Twilight of American Sanity
A Psychiatrist Analyzes the Age of Trump
Published on 16. November 2017
Book
Hardback
336 pages
978-0-06-239450-7 (ISBN)
Description
The world's leading expert on psychiatric diagnosis and author of Saving Normal returns with a powerful critique of modern society's collective slide toward insanity and offers a positive prescription for truly achieving a meaningful life. Eighty years ago, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World predicted it would take 600 years to turn the American utopian dream into a nightmare of compulsive consumerism, bland uniformity, brain addling drugs, and subliminal thought control. In this provocative, timely book, internationally renowned psychiatrist Allen Frances argues that Huxley was wrong: it's taken less than a century to reach this point of despair. The Twilight of American Sanity is Frances' timely critique of contemporary American society and a thoughtful meditation on living the good life. Frances begins by examining the political, social, and personal problems we face-from the mass delusions that spurred Donald Trump's rise to the spike in anxiety, depression, and prescription drugs to the generalized loss of existential meaning as we blindly pursue "happiness."
He explains how evolution has contributed to our malaise, and reveals how the misguided desire for happiness can be at odds with living a life of depth and fulfillment-which often requires sacrifice and the experience of the full range of human emotions, including both joy and disappointment. Offering concrete advice for overcoming our destructive primordial instincts, Frances reminds us that there is no "quick fix" for happiness, and outlines what each of us can do to lead the worthwhile lives we want. Practical and wise, The Twilight of American Sanity is a much-needed guide that teaches us how to live well-and how to avoid the "happiness" traps that are detrimental to our emotional health.
He explains how evolution has contributed to our malaise, and reveals how the misguided desire for happiness can be at odds with living a life of depth and fulfillment-which often requires sacrifice and the experience of the full range of human emotions, including both joy and disappointment. Offering concrete advice for overcoming our destructive primordial instincts, Frances reminds us that there is no "quick fix" for happiness, and outlines what each of us can do to lead the worthwhile lives we want. Practical and wise, The Twilight of American Sanity is a much-needed guide that teaches us how to live well-and how to avoid the "happiness" traps that are detrimental to our emotional health.
Reviews / Votes
"Terrifying. ... Investigate[s] Trump's sanity at full length. ... Frances applies his psychiatric expertise to diagnosing and understanding our mass affliction." -- Slate "This welcome and insightful book joins a small shelf of essential titles-Arlie Hochschild's Strangers in Their Own Land is another-that help explain why and how the Trump presidency happened." -- <em>Kirkus Reviews</em> "An unusual and important book." -- <em>Elle</em> "Allen Frances is right: the deep questions are not about Trump but about the society in which he became even a plausible candidate, much less the president. May Twilight of American Sanity be an opportunity to think more clearly about who we are and what we really want!" -- Bill McKibben, environmentalist and author of <em>The End of Nature</em> and <em>Free Radio Vermont</em> "One of the world's most prominent psychiatrists." -- The Atlantic (July/August, 2017) "For some mental-health practitioners, the ethical debate [over Trump's mental state] is a distraction from a larger point. In Twilight of American Sanity, Allen Frances argues that the more urgent concern is unravelling the national psyche that brought our politics to this moment." -- Evan Osnos, The New Yorker "An eminent psychiatrist." -- New York Times "Lively, provocative. ... Frances indicts our broader societal insanity for electing Trump and embracing his views, and offers wide-ranging insights into human behavior and the consequences for society and governance." -- Norman Ornstein, contributing writer, <em>The Atlantic</em>; columnist, <em>National Journal</em>; and resident scholar, the American Enterprise Institute "The State of the Nation according to the nation's leading psychiatrist: Allen Frances's Twilight of American Sanity is informed, insightful, illuminating, interesting, occasionally infuriating, but almost always right." -- Sir Simon Wessely, president of the Royal Society of Medicine and Regius Professor of Psychiatry at King's College, London "Hard-hitting. ... A must-read." -- New York Journal of BooksMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
477 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-06-239450-7 (9780062394507)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
09/2017
1st Edition
HarperCollins
from
€13.99
Available for download
Person
Allen Frances, M.D., was the chair-man of the DSM-IV Task Force and part of the leadership group for DSM-III and DSM-III-R. He is professor emeritus and former chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Duke University School of Medicine.