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41 of 41 found the following review helpful:
"If you only buy one book about bipolar....." Apr 10, 2000
By Graham
...disorder, then buy this one. For yourself, to help you understand yourself and to understand your psychiatrist too. And then buy Jamison's autobiography, "An unquiet mind", to lend to family and friends to help them understand as best as any "normal" person can. Comprehensive and technical. But entirely readable, this is THE textbook on the subject and although Jamison was not "out" as one of us at the time she wrote, it still shows! It was frightening in some ways to read this for the first time some years ago, realising just how accurately she and her co-author described my experiences, yet at the same time reassuring that here was someone who really had a grip on this disease. No book gets 5 star reviews from 8 people (so far) without good reason.
65 of 69 found the following review helpful:
The ultimate in the description of manic-depressive illness Sep 17, 1999
Having been diagnosed with Bipolar II four years ago, I searched and researched the Internet and bookstores for anything I could find on Manic-Depressive illness. It was by pure chance that I stumbled on this book.Some years ago, I was a nursing student and psychiatric nursing seemed to be my speciality, since I had some innate ability to understand the mind. And, ever the nursing student, I continued long after nursing school to learning more about psychiatric illness, especially once I was diagnosed with it. The book is technical in content, but easy for the layperson to understand, providing they have a good dictionary. Being a nursing student, much of the language comes easy for me, but the layperson can grasp a good understanding of the illness. Their references to Kraepelin were especially important since he was the first to recognized the two poles of the illness. I would recommend this book to any person diagnosed with Bipolar and their families, to help understand their illness and to know they are not alone.
46 of 49 found the following review helpful:
Out of Date Classic Feb 25, 2001
This is THE classic text about manic-depressive illness. However, I would not recommend buying it, as it is 10 years old and much has happened in our understanding of the illness in the past decade. Save money; borrow it from the library. Instead, I recommend Dr. Francis Mondimore's "Bipolar Disorder: A Guide for Patients and Families", which is up-to-date, thorough, full of practical advice, and written for laypeople; and any of Kay Redfield Jamison's books, especially "An Unquiet Mind." I have bipolar II and both family members and I have found Dr. Mondimore's book to be VERY helpful.
70 of 79 found the following review helpful:
 Excellent but holding only old views in treatments Apr 08, 2000
By Cheryl L. Binney
I was diagnosed with Bipolar I back in 1992, when I was 29 and have researched the illness seriously since 1998 when I was a Sophomore in college as a Psychology major. Like Dr. Jamison, I plan on becoming a Clinical Psychologist and an expert in the area. The book was an excellent reference about the illness and I recommend it to anyone with one drawback. It only advocates the old views regarding treatment, primarily only Lithium and a mentioning of Depakote and Tegretal. Dr. Jamison also only advocates Lithium in all of her other books. For 6 years, the Dr.'s that treated me did the same along with adding Depakote combination. I'm allergic to Tegretal. I took my medication faithfully during this time and lived in a state of constant manic mode. It was with the courage of a new Dr. that realized that I am traditional treatment resistant and prescribed Lamictal in Jan. 98 and that is when my life went from the gutter to receiving my BA in Psychology in Jun. 2000. The number of patients with Refractory Bipolar, or in my case, just resistant are mounting and attention need to brought to the foreground of the newer anticonvulsives effectiveness: Lamictal, Neurontin, and Topomax. I lived in total dispair for 6 yrs. and as a future Practioner, I will make sure that a patient of mine never has to suffer the way I did. Someday in the future with the coordination from Psychiatry, I hope to write a book on newer, better, and safer medications for treatment practices. I thank Dr.'s Goodwin and Jamison for their work for advocating information on the illness, yet it is a disadvantage in the way of treatment.
37 of 40 found the following review helpful:
The Grand Father of all Manic-Depressive literature. Jan 09, 2000
This book is everything you need to know about manic-depressive illness that your doctor doesn't have time to tell you. Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison has a passion for the subject and the knowledge to back it up. As and individual afflicted with manic-depressive illness, I have read almost every book Jamison and others have published on Manic-Depressive Illness and can honestly say that if it has her name as author, it is an excellent resource on manic-depressive illness. She is thorough and concise yet easy to understand. This book has it all. Everything you want to know, technically, about manic-depressive illness is in this book. For a personal account, "An Unquiet Mind" is a must, also written by Dr. Kay Jamison Redfield. She is an expert on the topic personally and professionally. What a wonderfully sensative combination. Thanks again Kay!
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