Whispers : The Voices of Paranoia

By Ronald K. Siegel

Book Overview

Combining the insights of a gifted research scientist with vivid tales that are usually the realm of the novelist, Dr. Ronald Siegel lets his readers experience the suspicion, terror, and rage that possess the mind of the paranoid. This is the first book to investigate the actual experience of paranoia and to demonstrate that under the right conditions -- drugs or deprivation, for example -- anyone can be driven into that state. And indeed, eight million Americans already have been. The paranoid inhabits a different realm of being, one that tilts the world ever so slightly. The senses detect these differences and sound mental alarms. Delusions and hallucinations feed on each other, flourishing with amazing speed. The paranoid becomes locked in a new mode of thinking -- viewing life as from a cell. In a dozen case studies, Dr. Siegel follows his patients into the shadow lands where paranoia flourishes -- drug addiction, prison, organized crime, and terrorism. He introduces us to mild cases where there is only a vague sense that something is out there stalking, to those with apocalyptic visions so intense that they shake the foundations of an entire community. We meet the old woman who hears her teeth whispering, the beautiful ballet dancer who falls in love with a shadow, and the cocaine addict for whom the invasion of imaginary bugs was strong enough to kill. This intrepid journey through the mind's dark corridors ends with a reflective coda exploring the suicide of Ernest Hemingway, and there is no better guide than Dr. Ronald Siegel.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0517592398
• ISBN13: 9780517592397
• Release Date: August 1970
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group, The
• Length: 310 Pages
• Weight: 0.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 6.3" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

A real page-turner. Not boring at all...

This book is so exciting that it is hard to believe it is non-fiction at times. The author covers many different cases with literary mastery usually reserved for fiction writers. There are stories of Hitler's brain in a jar, crazy cokehead hallucinations, psycho killers and more. This is not your standard acedemic (read boring) case study. I read this book from cover to cover in about a week, very hard to put down. It is written for the layman, but in a way that it is excessible to anyone (including professionals in the field). I would recommend this book to anyone with even a passing interest in abnormal psychology.

Journey Into Paranoia

"Whispers: The Voices of Paranoia" is hands-down one of the best books that I have ever read. Dr. Ronald Siegel, Ph.D., a forensic psychopharmacologist, is an incredible writer and an even better story-teller. His journey into the paranoid mind is enlightening, vivid, and dangerous. As Dr. Siegel unfolds each case study, the reader is thrown into the suspense, analyzing and foreshadowing the devious behavioral manifestations of the paranoid mind. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in psychiatry, clinical neuropsychology, forensic psychology, or simply a good, non-fiction suspense trip.You will finish this book in less than a week. I simply could not put it down and have since gone on to order all of Dr. Siegel's books.

15year old's perspective

I just had to throw in my two cents about how much I enjoyed this book. We had to get a book to read for English class. On a whim I bought this book, and could not set it down for the life of me! It's very interesting, I learned so much. And it's wonderfully written. All in all, it's wonderful

legal student's view of book

I bought the book whispers while casually shopping in a local bookstore earlier this year. I was at that time, in a class taught by a recent graduate in psychiatry. She made the concepts of basic human behavior interesting and challenging. As most would suspect, the mental state and motivation of people is important in law. Dr. Siegel, in his analysis of criminally insane patients, is fascinating reading for anyone. His status as a resreach scientist allowed him to closely examine patients with mental abnormalities. I could not put the book down until it was completely finished. Dr. siegel presents his cases in terms that laymen can understand. The book is concise, contains some adventure, and is somewhat humorous at times. I will read it again undoubtedly. I would reccomend this book to anyone who has a friend or relative suffering from mental disorders or substance abuse issues. I would also reccomend law enforcement officers to read the book in order to understand the condition of mentally ill people they often encounter in their daily work. I am looking for Dr. Siegel's other books. whispers was a true delight.

A wonderful insight into the mind of the paranoid person.

I found this book sad, illuminating and fascinating. The author takes you on a journey through several different delusions and gives very good background information and, at times, links this background to the present. It is a good opportunity to more fully understand the psychotic process and delusional system that tortures many mentally ill persons. As a psychiatric nurse, it gave me a deeper understanding as to what my patients are going through.