This Strange Illness: Alcoholism and Bill W.Transaction Publishers, 2004 M01 1 - 403 pages This brilliant work, both personal and professional in character, is a study of alcoholism, of a movement aimed at its cure, and of an individual participant in this development. The author develops an interlinked theory and scientific research program that describe an illness of the mind, body, and spirit. He does so without allowing the assumptions underlying the way we look at one area of illness, say the mind, to contradict the assumptions underlying the way we look at the human body or for that matter the human spirit. That Lobdell carries this project to a successful conclusion makes this a compelling work for everyone in the field of alcohol studies and social pathology. Lobdell, who has written on a broad range of subjects, here argues the originality and importance of recognition of alcoholism as a tripartite illness, and of congruent treatment for the three parts. He thus accepts a medical view of this vast social problem, but also recognizes dimensions within it that go beyond the ordinary limits of medical practice, as well as the complexity of its treatment. His book is at once an intellectual history of Bill W.'s vision; a short history of alcohol addiction and the culture of that addiction; a treatise on the psychological, biochemical, and spiritual aspects of the illness and its treatment; and a scientific research program for the future. Norman K. Denzin of the University of Illinois has hailed the book "as a wonderful story brought to a sophisticated readership, and will widely appeal to the recovering population." Matthew J. Raphael, intimate with the subjects as well as the concerns of this book says, "This Strange Illness is an astounding book. Jared Lobdell, a brilliant polymath, traverses a spectrum of disciplines û from biogenetics and chaos theory to psychology, sociology, and theology û in search of a sufficiently complex and comprehensive understanding alcoholism. This is the most intellectually rigorous study I have ever seen in the field." Jared C. Lobdell is author or editor of a dozen books in history and criticism and a number of articles in fields ranging from alcohol studies to systems analysis. He has served as a fellow at the Center for Alcoholism and Addiction Studies, Brown University. His current positions are at Millersville University of Pennsylvania and adjunct professor at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 87
... called alcoholism ? Who was this Bill W. who founded Alcoholics Anonymous ? What is this Alcoholics Anony- mous ( A.A. ) that claims success in the treatment of alcoholism ( and how does it connect with other , especially previous ...
... called teleology , from the Greek telos , meaning end in the sense of goal or purpose , as in " the ends justify the means . " But before we come to any conclusions about the telos of sobriety , we need to do our work in biology ...
... called to my attention by a theorist of spontaneous order ( in systems ) as an example of precisely that . When we come to medical and biochemical considerations ( primarily in Chapters 3 and 4 ) , we argue essentially that there is ...
... called in these pages ( following A.A. convention ) Bill W. ( In the decisive article on Alcoholics Anonymous in the Saturday Evening Post in March 1941 he was called William Griffith , but the convention of first name or nickname and ...
... called medical treatment , the Keeley cure . We touch on Jerry McAuley's Water Street Mission in New York City , and more on the program instituted by Elwood Worcester at Emmanuel ( Episcopal ) Church in Boston , which gave rise ...
Contents
21 | |
57 | |
A Scientific Note Typologies Heredities and the Adjacent Possible | 93 |
Mind The Psychology or Alcoholism | 129 |
Body The Biogenetics and Biochemistry or Alcoholism | 167 |
Theology or Alcoholism Sobriety and Alcoholics Anonymous | 203 |
The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous | 239 |
The Twelve Traditions or Alcoholics Anonymous | 285 |
Paradigm Regained Suggestions rrom Our Scientific Research Program | 329 |
References | 373 |
Index | 387 |