Comprehending Suicide: Landmarks in 20Th-Century Suicidology

by Edwin S. Shneidman

During the 20th century, hundreds of books were written on suicide, but only a few can be said to have stimulated their readers to a deeper and more practical understanding of the topic. Drawing on his more than 60 years of experience, Edwin S. Shneidman has gathered in one book 13 of the most thought-provoking works of the century that offer invaluable insights on suicide and on responses to it. Comprehending Suicide begins with a brief history of the phenomenon. Engaging reviews of the landmark publications open each chapter, and together the chapters reflect historical and literary, sociological, biological, psychiatric and psychological, or survivor and helping points of view. Featured last is a lively discussion about Dr. Sheidman's key beliefs after a lifetime of study. This book serves a large audience, from those doing research, to those helping to prevent suicide through community intervention or clinical practice, to those who have touched suicide or who have been touched by it.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction

215 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2001

About the author

Dr. Edwin S. Shneidman (born c. 1918) is a noted American suicidologist/thanatologist. He with co-workers from the Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center provided a major stimulus to research into suicide and its prevention. He was the founder of the American Association of Suicidology and of the principal United States journal for suicide studies, Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior. He is Professor of Thanatology Emeritus at the University of California and lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Mehwish · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a recommendation of books by the most prominent voice from suicidology - Edwin Shneidman. He revolutionized the study of suicide by humanizing it.

This book is divided in 13 parts, each part starts off with a review of another book followed by a chapter from that book.
For someone like myself who is deeply interested in suicidology and who does not have a background in psychology, it has always been an ongoing challenge to find good books on that subject matter. Shneidman offers this book for that very reason.

[Shelley Diamond · Rating 2 out of 5]

The preface asserts "no thoughtful reader ought to come away from a serious perusal of this book without a substantial increase in the comprehension of what suicide is, and by extension, how suicides might be prevented." Unfortunately, my serious perusal did not produce that result. He gives a cursory description of 13 books on suicide and includes a brief excerpt from each book. This methodology does not provide a "substantial increase" in knowledge, unless you knew absolutely nothing about suicide before reading this book.

I was disappointed by the hype. The best thing I could say is that it gives the table of contents for each book, so you could see if you want to read more of what he has not included, and the excerpts give you at least a slight view of the author's style. But really these are just snapshots of each book and there's nothing substantial here...

[Rebecca Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book after a friend unexpectedly ended her life. It was a very informative read about different reasons why people choose suicide in various situations, but frankly it was a bit dry.

[Sin Tien Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A succinct summary of what constitutes suicidology. Though I wish it could be longer, I guess that would be beside its point.