REPORTS
ON THE 1998
IPA CONVENTION

by David Lotto

Once again Evan Malachowsky and Lloyd deMause put together the usual rich fare of presentations at the 21st annual IPA convention held at Fordham's downtown campus, across the street from Lincoln Center. Although our keynote speaker, Alice Miller, was not able to make it to New York, she did send her paper, "The Political Consequences of Child Abuse," which was ably delivered by Linda Walker. It will be published in the upcoming fall issue of The Journal of Psychohistory. We had an all-time record attendance.

The three-day conference had an interesting and well- structured format. On the first day we were all together in one room for six presentations by David Beisel, Eli Sagan, Kenneth Adams, Charles Gouaux, Linda Walker, and Lloyd deMause. For lunch we were treated to a wonderful Van Gogh slide show and lecture by Allen David.

By the second day we had bifurcated into two streams with two simultaneous presentations and by the third day, with the addition of the Third Annual Psychohistorical Film Study Day, we transformed into a three ring performance. Despite the complexities, including several last minute can cellations, substitutions, and switches, all ran fairly smooth ly and even more or less on time, thanks to Evan's adroit choreography. The convention facilities and the plentiful nearby luncheon possibilities were more than adequate.

The structural complexity was necessary to accommodate the number and range of the presentations — 59 sepa rate presentations and 57 different presenters. These spanned the full range of topics which our group members and invited guests traditionally address. We had primarily historical papers covering areas as diverse as women's dreams in Classical Greece, medieval church architecture, childrearing practices in 19th century France, the Czech crisis of 1938, and Mao's China. Then there was the psychobiography with subjects including Conrad and Jung, composers Schumann, Shubert, Mozart and Beethoven, as well as Princess Di and Bruno Betteiheim.

There was also a panel on teaching psychohistory; a full day of film discussions; various examinations of current group fantasies including material related to our president and the doings of his member, presented by Dan Dervin who shows us how Clinton and Saddam are mirror images of one another; and Sam Janus who gives us the delightful notion of the virtual assassination. There were a number of other interesting presentations whose themes do not fit easily into any of the categories mentioned so far, but space limitations prevent mentioning them all.

One further category, common to more of the presentations than any other, is, of course, the history of childhood. In addition to being the explicit focus of several presentations it is also explored, to a greater or lesser degree, in many of the presentations whose main theme is historical, psychobiographical, or focuses on current events in the political or cultural domains.

Alice Miller's paper, whose main theme was an attempt to give an explanation of Goldhagen's contention that the German people came to act as "Hitler's Willing Executioners," relies heavily on assigning primary responsibility to the presumably poison "Prussian Pedagogy" under which Hitler's generation was raised. Together with Lloyd's presentation on "Infanticidal Parenting," which immediately followed Alice Miller's paper, the theme of the conference was established: the centrality of the effects of parenting practices on so many of the crucial events, both historical and contemporary, which shape our world and our lives.

II.

by John Fanton

Simply being an audience member and passive participant during this year's International Psychohistorical Association conference provided experiences and perspectives I had been denied in my previous two attendances of '96 and '97. Since I presented small papers both years as a student still learning about psychohistory, my thoughts and observations previously centered around concerns, details and apprehensions related to my presentations, rather than on the conference as an entire experience. For this reason I found this year's conference more enjoyable, despite shared disappointment that Alice Miller was unavoidably detained from attending and offering, in person, knowledge she has gained from her pioneering work as an authority on the global consequences of childhood maltreatment.

Rather than trying to touch upon the whole range of issues presented and discussed this year, I would like to focus on how these topics were presented and received for ensuing discussion. These questions of the "how" of the IPA conference, namely the unique dynamics between the presenter and audience and the discussions that ensued are what I believe make this gathering unlike few others I have ever been witness to, let alone a participant of. A few observations in particular struck me as being noteworthy. By sharing these reflections, I hope the IPA conference may further improve upon what is already a remarkable group meeting that shares an intentional purpose. Few other groups so readily and truthfully expound upon obser vations, analyses, explanations and implications of the past, present, and future realities between the relation of our earliest neurodevelopmental traumas and our collec tive psychocultural history and evolution.

Few could avoid expressions of disappointment that Alice Miller was unable to present her Distinguished Lecture due to unforeseen circumstances. This presentation was highly anticipated since a great deal of her lifework has been focused on the very essence of psychohistorical study: historical consequences of child abuse and neglect. Her books have been published and read around the world and will be appreciated for years to come. Though she could not attend, those of us in attendance were grateful to Linda Walker for lending a voice to Miller's "The Political Consequences of Child Abuse" in a manner that went a long way to relieving the tensions cre ated by this unexpected disappointment. Miller's paper serves as an example of a work that could be read in this unanticipated manner and still have its token message understood by an expectant audience. Her presence certainly would have added to the impact of its delivery, but the essence of her understandings were still conveyed in strong, sound language well delivered and organized by an absent author several thousand miles away. Her work serves as a textual standard to which other presentations may be compared because of how she expressed her work, with clarity, organization, conviction and focus. These traits are especially important to IPA presentations for rea sons offered below.

