It's a shame that Dr. deMause hasn't been consulted recently by some of the top-levels of the US-government.

His analysis of so-called "group-fantasies" just might turn out to be one of the most usefull and effective tools ever developed in human history in predicting collective processes and tendencies.

A man who not only succeeded in successfully predicting the murderous attack on President Ronald Reagan, but also the outbreak of the Gulf-war, just by listening very carefully to the "belly of the nation" should be considered as a very precious and innovative scientist indeed.

Nothing "paranormal" about this at all. >:-)

Bert

I should acknowledge at the outset that upon my first exposure to the ideas and writings of Lloyd deMause some twelve years ago, something inside me "snapped," and I have not since then been able to think about history, politics and culture the same way. Immanuel Kant is properly regarded as the first truly modern philosopher because he was the first to shift the fundamental phiolosophical problematic to the nature of the knower, rather than complacently accepting the human mind as accurately reflecting reality. Similarly, deMause's writings achieve an equally revolutionary effect by turning the historical telescope around, looking through the other end, and seeing historical events caused by the evolving human mind, rther than conditioned by the events of history.
"The Emotional Life of Nations" represents the fruit of a lifetime of thought and research into the relationship between history and the evolution of childrearing. DeMause teaches us that we cannot understand history without appreciating that the unit of history is not the individual, culture, or nation, but the evolving mother-infant diad, where the original "breach with nature" occurs."

Robert Godwin, Book Review in The Journal of Psychohistory

The key chapter is a long article by Demause that reviews the history of childhood pretty much for the last 2000 years. This is a very useful and disturbing overview, replete with quotations and citations. Demause has a specific psychological theory to explain this history, but even those who may be less sure of the reasons for the historical developments will find the article exceptionally useful. Personally, I didn't find the other articles in the book nearly as useful as Demause's--but his piece is so long and good that it could be a book itself. Really an eye-opener.

This book should be REQUIRED reading by every adult the world over. This author is painfully revealing about the TRUTH of sexual abuse throughout "human" history (many "humans" don't deserve the name). He speaks of the utterly unspeakable in ways the average, innocent reader would rather not believe. Do not allow Denial to get in the way of your Intelligence. Read this book with a heavily open mind and TAKE IT IN. It is tough but the truth revealed is better than a lie hidden.

Psychohistory might be viewed as state-of-the-art psychoanalysis extended to large groups, but it goes far beyond the clinical model of psychoanalysis, into the everyday content of human emotions such as religion, the arts, nations and economic systems.

"Foundations of Psychohistory" is very accessible without specialized training, but is also deeply rewarding to specialists and scholars who can tolerate the presentation of a new paradigm for the studies of both psychology and history.

The psychodynamic theories of Lloyd deMause are rooted in modern trauma theory, and to a lesser degree in the object relations of Klein, Bion and Fairbairn; however, he uses his exhaustive studies of group fantasy to achieve major strides beyond these. In the opinion of this reviewer, he has written the book that defines the starting point for the depth psychology of the 21st century.

In psychoanalysis, the relationships of humans with their groups, cultures and (often shared) modes of childhood experience are virtually ignored. Lloyd deMause brilliantly analyzes the methods whereby large groups achieve powerful emotional "consensus" for actions by reference to these highly charged childhood and infantile emotional experiences.

This book is equally indispensable for those interested in the "why" of history, and those interested in the nature of human experience. By contrast, mainstream psychoanalysis tends to ignore the profound importance of group experiences (outside the oedipal family, or "objects of attachment"), while other social sciences tend to ignore the fact that a society consists of a group of individuals. "Foundations of Psychohistory" is a first, but giant, step towards a vastly improved understanding of the human condition.

An excellant book that really gets into the mind of Reagan and America. It is well written and provides a fresh insight into the terible 80's and the Reagan Administration. It also gives us a peek into what is happening with our newest lunatic president G.W.

The only trouble with this very interesting and readable book is that its conclusions have long since been discredited by eminent specialists in the field.

This revolutionary book impacted not only childhood history but history in general, as well as psychology and the hybrid field of psychohistory. The scholarly contributions remain essential reading for those who wish to look candidly at the past and the introduction by deMause is simply epochal. His view that adult and social violence have their origins in childhood has been vindicated by the most important studies of the subject, including James Gilligan's "Violence," Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Rhodes's "Why They Kill," and Anna Motz's groundbreaking study of female violence "The Psychology of Female Violence," the latter two having drawn on the works of deMause. Accordingly, this book is important not only for understanding our past, but as an indicator of where much fruitful scholarship is going to be done in the future. This work has rightly been praised by such noted historians as William Langer, Past President of the American Historical Association, and Rudolph Binion, as well as many luminaries from the field of psychology including psychiatrist Morton Schatzman, and eminent therapists like Reuben Fine and Alice Miller, who has drawn extensively on deMause's work. I concur with the New York Review of Books that this work is "Brilliant...bold...challenging." I would also add "indispensable." I cannot recommend this work too highly.