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Dr. Spock: An American Life
Offers an incisive portrait of a man made famous by his revolutionary ideas on child rearing, who led a surprisingly troubled personal life, marred by the alcoholism of his first wife, failures as a father and husband, and the suicide of his own grandson.
- GenresBiographyNonfiction
488 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1998
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About the author
Thomas Maier
24 books52 followersThomas Maier is the author of "MAFIA SPIES", the non-fiction spy thriller/murder mystery of how the CIA recruited two American mobsters to kill Cuban leader Fidel Castro during the Cold War, with themes very timely to today's Trump era. In a starred review, Booklist called MAFIA SPIES "enormously fun...succeeds brilliantly." Maier's previous 2014 book "WHEN LIONS ROAR: The Churchills and the Kennedys," published by Random House's Crown imprint. He is also the author and a producer of "MASTERS OF SEX", the Showtime series based on his book of the same name, which tells the story of researchers Dr. William Masters and Virginia Johnson. His other books include: "The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings, which was adapted for Warner Home Video DVD, and the critically acclaimed Dr. Spock: An American Life, which was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year in 1999. His 1994 "Newhouse: All The Glitter, Power and Glory of America's Richest Media Empire And the Secretive Man Behind It", is currently being developed by Sony Pictures Television. Maier is a special writer at Newsday and won numerous national awards. He lives in Long Island, New York.
www.thomasmaierbooks.com
www.thomasmaierbooks.com
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 5, 2020
“Dr. Spock” is a twentieth century life. He is most famous as the pediatrician who wrote “Baby and Child Care” – first published in 1946 and is now in its 10th revised edition (2018). My parents used it and we used it in the 1980s when our children were born.
It has a wealth of practical information for the new parent (and the more experienced parent too). Here’s one example when our baby was about 1 year old. We would put him to bed and about 15 minutes later he would come out of bed and arrive in the living room with a big smile. This behavior was written up in Spock’s book and it was suggested to just quietly and firmly lead him back to his bed. The book reassured us that this behavior was not uncommon.
The entire book is just that – reassuring the parent that they are doing a good job and in plain English (or whatever language the book was translated to) making suggestions and helpful remedies for the many issues encountered (like toilet training, sibling rivalry, rebelliousness…). Unlike many books during the 1940s and 1950s it did not have an academic, authoritative tone.
In his book he incorporates many of Freud’s concepts, like the Oedipus complex, but in laymen’s terms and without mentioning Freud by name.
But this book is also about Spock the man. The author describes to us his domineering and controlling mother and a rather distant father (this would have been the norm for fathers when Spock was born in 1903 – “Baby and Child Care” encourages parental affection and involvement from both father and mother).
The author examines Spock’s long marriage to Jane Cheney (married from 1927 to 1976). She was fully involved in the writing of “Baby and Child Care” but received little credit. They had two sons – and both accused their father of being distant. Spock was somewhat of an enigma – able to communicate effectively and soothingly with his audience and friends, but not exuding warmth and love within his family circle. He was far more comfortable putting his wife through years of psycho-therapy (she was institutionalized at one stage) rather than confronting her with the real issues (she had become increasingly addicted to both alcohol and medicative pills which led to schizophrenia). In fact, it appeared the entire family (Spock, sons, daughter-in-law, second wife) all went through lengthy sessions of psychological therapy which lined well the pockets of the therapists.
Spock in the 1960s and 1970s became politically active and participated in a number of demonstrations against the Vietnam War. He was arrested a few times and stood trial for encouraging civil disobedience for which, on appeal, the charges were dismissed. He also ran for President in 1972 but did not garner many votes. These activities also distanced him from his family which now included grand-children.
He divorced his wife in 1976 due to her constant substance abuse issues – and remarried the same year to Mary Morgan who was 41 years younger than him. This led to more issues with his family and of course more therapy sessions.
This is an intense look at a complex man who changed the nature of child-rearing. The books’ revised editions reflected the many different changes that were ongoing. His book was accused of permissiveness and creating an entire generation of petulant teenagers who wouldn’t grow up. This was inaccurate, his book stipulates that children should always be given boundaries. Perhaps the type of discipline suggested would vary from edition to edition. The editions also became more gender neutral with the rise of the woman’s movement during the 60s and 70s.
This book was published in 1998, the same year that Spock died at the age of 94.
It has a wealth of practical information for the new parent (and the more experienced parent too). Here’s one example when our baby was about 1 year old. We would put him to bed and about 15 minutes later he would come out of bed and arrive in the living room with a big smile. This behavior was written up in Spock’s book and it was suggested to just quietly and firmly lead him back to his bed. The book reassured us that this behavior was not uncommon.
