"Ophir's survey of schizophrenia is magisterial. Diagnostic categorization has served general medicine and physical health very well. But this book conveys that we may have to consider such a process as abnormal, even inhuman, when it comes to personal experiences." Robert Hinshelwood, psychoanalyst and author "We have long awaited a history of schizophrenia that brings to bear a deep understanding of that word's past and present. This excellent look backwards will become a new starting point for us to better consider our future." George Makari, MD, author of Of Fear and Strangers: A History of Xenophobia "A superb account of the vicissitudes of the schizophrenia concept." Ruth Leys, Johns Hopkins University "captivating [.] thoughtful and compassionate" History Today "Ophir covers this ground skillfully, piquing the interests of readers coming from many different backgrounds and disciplines.

" Meghan Wildhood, Mad in America "In this ambitious history - which ranges from the Hebrew Bible to the DSM to the Hearing Voices Movement - psychoanalyst and historian Orna Ophir shows how understandings of 'schizophrenia' have oscillated over time. Sometimes placed on a continuum with the normal, at other times thought of as a distinct category of illness, Ophir suggests that the ever-contested diagnosis of schizophrenia might one day soon be replaced." Rachel Cooper, Lancaster University.