It's written for bipolar dummies.
359842
I bought this book hoping to educate my father about my illness. The first third of the book was informative (not so much to me, since I've been bipolar since I was 15 and know all the information), but I thought it might inform my father.

By the second third of the book, I realized that the book was written for bipolar people who have recently been diagnosed as bipolar. The book explains how to choose a psychiatrist, what to ask him/her, etc. At that point, it became rather useless to me, and my father.

This book is intended to help people who are bipolar, but who know little to nothing about their illness. In that regard, it's a good book. It just wasn't helpful to me.
1888286
I used to respect Breggin's work. He wrote evenhandedly about the disadvantages of psychiatric medication compared to psychotherapy and a better society. In this case, he has produced a diatribe. He gives the impression that these drugs can easily kill you and/or everyone around you. I suspect that he's also doing a little promotion of his career as an expert witness in trials involving crimes committed under the influence of these drugs, and lawsuits against drug companies. (This is fine, but his information should be balanced with common sense.)
4705731
I loved the Unquiet Mind.  Manic Depression is the seminal text on the disorder, but this is a disappointment.  It is bogged down with facts, figures, statistics and lacks either the sensitivity and compassion I had expected from her, or an understanding of the depth of feeling that leads to suicide, successful and attempted.  (...)
3903737
It's only OK.  It isn't for dummies.  It's for people who already know a little.  Heavy with jargon.  Cell division explanations are excruciatingly tedious.  This may be the book written by the genetics teacher you wish you did not have.
4901617
It's not a "The Way Things Work" for grown ups. I assumed that after reading What If? that it would be plain speak with some of the authors wry humor. My bad. It's very dense... to have some terms broken down so far that I don't have a clue what he's saying-and I make a living as a technical sales rep.  Sometimes it's neither humorous or informative. But I get it that it's an attempt at humor... I think. It may frustrate readers who want someone smart (which Randall Munroe definitely is) to break down things that they don't know about.
690516
From a literary perspective, the book is well written. However, Haslett does not understand depression and the importance of treatment. For Alec to take Michael to a secluded cabin and ween him off medication was ridiculous. Mr. Haslett: you're a talented writer, but if you're going to write about serious mental illness, you need to educate yourself.
2920490
Read the blog instead. As incoherent as a five year old after a box of fruit roll ups.

Points for occasionally saying something in a unique fashion. Deductions for endless platitudes from stuffy old folk sipping sweat tea on a summer porch.
3416456
This is kind of a bipolar book.  The first three quarters criticizes the way other people do history or social science.  Smail holds everyone to extremely high standards and finds everyone deficient.  The end of the book is a first cut at a history he wants to see, a history that focuses on the human brain.  After all, everything humans do is caused by their brains.  Here, he is impressionistic and unrigorous.  The Smail of the first part would give this book one star.  The Smail of the end would give it five.  I give it three.

Smail argues that people's brains cause them to act so as to achieve certain levels of chemicals in the brain.  Two centuries ago, the English utilitarians tried to found a social science on something similar.  People, said Jeremy Bentham and James Mill, try to achieve pleasure and avoid pain.  To the extent they do, they experience "utility."  The idea of trying to maximize utility became a part of what was then called political economy.  Eventually, it became conventional wisdom that a pleasure/pain principle was too simple, so economists redefined utility to mean preference, and dropped the question of where these preferences come from.  If neurology can put some flesh back on the bones of "preference," it may indeed form a basis for a better economics and history.

Smail likes the metaphor of a "drug."  The stresses of modern life cause undesired levels of some brain chemicals.  Some people shop to change the levels to more desired ones.  Thus, shopping is a drug.  Similarly, in medieval times, attendance at church services--experiencing the communal ritual, the smoke, etc.--acted to change brain chemicals in desired ways.  But when more powerful drugs, like the caffeine in coffee, came to Europe in "the long 16th century," attendance at church went down.

What to make of this?  In the words of Deirdre McCloskey, "all theories are metaphors, and all metaphors are lies."  No theory is perfect but many theories are useful.  Centering a history on modern knowledge of how the brain works may lead to significant new insight.  I look forward to seeing what Smail does with the idea.

