Saints, Scholars, and Schizophrenics: Mental Illness in Rural Ireland, Twentieth Anniversary Edition, Updated and Expanded

Rating:
Summary: Exposes wriggling psychic life under the Blarney Stone
Review: A superb description and analysis of the pathologies in Irish styles of interaction, conversational and behavioural. Written by an American psycho-anthropologist conducting fieldwork in Ireland. Brings a detached eye to Irish patterns of conversation and communication. Should be required reading for Irish people seeking self understanding and insight into why their culture is how it is. Caused an uproar on publication - a recommendation in iself - not due to sensationalism, but because truth normally buried was painful when it emerged into the light of day.