Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding analysis of tie between bipolar & creativity
Review: Ok...let's get some things straight right off the bat. This book by Jamison is NOT a book meant for the easy reading of those who are trying to find out more about bipolar disease (whether or not they are merely curious or actually have been diagnosed with it themselves!). This book is an excellent qualitative case studies argument for professionals and peers (in education, in psychology, in neuroscience, in the art world, etc.) who would like to further delve into the long-circulated theory that those blessed with creative abilities are often cursed with manic-depressive (bipolar disorder). Those lay people who merely want confirmation of their illness (or that of a family member) are going to be in for an incredible disappointment if they 'get' this book. It was never intended to be a self-help diary, no matter what Jamison's previous books on bipolar have been like.Next...Jamison makes an excellent case for the link between bipolar disorder and creativity. The methodology she uses tends to be dependent upon case studies of particular artists and the information available from their own writings as well as their family backgrounds and family lineage. It is a well-known fact that many of the psychiatric disorders have both a genetic and an environmental component. Jamison obviously is learned enough and has enough background in neuroscience and psychiatry, to be able to tie the information often gleaned separately in these fields, together in a more comprehensive whole. No, Jamison does not prove beyond a shadow of a doubt the concept that many writers/artists are plagued by bipolararity...but she sure makes a heck of a case for the previously surmised existence of a link! Her science information is impeccable, given what is known now at this particular time concerning manic-depression and the brain. In spite of having to use historical accounts and letters of family members, the artists themselves, and those in direct contact with these people...Jamison's analysis of their work and art, in conjunction with that historical writing, and using what is known now about this particular disorder in the brain is an phenomenal act of intelligent and scholarly writing. And it is well-written and not typical-boring textbook (or 'let's-slap-ourselves-on-the-back-in-congratulatory' professorial type) either! That's high praise on my part, since I cannot abide professors who pander their own writing (whether textbooks or journals) or write to their colleagues in as hard-to-understand professional jargon as possible, and then demand their poor students attempt to make sense of it (as well as line the professors pockets!) Cynical, aren't I? I had seen and heard of Jamison's work before, but this was the first opportunity I had had to pick up one of her books. Since having not only two artistic grandfathers (one of whom fit the mold of those in this book) as well as having a good per cent of my own family history done (and being linked to some very famous depressives and manic depressives on both sides like Mary Todd Lincoln)...my interest has always been piqued by this theory. My first three years in college gave me a great background in British and American literature, and I remember reading William Blake and thinking 'this guy straddles the world between being one of the major prophetic poets, and being stark-raving loonie'!
Jamison really confirmed what I had previously thought by giving more background into the lives of these men and women. Plus she ties in the what is known about their placement into insane asylums and into their deaths at their own hands (as well as dependence upon alcohol or other drugs to relieve their depression...they rarely wanted to ease their mania which in itself is another confirmation of their own recognizance of their problems). Jamison watches the speculation, that I find abhorent in historical research. She makes no claims that this is the final word on these people...she cannot. She knows and admits this. But her immense work in this area provides significant input into the lives and works of these men. It makes all of us, whether in the medical world, the educational world, or the artistic world appreciate the art and writings of these men even more because of the knowledge of what they went through. Karen L. Sadler,
Science Education,
University of Pittsburgh
Rating:
Summary: This book changed my life and made me realize I'M NOT CRAZY!
Review: Touched With Fire is by far the most life changing book I have ever read. Having suffered with Cyclothymia as long as I can remember, and also being an extremely creative person, I thought I was losing my mind...then I read this book. Kay Jamison explores the relationship between creativity and manic depressive illness in an amazing way. The excerpts of letters, etc., of great artists, writers and composers of the past are enlightening, inspiring, and devastating to read. They open up a new understanding of these individuals and what they lived with. This is a must read not only for those suffering from forms of manic depressive illness, but also those who are associated with them. Wonderful reading. INFORMATIVE, ENLIGHTENING, AND AMAZING.
Rating: 
Summary: Maybe you're just a poetic or artistic human being
Review: I toiled through about 130 pages of this book and, finding no citations of research in the past 50 years, decided it just wasn't worth the time.
Sure, Victorian era 'science' gave us brave new views on human nature. But they were wrong. Move on.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't read this if you are dealing with a Bipolar diagnosis!
Review: As a visual artist having recently been diagnosed bipolar, it seemed only logical to read this book. I had hoped it would encourage me to stick with treatment. I was scared that medication would dull and disable me. I looked to this book for encouragement and hope. Unfortunately, it seemed to reinforce the notion that Lithium and other treatments snatch creativity from the artist suffering with manic depression. She romanticizes the pain of depression and highs of mania experienced by writers and artists of yore by pointing to the wonderful work they produced (while ill). Then she waxes poetic about the degeneration of the artists who committed suicide or died in institutions. I actually felt my heels dig in about seeking and follwing through with treatment for fear that my "fire" would be put out. I really wish she would have dwelled more on current artists and their experiences with current treatments, including their positive or negative feelings about medication and its effects on their creative process.
