- Hardcover: 325 pages
- Publisher: The Free Press (Dec 1991)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0029160308
- ISBN-13: 978-0029160305
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,282,925 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
Touched With Fire
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
The anguished, volatile intensity we associate with the artistic temperament has often been thought to have much in common with the experience of manic-depressive illness, both characterized by despairing low and exalting highs. Dr Jamison draws on her work as a psychiatrist to artists and writers, in addition to what we know about the lives of Van Gogh, Schubert, Byron and Virginia Woolf among others, to explore the literary, biographical and scientific evidence for the connection between manic-depressive illness and artistic activity. She also examines the cultural implications of this perceived connection between artistic temperament and mood disorders. She advocates a restrained, humanistic approach to the treatment of manic-depressive illness which seeks to preserve the artistic energy that is often its concomitant. Kay Redfield Jamison is the co-author Frederick K. Goodwin of "Manic-Depressive Illness". She has won the John F. Kennedy Scholarship, UCLA Graduate Woman of the Year and UCLA Woman of Science. She produced and wrote "Moods and Music", which won the 1990 American Psychiatric Association's Robinson Award for Best National Television Program.
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First Sentence
"We of the craft are all crazy," remarked Lord Byron about himself and his fellow poets. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
"We of the craft are all crazy," remarked Lord Byron about himself and his fellow poets. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
92 of 95 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
kay jamison is not only an excellent writer and psychologist but she also knows personally the pain of mental disease. maybe this is the reason why she writes with such enthusiasm and warmth about bipolar writers, poets, musicians and other artists and it seems she is saying to us who struggle with manicdepression that there is something precious inside all of us even though we may never be world class artists. touched with fire is one of the books i always come back to since i find its message comforting. madness is pain but it is also a very strange gift.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A good read - informative without being dense. Lots of food for thought and some convincing insights into specific cases. Perhaps the conclusion was a bit foregone, but a good buy nonetheless.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Professor Jamison has put together a compelling case for the link between Manic-Depressive Illness and creativity in authors, artists and composers. Based on the words of the persons themselves, their biographers and their doctors. She also shows that it is a genetic illness.
My favourite part: the chapter on Lord Byron is very compelling, as is the following chapter on various other creative personalities.
Critic: Professor Jamison did not discuss the interplay between genetics and environmental factors. E.g. to what extent is the illness influenced by upbringing (e.g. the home environment) - if your grandfather committed suicide & your father committed suicide, how likely are you to do the same even if it is not a genetic pre-disposition? Interestingly however, Lord Byron never saw his daughter Ada beyond her first birthday - yet she grew up (with a sane mother) with some of her father's tendencies (although she was not diagnosed with the illness nor hospitalised).
My favourite part: the chapter on Lord Byron is very compelling, as is the following chapter on various other creative personalities.
Critic: Professor Jamison did not discuss the interplay between genetics and environmental factors. E.g. to what extent is the illness influenced by upbringing (e.g. the home environment) - if your grandfather committed suicide & your father committed suicide, how likely are you to do the same even if it is not a genetic pre-disposition? Interestingly however, Lord Byron never saw his daughter Ada beyond her first birthday - yet she grew up (with a sane mother) with some of her father's tendencies (although she was not diagnosed with the illness nor hospitalised).
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
An eye opener
This book first seems to be a huge daunting mountain of deeply researched material. Once you start on the path of reading, it keeps encouraging and drawing you onwards. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Reader
Amazon Addict!!
Touched With Fire by Kate Redfield Jamison meets her usual standard of excellent writing. This book goes far beyond the usual easy reads on Manic Depression. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Ms. Rigler
Excellent
So beautifully written, so thorough and interesting. A definite must-read for anyone with an interest in the arts and bipolar disorder.
Published 13 months ago by Mrs. P. K. Smith
An insight into some amazing minds
This is an amazing book. I hadn't realised how many artists or all genre had manic depression.
Yes the type is a tad small which made me have to really concentrate to... Read more
Yes the type is a tad small which made me have to really concentrate to... Read more
Published on 29 Sep 2008 by JuJuDollie
I wish I could read this
This is a book I really want to read, the content looks to me to be very intriguing. The problem is the print, both the size and the set up on the page. Read more
Published on 28 Aug 2008 by VJ-lulu
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