A Brotherhood of Tyrants by D. Jablow Hershman

It is a phenomenon known as “induced psychosis,” and we have seen it operating in Guyana, Waco and Tokyo.ĭespite the catastrophic consequences of the paranoid delusions of such manic depressive demagogues as Jim Jones and David Koresh, our modern institutions have made no effort to educate society that the hatred of bigots and demagogues, whether expressed in incendiary language or in deed, is often a symptom of manic depressive disorder. The paranoid delusions of manic depressives are as infectious and as virulent as a deadly microbe and can easily infect those in thrall to the host figure. No one was safe, not even his own family or his inner circle. Any person or group might become a target. His paranoid delusions led him to accuse of treason and execute millions for failures of his own making. Stalin targeted his paranoid, murderous hatred at those who he feared knew more than he did on any subject and people who he suspected of knowing his personal affairs. became in his mind a product not of error or accident, but of treason.” He abused alcohol in both phases.Īs early as 1919, when Stalin was commander of Tsaritsyn, later called Stalingrad, now Volgograd, Leon Trotsky observed how “a military setback. In mania, he had grandiose delusions, rages, paranoia and hypersexuality. In depression, Stalin was indecisive, anxious, pessimistic, indifferent, gloomy, lonely, paranoid and had low self-esteem. Why else would it continue to thrive in a country like Poland, with a Jewish population of less than 4,000? Jablow Hershman authored Brotherhood of Tyrants: Manic Depression and Absolute Power.Anti-Semitism is a pathologic state of mind. Julian Lieb, a psychiatrist in private practice and former director of the Dana Psychiatric Clinic at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and D. Guides for the manic depressive are suggested to reduce emotional pain and personal problems while increasing productivity. The authors also explode the myth that suffering is essential to creativity. Lieb critiques the wave of new books on depression as well as those on creativity to determine how far we have come in our understanding of this complex illness. Demonstrating how manic depression often becomes the essential difference between talent and genius, Hershman and Lieb offer valuable insights into the many obstacles and problems this illness poses for highly creative people. From Plato, who originated the idea of inspired mania, to Beethoven, Dickens, Newton, Van Gogh, and today's popular creative artists and scientists who've battled manic depression, this intriguing work examines creativity and madness in mystery, myth, and history.

Many recognized geniuses had creative capacities that were driven by bouts of manic intensity followed by the depths of mind-numbing despair.

A Brotherhood of Tyrants by D. Jablow Hershman