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The Cure Within: A History of Mind-Body Medicine Reprint Edition
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"A splendid history of mind-body medicine...a book that desperately needed to be written." ―Jerome Groopman, New York Times
Is stress a deadly disease on the rise in modern society? Can mind-body practices from the East help us become well? When it comes to healing, we believe we must look beyond doctors and drugs; we must look within ourselves. Faith, relationships, and attitude matter.
But why do we believe such things? From psychoanalysis to the placebo effect to meditation, this vibrant cultural history describes mind-body healing as rooted in a patchwork of stories, allowing us to make new sense of our suffering and to rationalize new treatments and lifestyles.
36 illustrations- ISBN-100393333973
- ISBN-13978-0393333978
- EditionReprint
- PublisherW. W. Norton & Company
- Publication dateFebruary 16, 2009
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions5.5 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches
- Print length338 pages
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Editorial Reviews
Review
― Amanda Schaffer, Slate
"This brilliant study…concludes that 'mind-body medicine is a deeply storied world.'"
― Barbara Fisher, Boston Globe
"Splendid…Harrington's study offers a first-rate cultural history of an age-old but still much debated topic."
― Publishers Weekly, starred review
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (February 16, 2009)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 338 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0393333973
- ISBN-13 : 978-0393333978
- Item Weight : 12.2 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #638,377 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #670 in History of Medicine (Books)
- #952 in Consciousness & Thought Philosophy
- #3,560 in Mental & Spiritual Healing
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

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Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book's information quality good, well-researched, and insightful. They describe it as a great read with accurate history. Readers also appreciate the author's writing style, saying he's thorough and incisive.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book's information quality good, well-researched, and insightful. They say it provides a marvelous overview of the history of mind-body healing. Readers also mention the author has a great understanding of the mind-body system.
"...and the clarity of her writing style make The Cure Within both thought provoking and a delight to read.Lance ReynoldsAlameda, CA" Read more
"Whenever a first-class scholar, like this one, writes a careful, data-based book, which is at the same time accessible to the intelligent lay person..." Read more
"...The author is not overly critical but rather thorough and incisive. I think at heart, Dr. Harrington is a proponent of mind-body holism." Read more
"Well documented and fair book. The author does a lot to balance both sides of the issue...." Read more
Customers find the book great, well-documented, and fair. They also appreciate the brilliant, level-headed history of mind-body holism.
"...writing style make The Cure Within both thought provoking and a delight to read.Lance ReynoldsAlameda, CA" Read more
"Well documented and fair book. The author does a lot to balance both sides of the issue...." Read more
"...Very well researched and written. A good read if you are interested in the mind." Read more
"...Great read." Read more
Customers find the book's history accurate. They say the historical tracking is easy to follow and the treatment of major contributors is succinct. Readers also appreciate the insightful and beautifully written history of human effort at healing.
"I love this book! Anne Harrington offers an insightful and beautifully written history of human effort at healing...." Read more
"...The historical tracking is easy to follow with succinct treatment of the major contributors. Balanced treatment." Read more
"Brilliant, level-headed history of mind-body holism..." Read more
Customers find the book well-written and informative. They say the author is not overly critical, but rather thorough and incisive.
"Whenever a first-class scholar, like this one, writes a careful, data-based book, which is at the same time accessible to the intelligent lay person..." Read more
"...The author is not overly critical but rather thorough and incisive. I think at heart, Dr. Harrington is a proponent of mind-body holism." Read more
"This book was well written and informative. The fact of going back in history to find the origins of mine body medicine is a novel and excellent idea." Read more
Reviews with images
a short summary of Mind Body Medicine Most of the book is simply references it’s not what I needed
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Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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Lance Reynolds
Alameda, CA
This volume tells us much of the history, in the United States, of the various mind-over-body schemes: psychoanalysis, Transcendental Meditation, bio-feedback, Christian Science, and others. Nobody interested in modern American history can afford to ignore this story.
But I also found the book profoundly confusing. The author wants to tell us about these movements and how they were received by the public, but she has little interest, it seems, in the truth value behind the claims of these popular movements. Does bio-feedback, for instance, really help in reducing stress ? For that matter, is there such a thing as "stress" in the sense that the proponents of these movements have in mind ? Truth or untruth are things that hold little interest for this author.
Harrington generally tells the story of the beginnings of these movements as a series of successes, and then, for some reason, time and again, "things begin to unravel," as she has to state time and again. With all her sympathies for "mind-over-body," sympathies that dominate her "narratives" (a favorite phrase of hers), it turns out, generally, and in stark contrast to her enthusiasms, that things don't work out after all, and it would seem -- though she never says this -- that it's probably best to be cynical about the whole lot of these movements.
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2019
Top reviews from other countries
It's a great book that gently and thoughtfully explores the religious background to many of these secularised western therapy beliefs and the resulting assumptions that have become part of the general discourse and language of health, therapy and 'healing' and the role of 'self help' books and other popular media in promoting these ideas. In addition the book provides a selective critical evaluation of the research that was used as a platform for these ideas.