Having an international audience, with intimate set tings, speaking about extremely volatile emotional subject matter, and having only about 15-20 minutes to elaborate upon controversial theoretical and abstract findings all contribute to the unique synergy between a presenter and audience. Taken in total, this exchange is the source of both the conference's strength and weakness. Given the unusually high emotional content, controversial intellectu al theoretical framework and often intimately horrifying descriptions of psychohistorical phenomena, few are spared from feeling urges to react to these presentations in varied ways. And again this year, many often did. Depending upon three factors (the presentations, the indi vidual, and the contextual circumstances surrounding its delivery), members either slipped into their social-alter trance state, overreacted with overt behaviors obvious to all as expressive of underlying unresolved conflicts, or occasionally listened attentively and really connected with the text and token of the presentations. Presenters more or less facilitated this connection themselves when they con veyed a presence behind the textual focus of their work. Though not actually presenting her own work, Linda Walker's confident reading lent this presence to Miller's analyses. In this case, when the invited presenters are par ticularly exceptional, as most were on the first day of the conference, they are better able with their voice, presence and language (bodily and verbal) to enable their listeners to receive their messages without conjuring up the psy chological defense mechanisms that too often may obscure, trivialize or forbid the exact truths of childhood realities from being unerringly told. These presenters avoid being disorganized, mechanical, terribly abstract, verbose or difficult to hear because they possess highly developed speaking skills beyond their abilities to merely do authentic research and read a paper to an audience. It seems to me the IPA conference is twenty plus years strong because of these moments when a presentation has a near tangible effect on the members present.

To those whose presentations have these admirable qualities and establish this splendid rapport, members are generous with tokens of sincere, genuine appreciation and expressions of gratitude for being among the very impor tant reasons why they return annually. And to those whose presentations still lack these fine characteristics, there is an overall compassionate reception by an audience more empathic than most. It is as though the members know that the only way for these presenters to develop these refined qualities of delivering an exceptional presentation is by practicing. The truly unique aspect of the IPA conference apart from other conferences I have attended is that there are few forums more tolerant and welcoming. I cannot recall in recent years where I have seen people argue to passionately about moral considerations regarding the dis play of nude toddler-aged males, then share a meal togeth er. The group processes are extraordinary for this reason. They allow extremes to coexist and provide a forum that may bring conflicts to a verbal level of acceptance, toler ance and understanding. When the presentations are exceptional, these processes are facilitated.

When a group has as one of its intentional tasks to clearly announce the truths and atrocities of the human condi tion using controversial fetal theories to explain global consequecnes about how we act, think and feel about our selves and our worlds, then improvements in communication and understanding between members will only enhance these ambitious endeavors for the benefit of all. And in spite of all the problems with communication and understanding that inevitably result from any discussion by so many about such challenging issues, very often terms of appreciation are expressed for the fact the IPA conferences tolerates and accepts these problems so readi ly. There are many responsible for this grace, both living and dead. I hope it is not soon forgotten what extraordinary moments occurred in three short days this past June. While those subscribing to Groucho Marx's philosophy about "clubs" (read groups) may still have reservations, with regard to this one I no longer do.

III.

by Helene Kylen

I have been accused at times of being "too psychologi cal" in my approach to history, society, and the indi vidual. However, to view history only in terms of political and economic forces without the psychological and social aspects is to leave out important if not crucial influences on how people develop and why they do what they do. To omit psychohistory is to deny all that has been learned about trauma, brain chemistry, and early narcissis tic injury to the self in the last 20 to 30 years. And as Confucius (and later Disraeli) put it succinctly, "The first step to wisdom is to admit one's ignorance of the facts."

Just as we review and develop new ideas about science and biology in light of new information and new perspec tives, so we must review history in light of the influence of how childrearing practices and culture affect the child and thus the adult. And in Santayana's words, "A people that does now know its history is doomed to repeat its mis takes." That goes for personal history as well. Not to know the world's and one's own psychohistory is to be unaware of the forces that shape us as a people and as indi viduals.

The Germany of 1923-1933 was dealing with issues of wounded national pride after losing World War I, repara tions that had been demanded, and the threat of commu nism. To compensate for feeling inadequate and inferior after losing World War I, they needed a means to feel supe rior, a scapegoat to blame for these national narcissistic injuries, and the Jews were selected as the cause of Germany's ills.

