A Mad World And Its Inhabitants

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A man desperately tries to keep his pact with the Devil, a woman is imprisoned in an insane asylum by her husband because of religious differences, and, on the testimony of a mere stranger, “a London citizen” is sentenced to a private madhouse. This anthology of writings by mad and allegedly mad people is a comprehensive overview of the history of mental illness for the past five hundred years-from the viewpoint of the patients themselves. Dale Peterson has compiled twenty-seven selections dating from 1436 through 1976. He prefaces each excerpt with biographical information about the writer. Peterson's running commentary explains the national differences in mental health care and the historical changes that have take place in symptoms and treatment. He traces the development of the private madhouse system in England and the state-run asylum system in the United States. Included is the first comprehensive bibliography of writings by the mentally ill.

Johnny is sure that he came to the sanatorium voluntarily. Except for his tendency to ruminate for hours at a time, he was just an ordinary guy whose stresses caught up with him. According to the head psychiatrist, however, Johnny was committed involuntarily, deemed unfit to remain in society. The staff denies it, but Johnny is also sure that his prescription and diagnosis changed several times over the course of his stay at the institution. The unorthodox disciplinary measures and bizarre group therapy sessions only fuel his distrust towards his cruel and inconsistent handlers. Meanwhile, the appearances of apparitions and sudden transformations of his surroundings are too vivid for him to believe that they are hallucinations... or even the result of a manmade psychological experiment. As his sense of identity and perception of time continue to unravel, Johnny faces a daunting question: Are forces beyond his comprehension playing tricks on him, or has he truly gone mad?