Leonard Smith

This book examines the origins and early development of private mental health-care in England, showing that the current spectacle of commercially-based participation in key elements of service provision is no new phenomenon. In 1815, about seventy per cent of people institutionalised because of insanity were being kept in private ‘madhouses’. The opening four chapters detail the emergence of these madhouses and demonstrate their increasing presence in London and across the country during the long eighteenth century. Subsequent chapters deal with specific aspects in greater depth - the insane patients themselves, their characteristics, and the circumstances surrounding admissions; the madhouse proprietors, their business activities, personal attributes and professional qualifications or lack of them; changing treatment practices and the principles that informed them. Finally, the book explores conditions within the madhouses, which ranged from the relatively enlightened to theseriously defective, and reveals the experiences, concerns and protests of their many critics.

This book examines the origins and early development of private mental health-care in England, showing that the current spectacle of commercially-based participation in key elements of service provision is no new phenomenon. In 1815, about seventy per cent of people institutionalised because of insanity were being kept in private ‘madhouses’. The opening four chapters detail the emergence of these madhouses and demonstrate their increasing presence in London and across the country during the long eighteenth century. Subsequent chapters deal with specific aspects in greater depth - the insane patients themselves, their characteristics, and the circumstances surrounding admissions; the madhouse proprietors, their business activities, personal attributes and professional qualifications or lack of them; changing treatment practices and the principles that informed them. Finally, the book explores conditions within the madhouses, which ranged from the relatively enlightened to theseriously defective, and reveals the experiences, concerns and protests of their many critics.

The secret to permanent weight loss revealed. The real reason diets fail has nothing to do with calories and everything to do with the balance of bacteria in your gut. A simple guide to show you how to finally achieve your ideal weight. The 100 trillion bacteria that live in your digestive tract--which make up 90 percent of the cells in your body--are the real reason you gain or lose weight. When those microbes are out of balance, chronic health conditions can occur, including irritable bowel syndrome, fatigue, and obesity. By balancing the good and bad bacteria, you can finally achieve your ideal weight--for good. In The Skinny Gut Diet, New York Times bestselling author, public television icon, certified nutritional consultant, and digestive health expert Brenda Watson offers an insightful perspective on the little-known connection between weight gain and an underlying imbalance of bacteria in the gut, or what she calls the "gut factor"--the overlooked root cause of weight gain. Drawing upon the latest scientific research, Brenda illuminates the inner workings of the digestive system and provides instructions for achieving a healthy bacterial ecosystem that spurs weight loss by enabling the body to absorb fewer calories from food, experience reduced cravings, and store less fat. The premise is simple: curtail sugar consumption (and its surprising sources) and eat more healthy fats, living foods, and protein to balance the gut bacteria. The result? A skinny gut. The Skinny Gut Diet centers around an easy-to-follow diet plan. A 14-day eating plan, dozens of delicious recipes and sage advice help you achieve--and maintain--digestive balance and sustained weight loss. With inspiring real-life stories of ten individuals who transformed their health on the Skinny Gut Diet, Brenda empowers you to become your own health advocate so that you can finally shed unwanted pounds and enjoy optimal health and vitality.

Lunatic Hospitals in Georgian England, 1750–1830 constitutes the first comprehensive study of the philanthropic asylum system in Georgian England. Using original research and drawing upon a wide range of expertise on the history of mental health this book demonstrates the crucial role of the lunatic hospitals in the early development of a national system of psychiatric institutions.These hospitals were to form an essential historical link in the emergence of a national system of institutional provision for mentally disordered people. They provided important prototypes for the subsequent development of a network of state-sponsored lunatic asylums during the nineteenth century. This is an impressive volume which covers various areas including:the provincial lunatic hospitalsmanaging the hospitalmanaging the insane.This book will interest specialist historians as well as mental health professionals and people interested in local and regional studies.

This short history of Unitarianism concisely explores the origins and progress of a worldwide liberal religious tradition committed to principles of freedom, reason, and tolerance. Unitarians have exercised an influence out of proportion to their minority status. Through their agency, Poland and Transylvania enjoyed periods of religious toleration. In Great Britain, as pioneers of early modern higher education in Dissenting Academies, they applied Enlightenment reasoning to the study of religion, science, and the humanities. In the United States, they led the Transcendentalist movement, the first major flowering of American intellectual culture. This book traces the history of the separate but related Unitarian (and Unitarian Universalist) denominations in Europe, Great Britain, and the United States, and touches on the new groups that have arisen, or are in the process of emerging, elsewhere in the world.

Lunatic Hospitals in Georgian England, 1750–1830 constitutes the first comprehensive study of the philanthropic asylum system in Georgian England. Using original research and drawing upon a wide range of expertise on the history of mental health this book demonstrates the crucial role of the lunatic hospitals in the early development of a national system of psychiatric institutions.These hospitals were to form an essential historical link in the emergence of a national system of institutional provision for mentally disordered people. They provided important prototypes for the subsequent development of a network of state-sponsored lunatic asylums during the nineteenth century. This is an impressive volume which covers various areas including:the provincial lunatic hospitalsmanaging the hospitalmanaging the insane.This book will interest specialist historians as well as mental health professionals and people interested in local and regional studies.

Chaos exists in systems all around us. Even the simplest system of cause and effect can be subject to chaos, denying us accurate predictions of its behaviour, and sometimes giving rise to astonishing structures of large-scale order. Our growing understanding of Chaos Theory is having fascinating applications in the real world - from technology to global warming, politics, human behaviour, and even gambling on the stock market. Leonard Smith shows that we all have an intuitive understanding of chaotic systems. He uses accessible maths and physics (replacing complex equations with simple examples like pendulums, railway lines, and tossing coins) to explain the theory, and points to numerous examples in philosophy and literature (Edgar Allen Poe, Chang-Tzu, Arthur Conan Doyle) that illuminate the problems. The beauty of fractal patterns and their relation to chaos, as well as the history of chaos, and its uses in the real world and implications for the philosophy of science are all discussed in this Very Short Introduction. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Throughout the ages, the immortal forces of good and evil have struggled for control over the human race. According to author Leonard Smith, the influences that have been exerted upon humankind for centuries have caused us to embrace delusional beliefs that have distorted our perception of history. Within its objective narrative, "Power Politics: Primeval, Medieval, and Constant Evil" illustrates the significant political impact of both God and Satan on historical events. Readers will discover powerful political forces not apparent to the senses, as well as the influence those forces have over our everyday lives. Using real-life examples that expose the eternal power struggle between good and evil, "Power Politics: Primeval, Medieval, and Constant Evil" offers a unique perspective that encourages us to look beyond society's conventional beliefs.