The Story of Psychology

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, anecdotal, readable.
Review: Highly recommended for its historico-philosophical background made clear and interesting, spiced as it is with interesting stories about the founders and forerunners of psychology. One could wish for more fairness toward Jung and the organismic psychologies; I for one see psychology's scientific side as its least interesting one (physics envy!).

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful survey, with some in-depth analysis thrown in
Review: Hunt tries to do a good job in making the subject matter interesting, but in doing so he devotes so much space to anecdotes that he leaves out a lot of more pertinent information. Also, he does not give a neutral history of psychology, but instead displays empirical biases and a bias of psychology as a science throughout the book, writing at more length about philosophers and psychologists who agree with him and dismissing, ridiculing, and understating those who do not. For a non-biased history of the philosophical roots of psychology, try Robert MacLeod's Persistant Problems of Psychology. Unfortunately, though, that book only has the philosophic background of psychology and does not enter into the history of psychology in the 20th century.

Rating:
Summary: Overall An Enjoyable Read~
Review: I first read this book during the 7th grade and once again just recently as an adult(I'm 21 right now). For the most part, this book seems well written, but I realized upon reading it for the second time that the book doesn't mention Friedrich Nietzsche at all. He played an important role in influencing psychology, especially the theories of Sigmund Freud. I found it unbelievable that nothing was mentioned of Nietzsche. Apart from this flaw, however, the book still proved to be an interesting, informative read. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Just What Students Like!
Review: I teach psychology and one of the areas I emphasize is bringing people "alive" from the history of psych. This book does it! I now have even more background info. The students remember the theorist if they can attach him/her to events and historical data. They can also can see the theorist in relationship to their "life and times", the "Zeitgeist", and how that interacts with theory. An excellent reference book for those of us who teach, and a wonderful resource for good lecture naterial!

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful organized history of psychology
Review: In the last year I have become interested in psychology. I have read Freud and Jung, besides being familiar with philosophy from the ancients to the present. This book has been the first organized work on psychology that I have read. And it has changed my perceptions of the purpose of science.
My former conceptions of psychology brought images of a patient being analyzed using free association. This, although important, is only one substratum of psychological research. Theories that influence our every day lives, such as how we learn, are an integral part of psychology that I had never imagined. I now understand the significance of laboratory tests that we are all familiar with (mice in mazes, chimpanzees trying to reach bananas) that have formerly seemed without worth, and merely pedantic dissertation.
It is important, when beginning study in any field, to have an historical background from which to begin. As I have learned from this book, human learning forms itself into structures that can be easily referenced. Without structure, everything humans learn is without meaning. This informative book provides the historical structure needed to understand the importance of modern discoveries, and should be read by anyone interested in beginning study of psychology.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful organized history of psychology
Review: In the last year I have become interested in psychology. I have read Freud and Jung, besides being familiar with philosophy from the ancients to the present. This book has been the first organized work on psychology that I have read. And it has changed my perceptions of the purpose of science.
My former conceptions of psychology brought images of a patient being analyzed using free association. This, although important, is only one substratum of psychological research. Theories that influence our every day lives, such as how we learn, are an integral part of psychology that I had never imagined. I now understand the significance of laboratory tests that we are all familiar with (mice in mazes, chimpanzees trying to reach bananas) that have formerly seemed without worth, and merely pedantic dissertation.
It is important, when beginning study in any field, to have an historical background from which to begin. As I have learned from this book, human learning forms itself into structures that can be easily referenced. Without structure, everything humans learn is without meaning. This informative book provides the historical structure needed to understand the importance of modern discoveries, and should be read by anyone interested in beginning study of psychology.

Rating:
Summary: First-rate Piece of Work
Review: This is an absolutely first-rate book. Moreover, how delightful to find an academic who knows his way with words. The book is authorative, deliciously well-written, and thorough. A must for any student of psychology.