Summary The Geography Of Madness Penis Thieves Voodoo Death And The Search For The Meaning Of The World S Strangest Syndromes By Frank Bures

Why do some men become convinced—despite what doctors tell them—that their penises have, simply, disappeared. Why do people across the world become convinced that they are cursed to die on a particular date—and then do? Why do people in Malaysia suddenly “run amok”? In The Geography of Madness, acclaimed magazine writer Frank Bures investigates these and other “culture-bound” syndromes, tracing each seemingly baffling phenomenon to its source. It’s a fascinating, and at times rollicking, adventure that takes the reader around the world and deep into the oddities of the human psyche. What Bures uncovers along the way is a poignant and stirring story of the persistence of belief, fear, and hope.

* Our summary is short, simple and pragmatic. It allows you to have the essential ideas of a big book in less than 30 minutes. By reading this summary, you will learn more about culturally specific syndromes, particularly in Africa and Asia. You will also learn : that one third of the Hmong people died during the Vietnam War; that another third emigrated to the United States in 1975; that West Africa was subject to a widespread epidemic of "penis theft" between 1997 and 2003; that "voodoo death" is not exclusive to exotic lands; that in West Africa, certain cultural syndromes affect only students; that Frank Bures is passionate about the differences between cultures. Why, in West Africa, are thousands of men convinced that their penis has disappeared following magical operations, despite what doctors tell them? You will find out by reading the work of Frank Bures, who has lived in many countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and America, and who speaks several languages. This is a "sine qua non" condition for coming into contact with peoples who jealously guard their traditions, including what is less communicable in each culture: the form of madness peculiar to every civilization. *Buy now the summary of this book for the modest price of a cup of coffee!

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER: A radically new way of thinking about depression and anxiety 'A book that could actually make us happy' SIMON AMSTELL 'This amazing book will change your life' ELTON JOHN 'One of the most important texts of recent years' BRITISH JOURNAL OF GENERAL PRACTICE 'Brilliant, stimulating, radical' MATT HAIG 'The more people read this book, the better off the world will be' NAOMI KLEIN 'Wonderful' HILLARY CLINTON 'Eye-opening' GUARDIAN 'Brilliant for anyone wanting a better understanding of mental health' ZOE BALL 'A game-changer' DAVINA MCCALL 'Extraordinary' DR MAX PEMBERTON Depression and anxiety are now at epidemic levels. Why? Across the world, scientists have uncovered evidence for nine different causes. Some are in our biology, but most are in the way we are living today. Lost Connections offers a radical new way of thinking about this crisis. It shows that once we understand the real causes, we can begin to turn to pioneering new solutions – ones that offer real hope.

An eye-opening exploration of blood, the lifegiving substance with the power of taboo, the value of diamonds and the promise of breakthrough science Blood carries life, yet the sight of it makes people faint. It is a waste product and a commodity pricier than oil. It can save lives and transmit deadly infections. Each one of us has roughly nine pints of it, yet many don’t even know their own blood type. And for all its ubiquitousness, the few tablespoons of blood discharged by 800 million women are still regarded as taboo: menstruation is perhaps the single most demonized biological event. Rose George, author of The Big Necessity, is renowned for her intrepid work on topics that are invisible but vitally important. In Nine Pints, she takes us from ancient practices of bloodletting to the breakthough of the "liquid biopsy," which promises to diagnose cancer and other diseases with a simple blood test. She introduces Janet Vaughan, who set up the world’s first system of mass blood donation during the Blitz, and Arunachalam Muruganantham, known as “Menstrual Man” for his work on sanitary pads for developing countries. She probes the lucrative business of plasma transfusions, in which the US is known as the “OPEC of plasma.” And she looks to the future, as researchers seek to bring synthetic blood to a hospital near you. Spanning science and politics, stories and global epidemics, Nine Pints reveals our life's blood in an entirely new light. Nine Pints was named one of Bill Gates recommended summer reading titles for 2019.

This third edition of stories from the Caine Prize for African Writing includes works by writers from Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa, most of whom have never before been published.

The best writers in Minneapolis share what they love about their city

The New York Times bestselling coauthor of Sex at Dawn explores the ways in which “progress” has perverted the way we live—how we eat, learn, feel, mate, parent, communicate, work, and die—in this “engaging, extensively documented, well-organized, and thought-provoking” (Booklist) book. Most of us have instinctive evidence the world is ending—balmy December days, face-to-face conversation replaced with heads-to-screens zomboidism, a world at constant war, a political system in disarray. We hear some myths and lies so frequently that they feel like truths: Civilization is humankind’s greatest accomplishment. Progress is undeniable. Count your blessings. You’re lucky to be alive here and now. Well, maybe we are and maybe we aren’t. Civilized to Death counters the idea that progress is inherently good, arguing that the “progress” defining our age is analogous to an advancing disease. Prehistoric life, of course, was not without serious dangers and disadvantages. Many babies died in infancy. A broken bone, infected wound, snakebite, or difficult pregnancy could be life-threatening. But ultimately, Christopher Ryan questions, were these pre-civilized dangers more murderous than modern scourges, such as car accidents, cancers, cardiovascular disease, and a technologically prolonged dying process? Civilized to Death “will make you see our so-called progress in a whole new light” (Book Riot) and adds to the timely conversation that “the way we have been living is no longer sustainable, at least as long as we want to the earth to outlive us” (Psychology Today). Ryan makes the claim that we should start looking backwards to find our way into a better future.

A guide to the science and process of etymology for the layperson explains how the origins and history of hundreds of words are determined, discussing such topics as folk etymology, changes of meaning in language history, borrowed words, and the methods of etymology.