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Roy Porter’s A Social History of Madness is full of wonderfully off-beam
stories about the mad. Such as the Biblical scholar Alexander Cruden, who tried
to get himself appointed as Corrector to the Morals of the Nation despite having
spent years in asylums. Or Clifford Beers, founder of the American mental
hygiene movement, whose best career move was to be incarcerated as a lunatic.
Scholarly, amusing and highly recommended. Published by Phoenix, £9.99,
ISBN 1857995023.