'A superbly told story of worlds colliding .There's so much that's wonderful about this book; it's hard to know where to start heaping praise. It is by turns intriguing, tragic, horrifying and occasionally funny . [He] writes in a carefully controlled and phlegmatic fashion allowing outrage to emerge from the events themselves' The Times 'A riveting tale, brilliantly told' Philippe Sands 'In this fascinating account, journalist English unpacks Hitler's mad campaign against mentally ill artists . Threatened by the "degenerate" art, Hitler demanded that it be destroyed, along with its creators. In musing on the definition of art, limitations of clinical psychology, and the rise of fascism, English's story feels strikingly relevant. While shedding new light on this piece of history, English also provides a cautionary tale for the future' Publishers Weekly 'One of the most liberating moments in modern art was Hanz Prinzhorn's discovery that people hospitalised as "insane" often filled their asylum days with startling creativity. Perhaps only in 1920s Weimar Germany where expressionism and dadaism were exploring the dark sides of sex and fantasy could the art of the mentally ill first get its due.

And perhaps only in Germany could the story Charlie English tells so well have ended in such horror. English takes us through uncharted artistic waters in a narrative of great humanity: a gripping journey into art, madness and modern history' Jonathan Jones, author of Sensations 'Dazzling . Explores a little-known chapter of World War II . This poignant narrative centres on the complicated psychiatrist Hans Prizhorn and the eccentric patient artists whose work helped usher in a new epoch of the modernist avant-garde only to become fodder for Hitler's hateful ideology of "degeneration". Richly wrought, and deeply researched, it's also a salient reminder to beware of pseudoscience' Susannah Cahalan, author of Brain on Fire.