Publisher Description

Psychobiography is often attacked by critics who feel that it trivializes complex adult personalities, "explaining the large deeds of great individuals," as George Will wrote, "by some slight the individual suffered at a tender age--say, 7, when his mother took away a lollipop." Worse yet, some writers have clearly abused psychobiography--for instance, to grind axes from the right (Nancy Clinch on the Kennedy family) or from the left (Fawn Brodie on RichardNixon)--and others have offered woefully inept diagnoses (such as Albert Goldman's portrait of Elvis Presley as a "split personality" and a "delusional paranoid"). And yet, as Alan Elms argues in UncoveringLives, in the hands of a skilled practitioner, psychobiography can rival the very best traditional biography in the insights it offers. Elms makes a strong case for the value of psychobiography, arguing in large part from example. Indeed, most of the book features Elms's own fascinating case studies of over a dozen prominent figures, among them Sigmund Freud (the father of psychobiography), B.F. Skinner, Isaac Asimov, L. Frank Baum, Vladimir Nabokov, Jimmy Carter, GeorgeBush, Saddam Hussein, and Henry Kissinger. These profiles make intriguing reading. For example, Elms discusses the fiction of Isaac Asimov in light of the latter's acrophobia (fear of heights) and mild agoraphobia(fear of open spaces)--and Elms includes excerpts from a series of letters between himself and Asimov. He reveals an unintended subtext of The Wizard of Oz--that males are weak, females are strong (think of Scarecrow, Tin Man, the Lion, and the Wizard, versus the good and bad witches and Dorothy herself)--and traces this in part to Baum's childhood heart disease, which kept him from strenuous activity, and to his relationship with his mother-in-law, Matilda Joslyn Gage, a distinguishedadvocate of women's rights. And in a fascinating chapter, he examines the abused childhood of Saddam Hussein, the privileged childhood of George Bush, and the radically different psychological paths that ledthese two men into the Persian Gulf War. Elms supports each study with extensive research, much of it never presented before--for instance, on how some of the most revealing portions of C.G. Jung's autobiography were deleted in spite of his protests before publication. Along the way, Elms provides much insight into how psychobiography is written. Finally, he proposes clear guidelines for judging high quality work, and offers practical tips for anyone interested in writing in thisgenre. Written with great clarity and wit, Uncovering Lives illuminates the contributions that psychology can make to biography. Elms's enthusiasm for his subject is contagious and will inspire would-bepsychobiographers as well as win over the most hardened skeptics.

Author Biography

Alan C. Elms is Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Davis. He is the author of Personality in Politics and other books, as well as many articles in popular magazines and professional journals.

Table of Contents

Part One Why Psychobiography?1: The Psychologist as Biographer2: Starting from ScratchPart Two The Heart of the Theorist3: Freud as Leonardo4: The Auntification of C. G. Jung5: Allport Meets Freud and the Clean Little Boy6: Skinner's Dark Year and Walden TwoPart Three Into the Fantastic7: The Thing from Inner Space: John W. Campbell, Robert E. Howard, and Cordwainer Smith8: Darker than He Thought: the Psychoanalysis of Jack Williamson9: Asimov as Acrophobe10: The Mother of Oz: L. Frank Baum11: Nabokov Contra FreudPart Four Beneath Politics12: Carter and Character13: The Counterplayers: George Bush and Saddam Hussein14: From Colonel House to General HaigPart Five Other Methods, Other Lives15: Going Beyond ScratchNotesBibliographyIndex

