The Great Pretender
The Undercover Mission that Changed our Understanding of Madness
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Canongate Books
Published:16th Jul '20
Should be back in stock very soon
This engrossing investigation unravels the complexities behind a landmark psychiatric study. In The Great Pretender, Susannah Cahalan questions the validity of its findings.
In The Great Pretender, Susannah Cahalan delves into one of the most controversial studies in psychiatric history. In the early 1970s, Dr. David Rosenhan, a Stanford professor, orchestrated a bold experiment by sending healthy individuals into psychiatric hospitals, claiming to experience hallucinations. This daring endeavor resulted in a groundbreaking paper that exposed significant flaws in psychiatric practices and led to a reevaluation of mental health diagnoses. The reverberations of this experiment were profound, prompting the closure of institutions and a shift in how mental illness was perceived and treated.
However, as Cahalan meticulously investigates this fifty-year-old mystery, she raises critical questions about the validity of Rosenhan's findings. Was the experiment truly as revolutionary as it was hailed, or were there significant flaws in its methodology? The Great Pretender challenges readers to reconsider the implications of Rosenhan's work on our current understanding of mental illness, highlighting the complexities and nuances that often go unnoticed in the field of psychiatry.
Cahalan's narrative is both compelling and thought-provoking, blending historical context with personal insights. Through her exploration, she invites readers to reflect on the nature of sanity and the societal constructs surrounding mental health. The book serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle to understand and treat mental illness, making it an essential read for anyone interested in the intersection of psychology, ethics, and human experience.
People have asked me over the years: if they liked The Psychopath Test, what should they read next? I now have an answer. Susannah Cahalan's The Great Pretender is such an achievement. It's a wonderful look at the anti-psychiatry movement and a great adventure - gripping, investigative. It's destined to become a popular and important book -- JON RONSON
Utterly compelling . . . important and spirited * * Observer * *
A fascinating piece of detection . . . passionate [and] a warning against easy answers * * Sunday Times * *
A well-crafted, gripping narrative that succeeds on many levels. Cahalan, who gained the trust of Rosenhan's family, is meticulous and sensitive in her research; compelling and insightful in her writing. She accurately conveys the troubles that have haunted psychiatry over the past half-century . . . her book, which I hope wins awards, has immense value as a historical account * * Financial Times * *
Brilliant detective work . . . fascinating * * Guardian * *
I wasn't really prepared for the story Cahalan ends up telling. That she discovered the truth about Rosenhan is a testimony to her dogged research. That this truth was inconvenient for her own outlook on psychiatry is a compliment to her integrity. She writes it all very well too, with clarity, economy and style * * The Times * *
A vivid account . . . An impressive feat of investigative journalism - tenaciously conducted, appealingly written . . . as compelling as a detective novel * * Economist * *
The Great Pretender recounts the remarkable investigation that [Cahalan] undertook. The book reads like a fascinating real-life detective story . . . Exposing what [Rosenhan] got up to is a quite exceptional accomplishment, and Cahalan recounts the story vividly and with great skill * * Spectator * *
The Great Pretender reads like a detective story, with Cahalan revealing tantalising clues at opportune moments so we can experience the thrills of discovery alongside her * * New York Times * *
A quite remarkable and utterly compelling real-life detective story * * Times Literary Supplement, Book of the Year * *
- Short-listed for Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize 2020 (UK)
ISBN: 9781838851446
Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 24mm
Weight: 267g
400 pages
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