The Show of Violence

by Fredric Wertham

Violence

279 pages, Textbook Binding

First published January 1, 1949

Reviews

[Samuel Moss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow what a totally unexpected and awesome book. Published in 1949 by a psychiatrist, it contains a series of cases Wertham worked on determining the legal sanity of a number of accused murderers during the 1930's in New York. Each case is more ambiguous and difficult to decide than the last and Wertham is opinionated and intolerant of what he sees as the corrupt and ignorant lawyers and police around him. Wertham's style is solemn and thoughtful while being eminently readible and peppered with literary quotes and references to Kafka and Shakespeare among others.

The third chapter details Wertham's interactions with the notorious serial child cannibal Albert Fish which alone made the book totally worth it.

The book slowly and steadily puts forward the searing argument that society does not do enough to help the mentally ill and holds an unequal standard for those of lower classes and non-white race. Coming from a White upper middle class doctor in the 40's this book is massively ahead of its time and still totally relevant today.

[Sean]

i read this in jail. for real. no nut meg tho