This volume uncovers the roots of electroshock in America, an outgrowth of western patriarchal medicine with primarily female patients. The history of electroshock in the United States in three historic stages is chronicled as it alternated from an enthusiastic reception in 1940, to a period of crisis in the 1960s, to its resurgence after 1980. Early American experiments with electrical medicine are also examined, while the development of electroshock in America is considered through the lens of social, political, and economic factors. The revival of electroshock in recent decades is found...

This book cuts through rhetorical platitudes and partisan distortions to provide a balanced and up-to-date resource for understanding policy debates on social issues in statehouses around the country as well as in Washington, DC. It provides broad coverage of the parties and the forces that affect each party's positions, examining every major social policy and taking into account historical differences between Democrats and Republicans in an evenhanded manner, with emphasis on the key ideologies that set the two parties apart during the 2008 2014 midterms.

Author Timothy Kneeland...