Feet of Clay: Saints, Sinners, and Madmen: A Study of Gurus - Hardcover

Storr, Anthony

  • 3.72 out of 5 stars
    414 ratings by Goodreads
 
9780002555630: Feet of Clay: Saints, Sinners, and Madmen: A Study of Gurus
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0002555638 ISBN 13: 9780002555630
Publisher: The Free Press, 1996

Synopsis

Every generation has its charismatic spiritual leaders, its gurus. Some are true saints while others conceal unspeakable depravity. Anthony Storr, Oxford professor of psychiatry, analyzes an interesting array of gurus and finds many commonalities among them--an isolated childhood, a need for certainty, a demand for obedience. He also elucidates aspects of this psychological profile in various intellectual, artistic, and political figures of history. This eye-opening book invokes a larger issue: in our search for guidance and truth, when and why do we cross the line from reasoned inquirer to unquestioning follower?

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review

Every generation has its charismatic spiritual leaders, its gurus. Some are true saints while others conceal unspeakable depravity. Anthony Storr, Oxford professor of psychiatry, analyzes an interesting array of gurus and finds many commonalities among them--an isolated childhood, a need for certainty, a demand for obedience. He also elucidates aspects of this psychological profile in various intellectual, artistic, and political figures of history. This eye-opening book invokes a larger issue: in our search for guidance and truth, when and why do we cross the line from reasoned inquirer to unquestioning follower?

About the Author

Anthony Storr was a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and an Emeritus Fellow of Green College, Oxford. He was the author of numerous books, including The Integrity of the Personality, The Dynamics of Creation, The Essential Jung, and The Art of Psychotherapy. Dr. Storr died in 2001.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
The Free Press
Publication date
1996
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0002555638
ISBN 13 
9780002555630
Binding
Hardcover
Edition number
1
Number of pages
288
Rating
  • 3.72 out of 5 stars
    414 ratings by Goodreads

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780684834955: Feet Of Clay

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  0684834952 ISBN 13:  9780684834955
Publisher: Free Press, 1997
Softcover