I would recommend this book to people 1) who are fascinated by listening to historians talk about how to do history, 2) who want a very short explanation of the modern resolution of the nature/nurture question (an easy-to-read longer version is Matt Ridley's&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Nature-Via-Nurture-Genes-Experience-and-What-Makes-Us-Human/dp/0060006781/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Nature Via Nurture: Genes, Experience, and What Makes Us Human</a>), or 3) who want to see what an early attempt at neurohistory looks like.
3680348
Yes, we are over-diagnosed and over-medicated. Yes, many of us are all in jobs and lives that do not fulfill us. Yes, we can all use a little cheerleading, and we should identify our strengths and focus on them, rather than on fitting in and being "normal" -- but there is nothing here that is both worthwhile and new. I especially take exception to Archer's claim that psychological traits lie along a continuum. For example, he says that intuitive thinking, which he calls "magical," can help you act on faith and take risks that pay off. Too little of this trait and you are overly rational. Too much and you are schizophrenic. Wrong. Schizophrenia *is* a mental illness, not a psychological trait. If you are too prone to magical thinking, you're a space cadet, not a schizophrenic. This kind of simplistic thinking is neither helpful nor accurate, just an example of the author trying to make everything fit his continuum framework, which I believe not to be at all useful. Another example would be what he calls "shy" -- anyone who wants time alone, in his opinion, has the "shy" personality trait. He suggests that "shy" people team up with "adventurous" types, so that the adventurers can have someone at home taking care of things while they jaunt around the world. Excuse me, but, like many others, I like some solitude, am not "shy" in company, take care of things at home *and* go for occasional world jaunts. This book is a lot of nonsense, imo.
887980
I think all these instruction manuals are written by people who have no common sense or have no ability to explain in plain English.
1788220
I never talk about being bipolar. sometimes it can be very painful but not necessarily either down or up. it just is, I feel a certain joy at the creativity and sense of being different, but then I want to tell but I never will.
 this book said nothing to me. I didn't a link and understanding. I thought it was dramatic and egotistical. I don't think she's sharing but almost boastful. we need a voice and this isn't it. unless you're on the outside and will gladly accept this as valid. it ain't
4030118
I this book during my 45 minute train ride into work, this morning.  It is really, really basic stuff.  The five points contained in the book's 141 pages could have been accurately and completely reduced to a five page essay, MAX.

The book's central premise is that our thoughts control our moods.  If we reject our negative thoughts and nurture our positive thoughts, we will be happier people. (Okay, maybe the five points contained in the book's 141 pages could have been accurately and completely reduced to a single sentence.)

What I found suspect about the book is that it dismissed or at least ignored the certainly helpful warning signs that negative thoughts and low moods provide to us.  No where in the book was the lesson that if our thoughts or moods are negative, perhaps our actions need to be assessed and corrected.  There was no call in the book for self examination and discipline.

In short, Richard Carlson's "You can be Happy No Matter What:  Five Principles Your Therapist Never Told You"  is not a worthwhile read for anyone who reads at a level above the Fifth grade, or has engaged in a single moment of self examination.  I've just deposited my copy in the trash.
1377236
This was an okay read, but if you want insights into bipolar life read MANIC or AN UNQUIET MIND. This book gives some insight into aspects of the author's life but glosses over events that would help the reader understand bipolar issues more completely.
4813898
Like others have said, it's simply a collection of complex problems with very little explanation. One example is given per concept, and there are so many variations to these problems that one example is inadequate. The explanations are often vague and skip steps by combining them into one, which can make everything much more confusing. I've found myself spending hours on different tutorial websites, trying to figure out some of these concepts.
1911246
The writing in this book kept me engaged, but I disliked the way it used every conceivable negative stereotype about mental illness. The sociopath brother kills and mutilates animals for the first 40 pages before moving on to setting fires, the therapist is a complete bumbling moron who writes case notes that sound like a middle school girl's blog, the mom trots out that old chestnut about how her psych meds make her feel zoned out. Can I just say I very strongly dislike the frequency with which authors encourage people to stop taking their psychiatric meds? If your meds make you feel zoned out you should ask your doctor to adjust your dosage or try a different medicine. That's what you would do if your hypertension meds made you feel zoned out, right?

My other problem with this book is that it strains credulity more than any other book I've recently encountered. The villain is able to manipulate all of the cops and parents and teachers and doctors and prison guards like they are complete morons, even though this person has no training as far as we are told. The ending hinges somewhat on a love story, which I also did not find believable.

There were a few parts I really liked (which I am not mentioning only because they are spoilery), hence the two stars, but overall this is a silly and forgettable thriller.
1875082
This book is written for morons...not dummies.
4673137
I was excited to read this book based on the description.  A book about success over the struggle of compulsive eating, self-loathing, and being overweight?  Sounds interesting and helpful, bring it on!  And, with the clever title, I was sure it would be fun to read.
Well, it was fairly interesting, but not at all helpful.  Certainly I now understand what Ms. Lerner went through as far as self-loathing and depression.  I caught a glimpse into how that manifested itself in her eating.  That's all well and good.  There was a lot of focus on the "Loathing" part of the title - her bipolarism, her mental states, finding solutions to the chemical imbalances.
What was missing was the "Food" half of the title.  There were little scraps of the eating disorder and how the depression affected that, but very little deep discussion of any of those issyes.  I didn't find out HOW she made progress, grew, and changed.  Sure, the anti-depressants helped and the mental health experts (and hospital stay) had influence... but HOW?  What changed in her mind?  How did she change her relationship with food?
It's a fine memoir with a misleading title.  I wanted what the title promised, not what I got.  If you're wanting to explore the mental side of weight, food, or eating issues, don't be fooled by the cover.  This isn't that book.