The Broken Connection

by Robert Jay Lifton

The unique human awareness of our own mortality enables us to ensure our perpetuation beyond death through our impact on others. This continuity of life has been profoundly shaken by the advent of wars of mass destruction, genocide, and the ever-present threat of nuclear annihilation. In The Broken Connection, Robert Jay Lifton, one of AmericaÂs foremost thinkers and preeminent psychiatrists, explores the inescapable connections between death and life, the psychiatric disorders that arise from these connections, and the advent of the nuclear age which has jeopardized any attempts to ensure the perpetuation of the self beyond death.

Genres: Psychology, Death, Philosophy, Nonfiction

495 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Robert Jay Lifton was an American psychiatrist and author, chiefly known for his studies of the psychological causes and effects of wars and political violence, and for his theory of thought reform. He was an early proponent of the techniques of psychohistory.

Reviews

[Railee Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still my favorite book of all time. Will never have another take its place.

[Jeni Ferret · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book started off so well, synthesized many different psychologists views of death and the death image, and even brought in some aspects of mental health and how the view of death changes when this is a factor. However, the book quickly dissolved and was consumed by fear of nuclear weapons and how the idea of these can cause death anxiety. It felt as if the whole book was building towards an argument against nuclear weapons and energy, and had little to do with death overall and our cultural disconnect from this eventuality. Im not sure I’ve looked so forward to reading a book and been so disappointed by its contents. If you take the first 2/3 of the book on its own, it is a solid read that makes no argument and only presents ideas. The remaining 1/3 of the book was a true struggle, and I felt I was crawling across the final pages.