The Body Silent Hardcover – April, 1987
Author: Robert F. Murphy ID: 0805001301
From Library Journal
The author, a well-known cultural and field anthropologist at Columbia University, was diagnosed as having an incurable spinal cord tumor in 1976 at age 52. He is now essentially paralyzed from the neck down. Within this frameworkin which his physical self of locomotion and effect loses all functionhe relates his own odyssey into “selfhood and sentiment.” Far more than a bittersweet first-person account of chronic illness, this is a masterfully written examination of the role of the disabled in society. The author draws upon the relevant literature, history, sociology, anthropology, and psychology as a basis for his views and his means of coping. This powerful and eye-opening commentary is highly recommended for social scientists, health care personnel, and informed and interested laypersons. Mark L. Dembert, M.D., Navy Environmental Health Ctr., Norfolk, Va.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
The most powerful book of its kind I’ve ever read…. Extraordinary powers of observation, generalization, and depth. — Oliver Sacks, author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat
Will keep the reader riveted…. Rigorous, haunting, and true. — Kirkus Reviews
[Murphy’s] contributions to the popular literature of the disabled will surely rank among the highest to date. — L. Daniel Myers, American Anthropologist –This text refers to the Paperback edition.
See all Editorial Reviews
Hardcover: 242 pagesPublisher: Henry Holt & Co; 1 edition (April 1987)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 0805001301ISBN-13: 978-0805001303 Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 1 inches Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces Best Sellers Rank: #1,184,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #38 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Psychology & Counseling > Medicine & Psychology #656 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Sociology > Medicine #2459 in Books > Science & Math > Biological Sciences > Anatomy
This is one of my books that I bought and put aside to read later. I don’t remember how long ago I bought it but I am certainly glad that I gave it a second chance to read it before discarding it. I am now not planning to sell this book, as it is too important a volume on disability in society, and it certainly applies to the bioethical and eduethical work I do on the side of my ‘regular’ job of teaching and writing.
Murphy is unlike me in that he came upon his disability later in life, while I was born basically deaf and remained that way for the first 13 years of my life before getting a hearing aid at the age of 13. Murphy had to deal with a slow-growing tumor that entwined itself into his spinal cord. Unlike many tumors that can be excised with surgery, his was such that the possibility of removing it also came with the possibility of losing everything else, including his life or the ability to continue to do his important work. Like many of us who have chosen not to take the risk of surgery and who don’t believe that to be disabled is worse than to be dead, Murphy worked with and around his progressive disabling and was able to give the world another 15 years of his wisdom in cultural anthropology.
This book is a must-read for any person with a disability, no matter when they became disabled. Murphy had the background of an academic anthropologist, with many years of successful teaching and writing for major journals in anthropology and culture. He had also written major books, one of which continues to be used in most universities on women and gender in primitive societies. So in coming into the genre of disability studies, he brought to the field a first-rate mind and ability to write so others can understand difficult concepts.
Download The Body Silent – April, 1987 Download PDF
MestikaEka869
