatry and of psychopharmacology.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
28 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Top reviews from the United States

  • Bruce D. Morris
    5.0 out of 5 stars History of Psychosomatic Symptoms
    Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    Edward Shorter provides a much need perspective on the current crop of psychosomatic symptoms that are being treated today as if they are based on structural anomalies in the knee, shoulder, lower back etc. etc. Shorter shows how these same kind of symptoms occurred in the late 18th century and the 19th too because of the proliferation of fanciful medical theories, like spinal irritation and reflex neurosis, that allowed patients to come up with symptoms that matched contemporary medical theories that were, in many cases, pure quackery and fanciful speculation with high sounding academic names. The question the reader begins to ask after reading Shorter is whether such modern diagnoses as spinal degeneration to account for back pain are really much more clinically scientific than the theories about the origins of back pain proposed by the medical establishment in the 1830s.

    A very insightful work of medical theory that forces the reader to ask the disturbing question: Just how far has clinical medicine advanced since the early Victorians? Disturbing when you begin to notice how so many of these aches and pains are confined to a specific middle-class milieu where patients have sufficient funds and leisure time to be treated for symptoms of diseases without germs.
    11 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • David Jameson
    4.0 out of 5 stars Definitive book on psychosomatic illness
    Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2005
    This is a very well researched book which is also very easy and pleasant to read. The author has scoured libraries for contemporary accounts of psychosomatic illness, mostly from physicians but sometimes from patients as well.

    Shorter describes the history of psychosomatic illness from the first written accounts up to the present day. In doing so he shows how theories have changed over the centuries, and also how the symptoms themselves have changed as patients unconsciously "choose" which symptoms will be believed (although I have my doubts about whether or not this is actually the case).

    The book contains many accounts of psychosomatic illness, some of which are quite entertaining (although probably not for the patients themselves).

    My only criticism of the book is the lack of science. Shorter doesn't try to give any theories about the nature of psychosomatic illness and seems to think that all psychosomatic symptoms are simply generated by the unconscious mind, which can change them at will. This seems to go against known physiology, which shows that certain psychosomatic reactions (such as the defecation response to fear) are hard-wired into the nervous system and happen in animals as well as humans. Perhaps there are different types of psychosomatic illness with different causes and different physiology, but Shorter doesn't address this. While this isn't a major shortcoming for a book that only professes to discuss the history of psychosomatic illness, Shorter does give the impression of having a mildly negative opinion of the "somatizers" he describes.

    Overall, however, it is a very good read and I couldn't put it down. For anyone at all interested in psychosomatic illness this book is a must-have.
    20 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • D. Finnley
    5.0 out of 5 stars You need to read this one.
    Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Too bad this isn't required reading for all doctors!! Hardly anybody believes this stuff - but it goes on all around us resulting in millions of people hooked on pain pills or getting needless operations.
    11 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Don Archer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Unique
    Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2024
    This book rationally explains the spread and stranglehold psychosomatic illness has on a small percentage of humans. That’s why it’s being attacked. I saw so many examples in my own practice and became a consultant on these patients. I’ve never encountered a book which examines this subject in such historic and logical detail. Dr Shorter has done mankind a great service,
    Helpful
     Report
  • Marilisa
    3.0 out of 5 stars Confused
    Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2016
    I haven't actually read this book. I was about to buy it, but I'm confused by the reviews. If this guy is really lacking in compassion, I can't imagine it would be good for me.

    I learned about this book from a John Sarno disciple, Howard Schubiner, whose book is called Unlearn Your Pain. He cites an enormous amount of research that indicates that physiological correlates (like the lesions mentioned by some reviewers) have not be proven to cause pain and/or fatigue (I have IC, which researchers used to believe was caused by Hunner's Ulcers--they were wrong). Schubiner indicates that people suffering from these syndromes who come to believe they have Mind Body Syndrome, and uncover the rage behind their symptoms, can improve "miraculously." But that doesn't mean they were malingering! The pain and symptoms are very real.

    I am very interested in this history, so I wish i could feel confident that reading this book wouldn't just increase my stress. I was diagnosed with a conversion reaction when I was 10, but in such a way that it became a medical hex. The work on Mind Body Syndrome is undoing that hex--I no longer believe I'm in pain because I'm "hysterical." I now understand how the brain creates symptoms, and how we might be able--via increasing consciousness--to short circuit that process. The MBS method does not deny that the process was set off by trauma and it involves learning self-compassion.

    I guess I'll pass on this book for now.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Kiwitom
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good synopsis
    Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    A rational, unemotional examination of the subject.
    2 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Harald Urkan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Once again, Edward Shorter has proven to be a fantastic author and researcher. Great book!
    Reviewed in Germany on July 23, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Very short review: Fantastic book on psychosomatic symptoms and illneses. In Germany (and only in Germany), psychosomatic medicine is a subspeciality of medicine, like psychiatry or orthopedics. I want to undergo residency in psychosomatic medicine, so I bought this book to learn about the history of psychosmatic deseases.

    Esdward Shorter has written some wonderful books, for exampe "The History of Psychiatry" and he has never disappointed me. This book, once again, proves that Edward Shorter is a fantastic author and researcher. If you are interested in this topic, this book is for you!
    Report