The entire book is just that – reassuring the parent that they are doing a good job and in plain English (or whatever language the book was translated to) making suggestions and helpful remedies for the many issues encountered (like toilet training, sibling rivalry, rebelliousness…). Unlike many books during the 1940s and 1950s it did not have an academic, authoritative tone.
In his book he incorporates many of Freud’s concepts, like the Oedipus complex, but in laymen’s terms and without mentioning Freud by name.
But this book is also about Spock the man. The author describes to us his domineering and controlling mother and a rather distant father (this would have been the norm for fathers when Spock was born in 1903 – “Baby and Child Care” encourages parental affection and involvement from both father and mother).
The author examines Spock’s long marriage to Jane Cheney (married from 1927 to 1976). She was fully involved in the writing of “Baby and Child Care” but received little credit. They had two sons – and both accused their father of being distant. Spock was somewhat of an enigma – able to communicate effectively and soothingly with his audience and friends, but not exuding warmth and love within his family circle. He was far more comfortable putting his wife through years of psycho-therapy (she was institutionalized at one stage) rather than confronting her with the real issues (she had become increasingly addicted to both alcohol and medicative pills which led to schizophrenia). In fact, it appeared the entire family (Spock, sons, daughter-in-law, second wife) all went through lengthy sessions of psychological therapy which lined well the pockets of the therapists.
Spock in the 1960s and 1970s became politically active and participated in a number of demonstrations against the Vietnam War. He was arrested a few times and stood trial for encouraging civil disobedience for which, on appeal, the charges were dismissed. He also ran for President in 1972 but did not garner many votes. These activities also distanced him from his family which now included grand-children.
He divorced his wife in 1976 due to her constant substance abuse issues – and remarried the same year to Mary Morgan who was 41 years younger than him. This led to more issues with his family and of course more therapy sessions.
This is an intense look at a complex man who changed the nature of child-rearing. The books’ revised editions reflected the many different changes that were ongoing. His book was accused of permissiveness and creating an entire generation of petulant teenagers who wouldn’t grow up. This was inaccurate, his book stipulates that children should always be given boundaries. Perhaps the type of discipline suggested would vary from edition to edition. The editions also became more gender neutral with the rise of the woman’s movement during the 60s and 70s.
This book was published in 1998, the same year that Spock died at the age of 94.
January 6, 2021
The research for this very compelling book was phenomenal. The author really dissected the myth of the man, Dr. Spock. In some ways, I was gratified to find Spock DID give good tips. At the same time it is worrying to find how very broken the Spock home was. Ben Spock was himself from a very troubled background with a distant father and a seemingly mad mother. The pattern recurred for Spock when his wife had to be institutionalized in the late 1950's with severe mental problems, schizophrenia complicated by alcoholism as well as bi-polarism. Spock's carefully constructed facade of a happy home was a cardboard cut-out as he spent months and years away from his family, always under the guise of helping others. But in the offing he lost his family.
January 16, 2014
I suspect I was a Spock baby and I know that my kids are Spock babies. By the time I put away my copy of "Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care" it was falling apart. I used Brazelton and others also but Spock was my fall back.
I think I'm giving Benjamin Spock the man five stars as opposed to the book. Spock was not a paragon of virtue. He was unable to live up to his own advice as a parent nor was he a particularly good spouse, but his almost prescient views on child rearing have impacted children and parents around the world. Nor did he rest on his laurels. His advice changed as the times and medical knowledge changed yet he never lost sight of his basic goal: To make life better for both children and parents. What I found most wonderful about Spock was his commitment to the causes he embraced. After the Vietnam war ended most peace activists seemed to disappear but not Spock. He remained committed to universal healthcare and eradicating childhood poverty long after the Great Society had been defunded and buried.
I think I'm giving Benjamin Spock the man five stars as opposed to the book. Spock was not a paragon of virtue. He was unable to live up to his own advice as a parent nor was he a particularly good spouse, but his almost prescient views on child rearing have impacted children and parents around the world. Nor did he rest on his laurels. His advice changed as the times and medical knowledge changed yet he never lost sight of his basic goal: To make life better for both children and parents. What I found most wonderful about Spock was his commitment to the causes he embraced. After the Vietnam war ended most peace activists seemed to disappear but not Spock. He remained committed to universal healthcare and eradicating childhood poverty long after the Great Society had been defunded and buried.
March 12, 2015
Really gripping and excellently written book about Dr. Spock. Comprehensive on his life, his times, his relationship to psychology and pediatrics, liberalism, and the antiwar movement. Plus it's very deep, thorough, and insightful about Dr. Spock the man and his complicated family life. Highly recommended!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews