A review by val_halla
Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche by Ethan Watters

3.0

This book was divided into four parts, each focusing on a different mental illness that American psychologists are supposedly forcing on the world. I really valued the chapter on schizophrenia, because the majority of it was about a doctor's experience with schizophrenic patients in Zanzibar. Her firsthand studies of what allows mentally ill people to be successfully integrated into society were what earned this book's 3 stars. The other sections, however, were mostly political rants where the author positions himself as the only voice of truth. While I was interested in the marketing of SSRIs in Japan, the tone of the writing was so vitriolic that I couldn't take it seriously. Discussing academics who research these drugs, Watters says on pages 233-4, "In short, no one seemed to be losing any sleep over the ethics of such a luxurious meeting being sponsored by a drug company. No doubt the thread count in the sheets helped in this regard." His attitude made me laugh out loud, because obviously he is making his own profit by writing this book. To pretend that he is above financial incentives really undermines his credibility. There is some good information for medical professional and other caregivers in here, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else.