Charcot: Constructing Neurology (Contemporary Neurology) Review

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(More customer reviews)The more research one does into the history of psychotherapy, neurology, psychoanalysis, hypnotism, and conversion disorders (a.k.a. hysteria) the more one bumps up against the enigmatic and larger than life Charcot. This is certainly the best english language biography of his career, providing a thorough accounting of his various professional accomplishments, and his significance within the contemporary 19th Century French medical establishment.
Don't look to this book for any overwhelming insight into the "epistemes" powering Charcot's work, for that you will need to look to the more critical appraisals of Charcot's work (Jan Goldstein, Elain Showalter, Henri Ellenberger, etc.) but as far as getting a thorough telling of some of the fascinating features of this man's career, this book has no substitute. It also closes with a fantastic literature review of the current status of Charcot studies to send one off to learn more about any particular details that fascinate them.
I highly recommend this book for anyone trying to fill in some crucial historical gaps in their understanding in modern medicine of the mind.

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In the second half of the 19th century, Paris became an international center for neurological studies largely because of Jean-Martin Charcot and his Salpetriere School. Charcot was named Professor of Diseases of the Nervous System at the University of Paris in 1882, and thus helped institutionalize neurology as a medical specialty. By then he had already published widely and had assembled a team of research specialists and students who approached the study of the nervous system through the celebrated methode anatomo-clinique that correlated specific neurological signs with discrete lesions in the central nervous system. Pushing beyond the bounds of anatomical study, Charcot went on to study hysteria, attracting both scientific and social notoriety.This book provides the best account of the life and contributions of Jean-Martin Charcot. It gives a fascinating picture of the man and his milieu, and clearly defines his role in establishing the new medical specialty of clinical neurology.