The Wing of Madness: Life and Work of R.D. Laing (Hardcover)

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Review
[Burston's] timely contribution is a superb intellectual biography whose breadth, balance and depth is not likely to be eclipsed soon...For Laing, the great question was: What is experience, after all? Daniel Burston certainly grasps the significance of this in Laing's life and work, and sets out to explore its intellectual implications in the rich legacy of his writings...Contemporary scholars sill appreciate his keen sense of what is still relevant in the Laing corpus. -- Charles Levin "Toronto Globe and Mail"

Product Description
When we last heard of R.D. Laing (1927-1989), he was said to be arriving at lectures addled with hashish and brandy, and promoting "rebirthing" techniques to treat prenatal psychological trauma. Reflecting on this spectacle that Laing left the world, we are apt to forget that he was one of the most influential and controversial psychiatrists of the 20th century, whose books sold in the millions in more than 20 languages. Even at the height of his power, however, Ronald Laing was a mystery, a man of many contradictions, and it is this mystery that "The Wing of Madness" explores, searching out both the story of Laing's life and the significance of his work. Daniel Burston chronicles Laing's rise to fame as one of the first media psychogurus of the century, and his decline in the late 70s and 80s. Here are the successes: Laing's emergence as a voice on the psychiatric scene with his first book, "The Divided Self" in 1960; his forthright and articulate challenges to conventional wisdom or the origins, meaning and treatment of mental disturbances; his work on the families of schizophrenics, "Sanity, Madness and the Family" (coauthored with A. Esterson). Here as well are Laing's more dubious moments, personal and professional, including the experiment with psychotic patients at Kinglsey Hall. Burston traces many of Laing's controversial ideas and therapeutic innovations to a difficult childhood and adolescence in Glasgow and troubling experiences as an army doctor; he also offers a measured assessment of these ideas and techniques. The R.D. Laing who emerges from these pages is a singular combination of skeptic and visionary, a thinker whose profound contradictions have eclipsed the true merit of his work. In telling his story, Burston gives us a portrait of a troubled human being and, in analyzing his work, recovers Laing's achievement for posterity.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews   1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars "Give us bread but also give us roses",, 25 Oct 2007 By  calmly - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    This review is from: The Wing of Madness: Life and Work of R.D. Laing (Paperback) For anyone who has been thrilled by any of Laing's books, as I had been, reading a biography of Laing can be a sad experience. Burston doesn't shrink from the disappointing aspects of Laing, but he finds great and continuing value in Laing's work while also reminding us of Laing's better side. Burston has divided the biograpy roughly in half. First comes the standard chronological presentation, then an analysis of Laing's thoughts and concerns. This meaty but quite readable analysis includes assessment of Laing's philosophical assumptions, his position on psychoanalysis, and his place within psychiatry. Burston effectively reminds us that, whatever his failings and however large his fall from popularity, Laing's work still presents challenges and promises values which we would be foolish to ignore. Blessed with a great mind, R.D. Laing also forged a wonderful heart: too many other therapists forget that our suffering needs both. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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