John Hartman, Ph.D., began his workshop, "The Role of Propaganda in the Incitement of Violence," with the legacy of Martin Luther's anti-semitism, elucidated by Luther's description of Jews "as the devil, feces, as don keys who shit money." In Luther's ideology, Dr. Hartman said, "Jews epitomized a different set of morals for Jews

than Germans; thus the anti-semitism of the 1860s was the basis of Nazi ideology."

The film Jud Suss was produced to unify and coalesce the various elements of the German population and to override any dissenting voices. In the film, Suss Oppenheimer, the illegitimate child of a Jew and Gentile who lived in 1692, desires a young woman who is engaged; he has the fiance arrested and tortured. Suss rapes her and she subsequently commits suicide.

"It was an incendiary film," said Dr. Hartman, "that out lined a Jewish conspiracy to defeat Germans through money — the 'Jewish essence,' of using money to influ ence and control. The film's ideology was to demonize and dehumanize Jews, its aim was to create a we-they mental ity; all disowned self-hatred was projected onto the Jew. And to further incite anti-semitic hatred, the film included the rape and suicide, events that were not in the original novel.

"The viewing was a communal experience, one that depicted and tapped into a shared unconscious fantasy, that of Jew/Gentile sexuality as incestuous. The propaganda concretized the worst fears as real and true. The group cohesiveness was in response to perceived incest and homophobia that required the necessity to act."

Jud Suss was effective; it was the most popular film between 1933 and 1935, seen by 25 million people. It was compulsory viewing for the SS, and it incited violence against Jews. After seeing the film, guards took out their anger on prisoners in concentration camps. New norms that legitimized violence came into being. But violence, particularly against Jews, was not hitherto rare in Germany.

In the new book, Tales from the German Underworld; Crime and Punishment in the Nineteenth Century (1802- 1905), author and Cambridge University historian Richard

J. Evans notes that crime specialists tried to link the German underworld with "Un-Christian minorities" (Jews and Gypsies). "Even criminal slang was thought to be derived partly from Hebrew." Physical violence as an alternative to incarceration did not decline in the 19th cen tury as a result of liberal reforms; it simply became more private. Prisoners were beaten inside the new prisons instead of outside. Landholders continued to thrash their farmhands. And with astonishing unanimity, liberals and conservatives concurred that parents should beat their chil dren. (Excerpt from review by Dagmar Herzog, NY Times Book Review, June 21, 1998.)

Violence seeded in the German character early in child hood was the subject of Alice Miller's keynote address, read by Linda Walker in Ms. Miller's absence. In her paper, "The Political Consequences of Child Abuse," Ms. Miller asks: Why did the Holocaust happen in Germany and why did it happen at this particular time rather than another? In her view, "one possible operative factor is the destructive child-rearing style practiced widely on infants at the turn of the century in Germany, a style I have no hes

itation in referring to as a universal abuse of infants."

She posits the writings of Dr. Daniel Gottlieb Moritz Schreber in the upbringing of infants as "a systematic form of torture with long term effects." She quotes Morton Schatzman, who called Schreber's methods "not of child raising but systematic instruction in child persecution," e.g., Schreber's advice that when babies cry, they should be made to desist by the use of "physically perceptible admonition.. .a single threatening gesture will suffice to subjugate the child." Newborns were to be drilled to obey and to refrain from crying. Oral gratification was denied. A nanny lost her job because she shared a piece of pear with a child on her lap.

Even more destructive, children were emotionally deprived. Parents were warned against stroking, cuddling and kissing, considered spoiling children "a form of indul gence entirely incompatible with the prevalent ideal of rigor and severity." As a result, Ms. Miller says, "infants suffered from the absence of direct loving contact."

And the importance of loving physical contact was underscored by Ms. Miller's citing the later studies of Harlow's monkeys, findings by Bowlby and Spitz that showed that absence of early attachment was injurious to offsprings' health and emotional well-being. (Indeed, in the 1940's the New York City Foundling Hospital issued a death certificate at the time of a baby's admission. Experience showed that lack of emotional care and attach ment lowered babies' immune systems; they sickened and died.)

Ms. Miller goes into Hitler's childhood, his unprotective mother, the repressed and displaced hatred of his father whose own fear and self-loathing of possibly being of Jewish descent was discharged in daily beatings of his son.

As for other tyrants, Ms. Miller reports that she's found paranoid thoughts and fantasies in the backgrounds of Mao, regularly whipped by his father to "make a man out of him," and Stalin, whose alcoholic father beat him almost every day. "They drew on ideologies to disguise the truth and their own paranoia. And the masses chimed in, unaware of the real motives."

Although I am an admirer of Ms. Miller's work, I take exception to some of her generalizations: that "in the absence of positive factors, affection and helping witnesses, the only course open to the mistreated individual is the dis avowal of personal suffering and idealization of cruelty" and that "parents will inflict the same punishment or neglect on their children as they experienced themselves." In my research and experience with the New York City Probation and Police Departments, not all who were abused as chil dren will become abusive to their own children, but adult abusers are likely to have been abused as children.

