Life and Work of Carl Rogers

by Howard Kirschenbaum

Available in the UK for the first time in paperback, this re-issue of the 2007 second edition of Howard Kirschenbaum's biography of Carl Rogers extends to over 700 pages and includes a more detailed personal and professional history, an evaluation of the Wisconsin years and a full account of the last decade of Rogers' life. The years that followed the publication of the first edition of Carl Rogers' biography in 1979 turned out to be one of the most important periods of his career. Until now this work has not been widely known. Now, more than a quarter of a century after the first edition, Kirschenbaum has added deeper understanding of Rogers' contributions to psychology, the helping professions and society. On a personal level, access to recently revealed private papers tells us much more about Carl Rogers the man than was known to many of his closest associates. Brought to us by a masterly biographer whose own understanding of Carl Rogers, psychotherapy, education, and the human condition has matured over the intervening years. This much-anticipated second edition reflects a wiser and more balanced perspective of his subject. Now fully referenced, this is the life and work of Carl Rogers - no more, no less.

Genres: Psychology, Biography

Hardcover

First published September 6, 2007

Reviews

[Mike Zickar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!!! 600 pages on one of the most interesting and influential psychologists from the 20th Century! Rogers has always been one of my inspirations, professionally and personally, and this book was a real delight. This is a scholarly work and so expect a lot of detail and footnotes.

For those who are not professional psychologists, frankly, this book may be too much detail. Perhaps start off with Becoming a Person, with the autobiographical chapter in there. But for those of us who love Rogers, this is the book to read.

It's an update on Kirschenbaum's earlier Becoming Carl Rogers, with additional material on the later end of Rogers's life as well as some personal material that the author had access to only after Dr. Rogers's death in 1987.

[JY Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a person centered counselling psychologist who happens to love biographies, so I was ecstatic to order this. To me, Carl Rogers is not just an academic with theories that I found interesting, but the quintessential model of what it means to be a psychologist: a scientist, skilled helper, and teacher. I was always curious about how he does it: how did he manage the rigorous reasoning required of a scientist, and the unconditional positive regard and empathy required of a counsellor all at the same time. On top of it, how did he manage his congruence, ie being comfortable showing his tenderness and sensitivity, while asserting his needs and opinions when required. Since reading On Becoming a Person, I always wanted to know what kind of person he is and the life he led.

I learnt a lot from this book that can unfortunately never be captured by a short review. I have been warned to 'never meet your heroes', but for Carl Rogers I am very grateful I got to know him as a person through this excellent book. This is the thickest book I have ever completed reading cover to cover , covering everything related to him as comprehensively as possible, from his upbringing, educational influences, the historical contexts of the times, his life as a clinician, the development of his ideas, alongside his personal life, interests, positive traits, and demons. This focuses more on his own being rather than just his ideas and contributions, which interestingly evokes greater appreciation for their sheer impact.

This book while readable, is really only recommended for those who are simply really keen on knowing the most complete impression available of Carl Rogers and the historical context which his life's work is situated.

[Esther* · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a chunky book to get through, but very interesting. Some chapters focus more on the events of Rogers’ life and others on his theories, so it’s a good mix of story and practice. It was interesting to get an overview of how his career changed over time and it seemed to have some very honest insights from people in Rogers’ family and academic circles, as well as many quotes and insights from Rogers himself.