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Book Cover
book
BookBook
Author Maier, Thomas, 1956-

Title Dr. Spock : an American life / Thomas Maier.

Publication Info. New York : Harcourt Brace, [1998]
©1998

Copies

Location Call No. Status
 Berlin-Peck Memorial Library - Biographies  92 BIOGRAPHY SPOCK    Check Shelf
 Canton Public Library - Adult Department  BIOGRAPHY SPOCK    Check Shelf
 New Britain, Main Library - Non Fiction  CS 92 SPOCK, BEN    Check Shelf
 Southington Library - Adult  B SPOCK    Check Shelf
 West Hartford, Noah Webster Library - Biographies  B SPOCK BENJAMIN M    Check Shelf
Edition First edition.
Description xvii, 520 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages [479]-495) and index.
Summary Dr. Benjamin Spock is a uniquely American figure, a Connecticut Yankee whose name is a symbol of family life and whose Book of Baby and Child Care is revered for its common-sense, down-to-earth voice. At the same time, in many ways, Spock is a revolutionary and a magnet for controversy. The first pediatrician to apply Freud's theories of psychology to children, he wrote his book as a Freudian tract in disguise, intentionally camouflaging Freud for Americans (mixing in a little of John Dewey's progressive educational psychology as well as a great chunk of old-fashioned American optimism). When he applied his ideals to politics, Spock shocked his multitude of fans by protesting against the Vietnam War with Martin Luther King in 1967 and by running for president on the People's Party ticket in 1972. He was attacked by Norman Vincent Peale and Spiro Agnew for fostering a "permissive" society and by feminists for his traditional attitudes about women's role in the family. Perhaps even more startling, however, is Spock's troubled personal life. Thomas Maier's extensive interviews with Spock, his family, and those who knew him draw the first complete picture of this complicated man.
Contents A mother's boy -- The good doctor -- The father figure -- The war at home -- The search for peace.
Subject Spock, Benjamin, 1903-1998.
Pediatricians -- United States -- Biography.
Spock, Benjamin, 1903-1998.
Pediatrics -- United States -- Biography.
Added Title Doctor Spock
ISBN 0151002037
9780151002030
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