Review

"Methodology, writing skill, and subject all combine in this book in the most exciting tradition of creative scholarship." --Extrapolation"Professor Elms has gotten to the heart of the problem of biography: how to apply psychological understanding without bogging down in detail or drowning in theory. With quick wit and splendid erudition he dissects the lives of major figures in science, politics, literature, and the arts . . . . A landmark contribution to the integration of clinical and biographical studies of human development."--Peter Ostwald, M.D. , author of Schumann: The Inner Voicesof a Musical Genius and Vaslav Nijinsky: A Leap into Madness"For those interested in the field of psychobiography or in the psychological study of individual lives, this is a long-awaited book that richly fulfills its promise . . . . For those unfamiliar with the field, it prvides a nearly ideal introduction, containing a fascinating and, in some cases, unforgettable set of case studies, along with guidelines for research . . . A pleasure to read; it is thoughtful, seriously researched, and well written."--Contemporary Psychology"In this magnificent volume, Alan Elms effectively reintegrates psychology and biography, and brings psychology back home to its task of illuminating the lives of individual persons. He provides fascinating psychobiographical portraits of figures as diverse as Freud, Jung, B. F. Skinner, Vladimir Nabokov, and Isaac Asimov, as well as sound procedural guidelines, all with a genial touch of humor. This book may be as important in advancing psychological biographyas Freud's study of Leonarda da Vinci or Erikson's of Martin Luther King were in their time."--William McKinley Runyan, author of Life Histories and Psychobiography"In this remarkable combination of polemical argument and richly textured narrative, Alan C. Elms reconceives psychobiography as a scientific activity, then vigorously supports this bold contention with a series of acutely observed and fascinating case studies that range from Sigmund Freud to L. Frank Baum, from Vladimir Nabokov to Isaac Asimov, from B.F. Skinner to Saddam Hussein."--James E.B. Breslin, University of California, Berkeley"Alan Elms writes in first person in order to risk encounter with the deepest sources of creativity, and he 'comes home' beautifully from this Orpheus quest. Methodology, writing skill, and subject all combine in this book in the most exciting tradition of creative scholarship."--Donald M. Hassler, editor of Extrapolation"Professor Elms has gotten to the heart of the problem of biography: how to apply psychological understanding without bogging down in detail or drowning in theory. With quick wit and splendid erudition he dissects the lives of major figures in science, politics, literature, and the arts, bringing into focus what happened to their families and personalities before they became famous, and making the subsequent behavior of these people much more understandable.The book cuts across conflicting schools of thought--e.g. operant conditioning and psychoanalysis--to explain how prominent people may think, feel, act, and suffer. It's a landmark contribution to theintegration of clinical and biographical studies of human development."--Peter Ostwald, M.D. , author of Schumann: The Inner Voices of a Musical Genius and Vaslav Nijinsky: A Leap into Madness

Promotional

Uncovering Lives shows that, in the hands of a skilled practitioner, psychobiography can rival the very best traditional biography in the insights it offers.

Kirkus US Review

Psychologist Elms wants to transform bestselling, warts-and-all biographers ("pathographers," as Joyce Carol Oates has labeled them) into sensitive, thoughtful chroniclers of textured lives. Sounds impractical - but Elms is mighty convincing. Part of Elms's (Psychology/Univ. of California, Davis; Personality in Politics, not reviewed) book is a how-to: The best biographers, he says, draw on many theories, not just Freudian psychoanalysis; rely on scientific method rather than speculation; look for psychological health as well as pathologies; and explain individuals in terms of their complexity, rather than reducing their motives to single sources such as greed or vanity. After explaining the principles of good biography, Elms practices what he has preached in brief psychobiographical studies of politicians (George Bush, Saddam Hussein, and Alexander Haig), science fiction/fantasy writers (including Isaac Asimov and L. Frank Baum), and psychological theorists (Freud, Jung, B.F. Skinner). The most convincing application concerns Jimmy Carter; with the benefit of 18 years' hindsight, Elms reevaluates the analysis he made nine days before the 1976 presidential election. He was especially prescient in evaluating Carter's faith: While other biographers worried about whether a born-again Christian would turn a secular government into a revival meeting, Elms understood that Carter should not be defined solely by his religious beliefs. Elms writes throughout with wit as well as insight. He comments that he had long been tempted to use Woody Allen as a subject for psychobiography - "except that the connections between his life and his work looked too simple...all up there on the screen." But, Elms notes, after Allen transformed his fantasies into reality by falling in love with Mia Farrow's teenage daughter, he appeared "rather less simple than before. Or maybe he's so simple that his sudden simplemindedness itself requires an explanation." One of the best books ever written about biography, psycho- or otherwise. (Kirkus Reviews)

Long Description

Psychobiography is often attacked by critics who feel that it trivializes complex adult personalities, "explaining the large deeds of great individuals," as George Will wrote, "by some slight the individual suffered at a tender age--say, 7, when his mother took away a lollipop." Worse yet, some writers have clearly abused psychobiography--for instance, to grind axes from the right (Nancy Clinch on the Kennedy family) or from the left (Fawn Brodie on Richard
Nixon)--and others have offered woefully inept diagnoses (such as Albert Goldman's portrait of Elvis Presley as a "split personality" and a "delusional paranoid"). And yet, as Alan Elms argues in Uncovering Lives, in the hands of a skilled practitioner, psychobiography can rival the very best traditional
biography in the insights it offers. Elms makes a strong case for the value of psychobiography, arguing in large part from example. Indeed, most of the book features Elms's own fascinating case studies of over a dozen prominent figures, among them Sigmund Freud (the father of psychobiography), B.F. Skinner, Isaac Asimov, L. Frank Baum, Vladimir Nabokov, Jimmy Carter, George Bush, Saddam Hussein, and Henry Kissinger. These profiles make intriguing reading. For example, Elms discusses
the fiction of Isaac Asimov in light of the latter's acrophobia (fear of heights) and mild agoraphobia (fear of open spaces)--and Elms includes excerpts from a series of letters between himself and Asimov. He reveals an unintended subtext of The Wizard of Oz--that males are weak, females are strong
(think of Scarecrow, Tin Man, the Lion, and the Wizard, versus the good and bad witches and Dorothy herself)--and traces this in part to Baum's childhood heart disease, which kept him from strenuous activity, and to his relationship with his mother-in-law, Matilda Joslyn Gage, a distinguished advocate of women's rights. And in a fascinating chapter, he examines the abused childhood of Saddam Hussein, the privileged childhood of George Bush, and the radically different psychological paths that
led these two men into the Persian Gulf War. Elms supports each study with extensive research, much of it never presented before--for instance, on how some of the most revealing portions of C.G. Jung's autobiography were deleted in spite of his protests before publication. Along the way, Elms provides
much insight into how psychobiography is written. Finally, he proposes clear guidelines for judging high quality work, and offers practical tips for anyone interested in writing in this genre. Written with great clarity and wit, Uncovering Lives illuminates the contributions that psychology can make to biography. Elms's enthusiasm for his subject is contagious and will inspire would-be psychobiographers as well as win over the most hardened skeptics.

