The Man Who Closed the Asylums

Peopled by a cast of extraordinary characters - patients, colleagues, friends and enemies - revolving around the charismatic and now legendary psychiatrist Franco Basaglia, John Foot's sympathetic account de-mythologises the reform by uncovering little-known precedents, distancing Basaglia from anti-psychiatry and situating his work within Italian radical politics of the late 1960s. Indispensable reading for anyone interested in psychiatric reform. -- Howard Caygill, author of On Resistance The anti-asylum movement in 1960s and '70s Italy forms one of the most fascinating episodes in western psychiatry. John Foot's richly documented and revealing study of this movement and its pioneer figure, the charismatic radical psychiatrist Franco Basaglia, adds immeasurably to our understanding of the troubled history of mental health care in modern times. -- Barbara Taylor, author of The Last Asylum A brilliant historical reconstruction of the work and ideas of one of the world's leading exponents of critical psychiatry. -- David Forgacs, author of Italy’s Margins A portrait of imperfect people who had the passion and pragmatism to put an end to a brutal and broken system. -- Sarah Wise * Financial Times * In Italy, the literature on Basaglia tends towards either idealisation or demonisation-he's considered either a secular saint or a dangerous radical. John Foot gives a much more rounded, and fair, portrait of a complicated, committed man. -- Tobias Jones * Guardian * However strong the spirit of 1968, it will not eradicate the institutional impulse from human societies. -- Peter J. Leithart * First Things * An excellent book -- Melissa Reynolds * Frugal Creativity * Brings this diversity, richness and complexity to life in an exemplary fashion, illuminating all its different manifestations and contradictions... A triumph of committed scholarship -- Paul Gordon * TLS * An important work by John Foot . should put to rest the badly-informed, lazy narrative that still prevails to the effect that Franco Basaglia was an idealist - an 'anti-psychiatrist' - who, at a stroke, disempowered doctors to certify someone as insane with disastrous results. -- Adrian C. Laing * Amazon * John Foot stresses throughout his exemplary account [that] myth and reality aren't easily separated in Basaglia's story... Foot restores a critical distance that makes it possible to present Basaglia's achievements as part of a wider story. In Italy, it took more than one man to close the asylums. -- Mike Jay * London Review of Books *