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting study with not-so-interesting conclusions
Review: Dr. Jamison's study of creative artists demonstrates a definite correlation between their creativity and psychological suffering--but, in the final analysis, that is all it shows. This notion--the suffering artist--is nothing new. Her questionable conclusion is that the bulk of these artists suffered from manic depressive illness, now technically known as bipolar disorder. But what exactly is "bipolar disorder"? Jamison--and the vast majority of her mainstream psychiatric colleagues--claim it to be a biochemically caused disease or illness. Indeed, in this book, Jamison makes a compelling biological argument for the genetic and biochemical determinants of bipolar disorder. Yet there is still inadequate data to support such strident claims--despite the relative efficacy of lithium therapy in controlling (but not eliminating) the symptoms. As in most other mental disorders of varying severity, biological factors are practically impossibl! e to isolate from psychological factors, making such dogmatic claims somewhat suspect. Thus, Jamison's reducing creativity to the byproduct of a specific psychiatric disorder is dubious. It amounts to the medicalizing or pathologizing of the creative process in extremis. That creativity comes from wrestling with one's inner demons--depression, isolation, and especially anger or rage--is more to the point. Jamison--who herself suffers from bipolar disorder--seems to diminish the dignity of constructively struggling with and expressing what I call "the daimonic" in favor of a disease model of both madness and creativity. But I submit that what all great artists (and each of us to some lesser degree) truly have in common is this existential confrontation with the daimonic, some being more successful in directing it creatively than others--not merely some brain, neurological or biochemical imbalance.
Rating: 
Summary: Not really my Thing
Review: While this book was really not that interesting to me, despite the fact that my brother is bipolar, certain chapters rang so true and brought me to tears. It is a factual book, but Redfield (the author) seems as though she is affected by the disorder. So reading her accounts was intrguing on that level. The best part was the incredible lists she offers of all the famous artists who have been manic-depressive: Sylvia Plath, Leigh Hunt, Dante Rossetti, several former political leaders and even Presidents of the USA! Amazing!
Rating:
Summary: THIS BOOK SAVED MY LIFE
Review: THIS BOOK BY KAY REDFIELD-JAMISON MADE ME REALIZE THAT MY ARTISTIC AND POETIC TALENTS ARE PROBABLY PRODUCTS OF MY MANIC-DEPRESSION, THAT I AM NOT TOTALLY MAD!!!! SHE ALSO PROVIDES A VERY LENGTHY LIST OF ALL THE TRULY GREAT PEOPLE WHO HAVE LIVED WITH AND DIED BECAUSE OF BIPOLAR DISORDER. THE NUMBER OF POETS, ARTISTS, WRITERS, COMPOSERS, ETC. IS ASTOUNDING. HERE I AM THINKING THAT I AM A POET/ARTIST WITH AN EMOTIONAL PROBLEM, WHEN ACTUALLY I AM AN EXCELLENT POET/ARTIST BECAUSE OF MY (DISABILITY) MANIC-DEPRESSION. THIS SITUATION GIVES NEW MEANING TO THE WORDS "ARTISTIC TEMPERAMENT." THE LIST OF BIPOLAR/MANIC-DEPRESSIVE PEOPLE (WITH SUPERIOR ARTISTIC ABILITIES) ALONE IS WORTH THE COST OF THE BOOK.
Rating:
Summary: Way off.
Review: Jamison's opinion of Herman Melville is way off. Melville has been appropriated to most every taste, and need. Difficult to accept that given his achievement, he was surprisingly 'normal.' Wagneknecht had it right, in reading Melville, one must distinguish between biography and autobiography of the reviewer.
Rating:
Summary: Informative but boring
Review: This is a very informative book but unless you have a great obessive passion for this topic you will find this book very hard to finish. The author's other title 'Unquiet Mind' was not at all like this read. This book reads like a textbook, a long winded textbook. Not bad over all, but unless you need a nap, avoid this book when tired. Doctor's will thrive on the endless information of the brain's workings as it relates to manic-depressive illness.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting analysis
Review: All of Kay's books are great, and "Touched With Fire" is no exception- it's well written, well researched, easy to follow, and very interesting. Kay summarizes many of the relevant studies on the subject of bipolar disorder and creativity, and some of these studies are her own. I agree that bipolar disorder probably has a higher rate of prevalance in the artistic community, though I don't think this is the whole story- many artists simply don't exhibit the disorder, so what about them? What I really believe is that artists have a super high level of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which may be the chemical that is cycling up and down in bipolar disorder. Either way, this is a very interesting book that will appeal to a broad audience. Avery Z. Conner, author of "Fevers of the Mind".
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