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Old December 15th, 2008, 11:31 AM
Hyp-storian Hyp-storian is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: "scenic" New Jersey (HAH!)
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Thumbs up PREVIEW of my book's review in the Erickson Foundation Newsletter (April, 2009)

I'm delighted to report that Prof. Rubin Battino's review of my (rather controversial) book "A CRITICAL History of Hypnotism: the UNauthorized story" has been accepted for publication in the Spring, 2009 issue of the Erickson Foundation Newsletter.
I'm pasting a (slightly excerpted) version of it here, as well as another review which I just received on Friday:


Reviewer:
Rubin Battino. M.S., Ph.D.
Source:
To appear in the Spring issue of: "Erickson Foundation Newsletter" (April, 2009)
Review Excerpt:

This book was many years in the making and writing, and is a scholarly and critical history of hypnotism. The author’s bibliography is exceptional: going back in time before Mesmer, and providing citations and quotations from books and other sources published in many languages. It is perhaps “unauthorized” in the sense that the author does not have an advanced degree in one of the helping professions. Yet, the level of scholarship is undeniable.
The late Dr. Kay Thompson endorsed this book in a letter to the author dated March 22, 1994 that accompanied her return to him of the (preliminary) manuscript.

I REALLY like it!! ... I think you have done such an exhaustive historical and relevant analysis of hypnosis that people cannot not be impressed.
It is an incredible achievement—comprehensive, thorough and objective in the historical perspective. The fun part of your interjection of the tongue-in-cheek humor is what makes it so different from the usual “tome,” and piques the interest of the reader. ... You keep things in perspective, and give the reader a scholarly view and an objective one at the same time. I cannot help but be impressed at the encyclopedic volume of reading/research it represents!

The author’s mission is to provide an historical perspective to the way that hypnosis is generally thought of by the public, and many professionals. He writes, “Despite more than two centuries of having tacitly recognized its enormous potential utility, the phenomenon of hypnosis has always been commonly regarded with outright Fear and Loathing. How is it possible that something as beneficial to humanity as hypnosis ever came to be viewed in such a horrible manner?” He succeeds admirably in this endeavour with almost endless citations to things like the uselessness of hypnotizability scales and exotic (also erotic!) methods of induction...Although we would like to believe that modern hypnotists are not capable of the excesses of the past, this is not completely so...As an aside, I can comment that the historical illustrations are almost worth the price of the book...I heartily recommend this book to anyone who uses hypnosis, and anyone who is interested in an “unauthorized critical” history of hypnotism.




Published Work:
A CRITICAL History of Hypnotism: the UNauthorized story
Review Excerpt:

Posted December 12, 2008, 3:01 PM EST:
This book is a pleasure. Not only does it offer an in-depth history of the misuses and misunderstandings that have tainted the practice of hypnotism, but it is a thoroughly enjoyable read. The author has a rare gift for combining superlative scholarship with a humorous writing style that both enlightens and engages the reader at the same time. He has whetted my appetite to learn more about the potential that hypnosis holds if practiced with the sensitivity and the understanding that this book conveys.

Lynn Leibowitz, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral supervisor at the
N.Y.U. Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy



Anyone interested in reading a number of FREE chapters is most welcome to do so at my website:

www.historyofhypnotism.com

Happy Holidays!
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