The Mixed Legacy of 20th-Century Suicidology

This book review states that "Comprehending suicide: Landmarks in 20th-century suicidology" (see record 2001-00994-000) provides us with an unusual experience. The subject, understanding suicide, is clearly a crucial one for every clinician. It challenges even the most experienced practitioner, with the challenge extending, as it does, to one's capacity to understand suicidal behavior in terms not only of psychology, but of sociology, biology, philosophy, theology, and ethics. This range of pertinent disciplines is managed by organizing the material into five sections that include Historical and Literary, Sociological, Biological, Psychiatric and Psychological, and Survivors and Volunteers. The volume is unique in offering a century-wide perspective of the field of suicidology, with keen insight as to both the historical and the scientific role of each landmark. Shneidman deserves high marks for both providing students with current and historical perspectives of the field in a single volume, and challenging even his most distinguished colleagues in suicidology to reconsider what counts the most in furthering the goal of suicide prevention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)