But in the decade of the 1840s, a group of American physicians and reformers began to view mental retardation as a social problem requiring public intervention. For the next century and a half, social science and medical professionals constructed meanings of mental retardation, at the same time incarcerating hundreds of thousands of Americans in institutions and "special" schools. James W. Trent uses public documents, private letters, investigative reports, and rare photographs to explore our changing perceptions of "feeble minds." From local family matter to state and social problem, constructions of mental retardation represent a history of ideas, techniques, and tools. Trent contends that the economic vulnerability of mentally retarded people and their families, more than the claims made for their intellectual or social limitations, has determined their institutional treatment. He finds that the focus on technical and usually psychomedical interpretations of mental retardation has led to a general ignorance of the maldistribution of resources, status, and power so evident in the lives of the retarded. Superintendents, social welfare agents, IQ testers, and sterlizers have utilized these psychological and medical paradigms to insure their own social privilege and professional legitimacy. Rather than simply moving "from care to control, " state schools have made care an effective and integral part of control. In analyzing the current policy of deinstitutionalization, Trent concludes it has been more successful in dispersing disabled citizens than in integrating them into American communities. Inventing the Feeble Mind powerfully shatters conventional understandings of mental retardation. It is essential reading for social workers, psychologists, historians, sociologists, educator

    

    Multiples have too long suffered with nagging worries about being crazy or so unique that they cannot have friends or companionship. This book defines multiplicity as a creative and life saving adaptive strategy, not as a disorder or sign of mental illness.

    Further, it then analyses the possibilities for achieving political change within this current era of late capitalism and the significance of the emergent disability movement as part of this process of change.

    "Why, Charlie Brown, Why"? is a heartwarming story of a child dealing with great challenges and profound questions. When young Janice is diagnosed with leukemia, Charlie Brown looks for answers, Linus becomes her protector, Lucy doesn't understand, Snoopy dons his '"World's Greatest Surgeon" togs, and the whole gang does some soul searching. In his own inimitable style, Charles Schulz brings this touching tale to life. With charm and compassion, he tells of the effect of Janice's illness on her family, her classmates, and, of course, her friends. For more than a decade, "Why, Charlie Brown, Why? "has helped children to understand what happens when someone they love is sick. Now this wonderful book is available once again to serve as a guide for future generations.

    Irreverent, original, and always hilarious, Callahan's cartoons are sure to delight and offend. His cartoons have been published in Omni, Harper's, National Lampoon, and other publications.

    A new section covers menopause, breastfeeding, non-Western/holistic healing, fibroids, diet evolution, skin color issues, teenage sexuality, and HIV.