Dimensions
128 x 198 x 16mm
From the eighteenth-century discovery of 'animal magnetism' to the current uses of hypnosis and hypnotherapy, Derek Forrest's fascinating work charts the turbulent development of hynotic theory and practice. When Anton Mesmer began to cure patients with 'animal magnetism', he intiated a controversy in the medical profession that continues to this day. His theory of a universal fluid in the human body that could be regulated by magnetic influence was refined and developed by his disciples, largely in France, Britain and the USA, until it became the hypnotism we know today.Using many quotations from original sources and exploring the dramatic events of two hundred and fifty years of hypnosis, Hypnotism: A History is an enlightening study of an intriguing and controversial therapy.