{"product_id":"self-senility-and-alzheimers-disease-jesse-f-ballenger-9780801882760","title":"Self, Senility, and Alzheimer's Disease in Modern America: A History","description":"\u003cp\u003eHistorian Jesse F. Ballenger traces the emergence of senility as a cultural category from the late nineteenth century to the 1980s, a period in which Alzheimer's disease became increasingly associated with the terrifying prospect of losing one's self. Changes in American society and culture have complicated the notion of selfhood, Ballenger finds. No longer an ascribed status, selfhood must be carefully and willfully constructed. Thus, losing one's ability to sustain a coherent self-narrative is considered one of life's most dreadful losses. As Ballenger writes \"senility haunts the landscape of the self-made man.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStereotypes of senility and Alzheimer's disease are related to anxiety about the coherence, stability, and agency of the self--stereotypes that are transforming perceptions of old age in modern America. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrawing on scientific, clinical, policy, and popular discourses on aging and dementia, Ballenger explores early twentieth-century concepts of aging and the emergence of gerontology to understand and distinguish normal aging from disease. In addition, he examines American psychiatry's approaches to the treatment of senility and scientific attempts to understand the brain pathology of dementia.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBallenger's work contributes to our understanding of the emergence and significance of dementia as a major health issue.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jesse F. Ballenger\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0801882761\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780801882760\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Johns Hopkins University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/31\/2006\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.06lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.24h x 6.14w x 0.85d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/01\/2006 pg. 325\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eScitech Book News\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/01\/2006 pg. 77","brand":"Jesse F. Ballenger","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":47199890571519,"sku":"9780801882760","price":51.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_75304e60-566f-4050-a232-2333cbc3a0fa.jpg?v=1756785488","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/self-senility-and-alzheimers-disease-jesse-f-ballenger-9780801882760","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}