Product Description

From the author of the New York Times bestseller, An Unquiet Mind, Touched with Fire is an authoritative look at the relationship between manic-depressive illness and the artistic temperament. Psychiatrist Jamison advocates a restrained, humanistic approach to treatment that does not "cure" the disorder at the expense of artistic inspiration.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8674 in Books
• Published on: 1996-10-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Amazon.com Review
The march of science in explaining human nature continues. In Touched With Fire, Jamison marshals a tremendous amount of evidence for the proposition that most artistic geniuses were (and are) manic depressives. This is a book of interest to scientists, psychologists, and artists struggling with the age-old question of whether psychological suffering is an essential component of artistic creativity. Anyone reading this book closely will be forced to conclude that it is. Very Highly Recommended.

From Publishers Weekly
Drawing from the lives of artists such as Van Gogh, Byron and Virginia Woolf, Jamison examines the links between manic-depression and creativity.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
The author succeeds nicely in her effort "to make a literary, biographical, and scientific argument for a compelling association... between two temperaments--the artistic and the manic-depressive--and their relationship to the rhythms of the natural world." Jamison (psychiatry, Johns Hopkins Univ.) examines the lives of writers and artists afflicted with manic-depression, discussing at length the case of Lord Byron. In language comprehensible to the lay reader, she presents a thorough overview of current knowledge concerning the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of this disorder, a topic also addressed, though in a less scientifically rigorous fashion, in D.J. Hershman and Julian Lieb's The Key to Genius (Prometheus Bks, 1988). The current work is recommended for all academic libraries; it will earn its keep in large and medium-sized public libraries as well.
- Mary Ann Hughes, Washington State Univ. Libs., Pullman
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

way way too much
This book was too hard to follow. The author assumes that the reader (me) understands or has a dictionary is hand at all times. Which of course I did not.

Creativity and Fire
HOw much of the creativity of fiery individuals is due to mood disorders? This book explores the connection of many who have been artistic and successful with mood disorder. Is there such a thing as an artistic temperament?

Not the whole story...but a fine effort all the same
As mentioned by others, if you are looking for the actual process of how depression is seen to predispose certain people to be creative then this book is not for you. The fineline between madman and genius is still poorly understood. Jamisons book is a treatise on what information is known along with citing studies and statistical analysis. It is aimed more towards scientists etc. studying the phenomenon as opposed to individuals looking for answers as to why they are prone to depression and the creativity that depression brings about.
However, with the above in mind, Jamison has done a good job. I feel it to be incomplete as it doesn't really get in to the nitty gritty of what exactly is happening to cause the madman/genius scenario. Alas that isn't a failing of Jamison, more a case that currently no one knows with any certainty as to what is going on. Is it hereditary?, Genetics?, a social failing, artists taking advantage of societies perception of the madgenius-artist?, being predisposed to being more emotional and just feeling the highs and lows of the human condition to a greater degree? etc. etc. Hopefully one day soon the underlying causes may be know but not today. And in a way that is a plus for this book - Jamison for the most part appears to be impartial to the theories and merely collects them together for the reader to to review. There are some biographies of certain artists/writers/poets/musicians etc. with Lord Byron being the greatest study. They make for very interesting reading, along with the lists of well regarded artistic types and their battles with mental illness.
If you are someone looking for answers this book isn't for you. But if you are looking for the current state of affairs in this field then you will find much here to dwell on. My background is science so I found the delivery of the book to be standard scientific fare and had no problems reading it. It may come across as dry to a reader not so well versed in this manner of writing. As I am now a writer and an artist I found the book to be very interesting - I didn't learn much beyond what common sense will tell you but it was useful to have all the current studies in one tome. A book in a similar vein worth reading is Anthony Storr's "Churchill's Black Dog".