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eldritchreader's review against another edition
3.0
Actual rating: 3.5
This was a super fascinating topic. If you are a psychology or human behaviour experiment buff, you will likely enjoy this book.
Cahalan puts together a story that is unique - in that, you get an investigative journal story and feel, alongside a renowned psychological experiment.
Overall the audio was super engaging. Although I found that at some points it did become a little jargon-y (even for someone with a psych background, such as myself). Just a heads up. But it wasn't so much that it put me off the story or left me feeling lost and confused.
Thank you to Libro.FM and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!
This was a super fascinating topic. If you are a psychology or human behaviour experiment buff, you will likely enjoy this book.
Cahalan puts together a story that is unique - in that, you get an investigative journal story and feel, alongside a renowned psychological experiment.
Overall the audio was super engaging. Although I found that at some points it did become a little jargon-y (even for someone with a psych background, such as myself). Just a heads up. But it wasn't so much that it put me off the story or left me feeling lost and confused.
Thank you to Libro.FM and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!
callienicole's review against another edition
4.0
I read Cahalan's other book, Brain On Fire, so I was really interested in this one. It's partly the story of this guy who tried to infiltrate assylums and expose abuse, and partly an examination of how we handle mental illness in America today. There was some language in this book, and the author takes some positions I don't agree with (she definitely gets on her soapbox here and there). Also some rather disturbing descriptions of homosexuality "treatment" through history, watch out for that section if you are sensitive to sexual content. But overall, the most interesting aspect was how this one man changed how we treat mental illness, and though some good things resulted, the book suggests perhaps the closing of asylums wasn't fully a good thing since many people with mental illness aren't really helped at all now. Gave me alot to think about.
angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
3.0
Not at all what I was expecting. Revolves mainly around a study where several “pseudo-patients” gained entry into mental institutions decades back. Discusses their treatment in these facilities, but then take an unexpected and weird turn. Interesting material and well-researched.
booklover000's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
slow-paced
3.0
I enjoyed this one but didn’t LOVE it. It was a fine historical account of mental illness and very well laid-out. But I wanted more from it, and it didn’t quite deliver. Read if you love learning about 19th c. Mental health treatment, asylums, the injustices against mentally ill people, and how mental health diagnosis is changing (i.e. if you’re a psychology nerd like me, you may also find this to be a perfectly enjoyable read).