The Hypomanic Edge: The Link Between (A Little) Craziness and (A Lot of) Success in America

This book is groundbreaking. Have you heard of any other psychiatrist or psychologist write a history book?I'd like Ted Turner to be added to the next book, if there is to be a sequel. Although I am reading Turner's autobiography now, 'Call me Ted', and he disappointedly says half way through the book that he took lithium for two years but his next psychiatrist dropped the lithium and he does not believe he has bipolar disorder, if you read his book and you have bipolar disorder, you *know* Ted has bipolar disorder. It takes one to know one. Failing having bipolar disorder yourself, in this case of Dr Gartner, it takes being an experienced psychiatrist to know one.I hope Ted Turner has read Gartner's book. Perhaps then he'll realize he has a fortunate case. Certainly, bipolar disorder is not a one size fits all experience.And that is what the critics -- I have only read one critic in these reviews by the way -- don't understand. That mental illness has a variety of manifestations on how it is experience, and how bad a case, or fortunate in these cases I suppose, it is.The ability to be intuitive beyond the norm is really the most valuable side effect of having bipolar disorder, in my opinion. Creativity? Sure. But the intuition and the drive to follow up on that intuition is the how someone like Ted Turner (and the dozen or so people Gartner diagnoses in his book, can be a visionary 30 years out, without resorting to marketing research studies (which probably are not visionary 30 years out.)Two enthusiastic thumbs up!

The content of this book was no surprise to me. A first generation immigrant, my father was the founder and CEO of what became the tenth largest residential construction company in the USA. He could have jumped directly from Gartner's book. So could all his business buddies. Being born and raised in what became Silicon Valley, what Gartner says is somewhat old hat to me. It's true! Not only that, I've heard a number of psychiatrists say they known it for ages. So, what should we hope for? A good dose of hypomania? The ability to look through society and see it's pathology? The realization that being crazy (a little crazy) can be a good thing? Yes. All of the above. When I was getting my MA in counseling, my profs pointed out that business leaders can be highly intuitive, just as mystics can. Interesting. I actually was rather annoyed with Gartner for bringing out his book. My new novel, coming out in early spring, 2008, hinges on Gartner's thesis. He beat my time. But there's room in this conversation for more than one.

You will enjoy reading this engrossing thread into the nature of the American mind.I was caught off guard by the effectiveness of the writing and editing that makes reading it such a delight. Each profile is more interesting than the next and I found myself falling in love with the spirit of each character.It's an informative, dazzling and fun yarn by an enthusiatic author who playfully illuminates profound insights into what makes an American, an American.

I'll bite. Hypomanic as the roots that made those immagrants strive out beyone the know and keep striving.Hypomania, even as an illness phase of bipolar doesn't require hos[pitalization only big paockets and someone to pull you back from the leadge when you know you can fly. Perhaps the USA should spend some time on the therapists counch to learn to stabilize its urgancys. All in all, a good read and a different point of view well worth pondering.

An eye opening book. I understand my way more. I learned a lot about my heroes, and enemies. I 100 percent recomend it.

Crazy to think about how the nomadic people who had tendencies to move an wander really fostered the entrepreneur of today. How they problem solved, and believed in their crazy ideas at all costs, and dove head first into reckless abandon to try something new. Great read.

This is one of the only books that is devoted to this fuzzy area of psychiatry, discussing a diagnosis that is often misdiagnosed. Unfortunately it has been so by a recent reviewer who gave it one star...You've been "clinically diagnosed" wrong if you were diagnosed with hypomania - as a hypomanic I can say that your description of what you've done to yourself in your life would not be a result of hypomania. Find a new psychiatrist who will treat you properly. Best of luck.

Makes a pretty unscientific case, but its fun as hell to read and keeps getting better as you understand the connections between people across time who have this "edge". lovely, If you're involved in the tech space, it will make a LOT of sense to you.

This book has proved to be an interesting and intriguing read. An insightful look back and forward in American time.

Der Autor John Gartner ist Psychiatrie-Professor an der Johns Hopkins University. In diesem Buch untersucht er die Frage, inwieweit der wirtschaftliche Erfolg der USA auf psychologische Faktoren (Hypomanie) zurückzuführen ist.Zunächst erklärt der Autor, dass die USA als Einwanderer-Land überdurchschnittlich von Menschen besiedelt wurden, die besondere Initiative und Wagemut gezeigt hätten. Dadurch sei der Anteil von Menschen mit extremen Stimmungen überdurchschnittlich hoch, was den genetischen Pool wesentlich beeinflusst hätte. Diese Annahme ist fragwürdig, denn schließlich wurde praktisch die ganze Erde von Menschen besiedelt, die irgendwann die Heimat ihrer Vorfahren verlassen hatten. Dafür, dass es in dieser Hinsicht genetische Besonderheiten der USA-Bewohner gibt, gibt es keinen Beweis. Außerdem ist unklar, ob es wirklich genetische Faktoren sind, die manche Menschen übermütiger und euphorischer als andere machen.Von Zweifeln unbeirrt setzt der Autor seine Vermutung einfach als eine Tatsache und beginnt, historische Persönlichkeiten reihenweise psychiatrisch postmortem zu diagnostizieren. Angesichts der unsicheren Faktenlage ist es äußerst fragwürdig, Personen wie Christoph Kolumbus heute einem Krankheitsbild zuzuordnen. Der Autor tut das hemmungslos.In sechs Kapiteln widmet sich das Buch dann noch in chronologischer Folge William Penn, Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Carnegie, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer und Craig Venter. Je näher der Autor dabei der Gegenwart kommt, desto spannender und aufschlussreicher wird das Buch. Der Abschnitt über Craig Venter, mit dem der Autor sich persönlich austauschen konnte, um seine Vermutungen zu überprüfen, ist wirklich lehrreich. Der Rest ist eher überflüssig.

The book tells stories of people who played an amazing role in the shaping of modern America and the world as we know it. It propounds a theory that these people were hypomanic, which is a mild form of mania. It might sound uninteresting but let me assure you that it is one hell of a book. Gives mini-biographies of people from different backgrounds and living in different eras including very interesting stories.

Ich gebe dem Buch vier Sterne, weil es zum Einen ein unterhaltsamer historischer Bericht verschiedener hypomanischer Charaktäre und ihrer Eigenheiten ist, der zusätzlich noch zu einem besseren Verständnis hypomanischer Persönlichkeiten beiträgt, zum Anderen jedoch ist das Buch für Deutsche schwer zu lesen, da das Grundvokabular des Autors nicht dem einfachen Schulenglisch entspricht. Ich lebte ein Jahr in England und lese gelegentlich englische Bücher. Dieses war bislang eines der anspruchsvollsten und ich habe es bisher nur halb gelesen.

This is definitely a good read. As someone with hypomania, it was of even greater interest to me. It's a great read for the history of the people written about even if you're not particularly interested in the subject of hypomania. Highly recommended.