Review Text

"Methodology, writing skill, and subject all combine in this book in the most exciting tradition of creative scholarship." --Extrapolation
"Professor Elms has gotten to the heart of the problem of biography: how to apply psychological understanding without bogging down in detail or drowning in theory. With quick wit and splendid erudition he dissects the lives of major figures in science, politics, literature, and the arts . . . . A landmark contribution to the integration of clinical and biographical studies of human development."--Peter Ostwald, M.D. , author of Schumann: The Inner Voices
of a Musical Genius and Vaslav Nijinsky: A Leap into Madness
"For those interested in the field of psychobiography or in the psychological study of individual lives, this is a long-awaited book that richly fulfills its promise . . . . For those unfamiliar with the field, it prvides a nearly ideal introduction, containing a fascinating and, in some cases, unforgettable set of case studies, along with guidelines for research . . . A pleasure to read; it is thoughtful, seriously researched, and well written."
--Contemporary Psychology
"In this magnificent volume, Alan Elms effectively reintegrates psychology and biography, and brings psychology back home to its task of illuminating the lives of individual persons. He provides fascinating psychobiographical portraits of figures as diverse as Freud, Jung, B. F. Skinner, Vladimir Nabokov, and Isaac Asimov, as well as sound procedural guidelines, all with a genial touch of humor. This book may be as important in advancing psychological biography
as Freud's study of Leonarda da Vinci or Erikson's of Martin Luther King were in their time."--William McKinley Runyan, author of Life Histories and Psychobiography
"In this remarkable combination of polemical argument and richly textured narrative, Alan C. Elms reconceives psychobiography as a scientific activity, then vigorously supports this bold contention with a series of acutely observed and fascinating case studies that range from Sigmund Freud to L. Frank Baum, from Vladimir Nabokov to Isaac Asimov, from B.F. Skinner to Saddam Hussein."--James E.B. Breslin, University of California, Berkeley
"Alan Elms writes in first person in order to risk encounter with the deepest sources of creativity, and he 'comes home' beautifully from this Orpheus quest. Methodology, writing skill, and subject all combine in this book in the most exciting tradition of creative scholarship."--Donald M. Hassler, editor of Extrapolation
"Professor Elms has gotten to the heart of the problem of biography: how to apply psychological understanding without bogging down in detail or drowning in theory. With quick wit and splendid erudition he dissects the lives of major figures in science, politics, literature, and the arts, bringing into focus what happened to their families and personalities before they became famous, and making the subsequent behavior of these people much more understandable.
The book cuts across conflicting schools of thought--e.g. operant conditioning and psychoanalysis--to explain how prominent people may think, feel, act, and suffer. It's a landmark contribution to the integration of clinical and biographical studies of human development."--Peter Ostwald, M.D. , author
of Schumann: The Inner Voices of a Musical Genius and Vaslav Nijinsky: A Leap into Madness

Review Quote

"Professor Elms has gotten to the heart of the problem of biography: howto apply psychological understanding without bogging down in detail or drowningin theory. With quick wit and splendid erudition he dissects the lives of majorfigures in science, politics, literature, and the arts, bringing into focus whathappened to their families and personalities before they became famous, andmaking the subsequent behavior of these people much more understandable. Thebook cuts across conflicting schools of thought--e.g. operant conditioning andpsychoanalysis--to explain how prominent people may think, feel, act, andsuffer. It's a landmark contribution to the integration of clinical andbiographical studies of human development."--Peter Ostwald, M.D. , author ofSchumann: The Inner Voices of a Musical Genius and Vaslav Nijinsky: A Leap intoMadness

Feature

A strong case for the value of psychobiography Boasts over a dozen vividly written, brief psychobiographies of such figures as Freud, Jung, Isacc Asimov, Jimmy Carter, Henry Kissinger, Saddam Hussein, and George Bush Provides much insight into how psychobiography is written and how to tell good work from bad

Details