I was immediately struck with how similar this book was to Oliver Sacks "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat". Many many case studies and in between each, the science. Each case study illustrates the different issues. As I'm not a psychologist I did have to stop and look up a few of the definitions, "somatic", "Korsakoff syndrome" and "Pooh Bah", this slowed me down a bit but it did help explain many concepts I wasn't familiar with. I am a little worried about my drawing of the Rey-Osterrieth Complex figure, I did forget several parts of the drawing but I think I don't suffer from cognitive disorganization. :-)
I made a lot of notes to myself as I read, which Pankratz explained a few pages later on, that helped a lot. Understanding the differences between Malingering, Factitious Disorder and Munchausen were nuanced but understandable because of the case studies he uses to explain.
The court cases Pankratz was involved in were fascinating. And the harm these people suffer, when accused. That poor woman with the bruising all over that people thought were self-inflicted. What a mess!
Reading this book felt like I had taken an undergraduate course covering an overview of the subject, I probably could hold my own discussing some of these topics ... at least for a bit. I really enjoy medical histories and am currently reading Mukherjee's book on the biography of cancer. Pankratz is equally interesting and at only 140 pages, very readable compared to Mukherjee's 450 page book.
Oh, another thing, I really enjoyed the illustrations on this book, all from Pankratz's own library! I have several of more of Pankratz's books to read, next up is the Oracle Revealed and I'm mostly finished with the Swindlers book which I will review soon.
So I recommend this book to anyone in the world of psychiatry, or people who work with veterans, or people who like to read about solved medical mysteries or just someone like enjoys knowing more about people.
My only complaint and it's a small one is that Pankratz uses the word "wanderer" in the preface, and I had an idea what that meant, but it was page 85 before he really explained what he meant by the word. I would have liked something nearer the beginning.
Totally enjoyed!
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Enjoyable read - I learned bunches!
I was immediately struck with how similar this book was to Oliver Sacks "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat". Many many case studies and in between each, the science. Each case study illustrates the different issues. As I'm not a psychologist I did have to stop and look up a few of the definitions, "somatic", "Korsakoff syndrome" and "Pooh Bah", this slowed me down a bit but it did help explain many concepts I wasn't familiar with. I am a little worried about my drawing of the Rey-Osterrieth Complex figure, I did forget several parts of the drawing but I think I don't suffer from cognitive disorganization. :-)I made a lot of notes to myself as I read, which Pankratz explained a few pages later on, that helped a lot. Understanding the differences between Malingering, Factitious Disorder and Munchausen were nuanced but understandable because of the case studies he uses to explain.The court cases Pankratz was involved in were fascinating. And the harm these people suffer, when accused. That poor woman with the bruising all over that people thought were self-inflicted. What a mess!Reading this book felt like I had taken an undergraduate course covering an overview of the subject, I probably could hold my own discussing some of these topics ... at least for a bit. I really enjoy medical histories and am currently reading Mukherjee's book on the biography of cancer. Pankratz is equally interesting and at only 140 pages, very readable compared to Mukherjee's 450 page book.Oh, another thing, I really enjoyed the illustrations on this book, all from Pankratz's own library! I have several of more of Pankratz's books to read, next up is the Oracle Revealed and I'm mostly finished with the Swindlers book which I will review soon.So I recommend this book to anyone in the world of psychiatry, or people who work with veterans, or people who like to read about solved medical mysteries or just someone like enjoys knowing more about people.My only complaint and it's a small one is that Pankratz uses the word "wanderer" in the preface, and I had an idea what that meant, but it was page 85 before he really explained what he meant by the word. I would have liked something nearer the beginning.Totally enjoyed!
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2022
Enjoyable read - I learned bunches!I was immediately struck with how similar this book was to Oliver Sacks "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat". Many many case studies and in between each, the science. Each case study illustrates the different issues. As I'm not a psychologist I did have to stop and look up a few of the definitions, "somatic", "Korsakoff syndrome" and "Pooh Bah", this slowed me down a bit but it did help explain many concepts I wasn't familiar with. I am a little worried about my drawing of the Rey-Osterrieth Complex figure, I did forget several parts of the drawing but I think I don't suffer from cognitive disorganization. :-)
Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2022
I made a lot of notes to myself as I read, which Pankratz explained a few pages later on, that helped a lot. Understanding the differences between Malingering, Factitious Disorder and Munchausen were nuanced but understandable because of the case studies he uses to explain.
The court cases Pankratz was involved in were fascinating. And the harm these people suffer, when accused. That poor woman with the bruising all over that people thought were self-inflicted. What a mess!
Reading this book felt like I had taken an undergraduate course covering an overview of the subject, I probably could hold my own discussing some of these topics ... at least for a bit. I really enjoy medical histories and am currently reading Mukherjee's book on the biography of cancer. Pankratz is equally interesting and at only 140 pages, very readable compared to Mukherjee's 450 page book.
Oh, another thing, I really enjoyed the illustrations on this book, all from Pankratz's own library! I have several of more of Pankratz's books to read, next up is the Oracle Revealed and I'm mostly finished with the Swindlers book which I will review soon.
So I recommend this book to anyone in the world of psychiatry, or people who work with veterans, or people who like to read about solved medical mysteries or just someone like enjoys knowing more about people.
My only complaint and it's a small one is that Pankratz uses the word "wanderer" in the preface, and I had an idea what that meant, but it was page 85 before he really explained what he meant by the word. I would have liked something nearer the beginning.
Totally enjoyed!
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- Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2022
- Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2022