I also disagree with her statement that "sex criminals who have worked through their lives in therapy may no longer run the risk of a destructive reenactment of their traumas." Rehabilitation theory helps sex offenders who wish to control their impulses, but numerous studies show

that sex offenders are not curable. They must constantly be vigilant, attend therapy at specified intervals, and, depend ing on their level of risk at reoffending, require monitoring and notification to schools and local police.

I concur with Ms. Miller's warning to us in her summa ry: "The infantile revenge fantasies of individuals would be of no account of society did not regularly show such naive alacrity in helping to make them come true."

IV.

by Dan Dervin

This summer's IPA conference was a virtual family reunion with luminaries who have performed ground-breaking roles in the early days returning and presenting challenging new works, along with our mainstays and promising new faces. It was especially wel come to have Ken Adams back in full cry since I had missed not only his stimulating presentations of the under side of Japanese culture via comics but the opportunity to tease him for his "dirty pictures." David Beisel's paper was a model of thorough scholarship and judicious inter pretation. Jerry Atlas sprayed us with a shotgun blast of stimulating insights into Medieval European practices. Robert McFarland made a highly professional presentation of the psychoarchaeology of placental imagery. Andrew Brink promises to reach new understandings of creativity through attachment theory. Richard Morrock has proven himself to be our in-house expert for monitoring conspira cy activities in film and culture. Jay Sherry is proving the art historian in exhuming a visual subtext to Jung's ideas. Eli Sagan reminds us that human destmctiveness is an equal opportunity potential among the various genders. Robert Saunders, whose film studies are always on-target, was sorely missed this year, and concern for his health was on many minds. Also missed were Jay Gonen and Mary Coleman: please come home. Likewise Mel Kalfus and Howard Stein. Paula Ingalls presented an especially rich paper on neuroscience's contribution to violent behavior. And these are only a partial selection of the conference's offerings; undoubtedly, in view of our simultaneous pan els, many other worthy papers were delivered.

Having been a conference regular since 1981 who has always profited from the professional and camivalesque atmosphere, I would like now to address more generally the formal aspects of papers. Specifically, what makes for successful papers; what makes for their opposite? Highly- detailed and meticulously-read papers, regardless of their content, often make for boring experiences. Better to out line in advance and reduce your material to 4 or 5 main points on which you can elaborate or invite comments. We're all grownups with a wealth of experiences to bring to most of the subjects. Talking papers are usually more interesting and produce interactive sessions, if the paper is technical or reliant on unfamiliar terms, use visual aids or

hand out copies in advance, as Paula Ingalls did.

Since papers are not vetted in advance, it is up to the presenters to deliver the goods, and I have come to the conclusion that a simple guideline sheet should accompa ny all acceptances. Coming from English composition classes, I've heard far too many papers that would not mass muster in Writing workshop 101 — repetitious, digressive, dense, etc. It is not enough to have an interest ing idea or two with some personal testimonial; it all must be integrated, developed, organized in an order of impor tance, and worked-through to a bottom line.

Most of all, and here is where we often fall short, con ference papers should display an acquaintance with psy chohistorical scholarship and therefore attempt to tie in the present contribution with the accumulated body of knowl edge (most readily available in The Journal of Psychohistory, deMause's Foundations of Psychohistory, or Lawton's Handbook (which urgently need updating).

Finally, we all need to place our inferences, interpreta lions, and conclusions in the context of explicit models and theories (everyone evokes theories and assumptions at least implicitly all the time) and be willing to test these against available and suitable evidence as well as contra dictory data. Sweeping generalities are provocative but all too often collapse for lack of support; dichotomous formu lations (either/or; all or nothing) should be avoided since they are likely to replicate conventional notions, further agendas, or play into one of group-fantasy's demonizing schemes.

In sum, we have come a great distance: can we go further?

REPORT ON PARIS '98

by Jay Sherry

In Paris, World Cup/Bastille Day madness gave way to considerations of madness and other manifestations of the human experience when psychohistorians met July 16-18th at the Second Annual European Conference. Its chief sponsor was the Center for Psychohistorical Studies with support from the IPA, the Group for the Psychohistorical Study of Film, the Institut Francais de Psychohistoire, the Gesellschaft for Psychohistorische Forschung, and the Belarus Psychohistorical Association, with other attendees hailing from England and Finland.

The Conference was held at the three-star Home Plaza Hotel at 74 Rue Amelot whose courtyard provided a pleas ant setting for coffeebreaks and rendezvous. The ample breakfasts and elegant lunches more than lived up to Jerry Atlas' gastronomical promises; the neighborhood near the Place de Bastille offered unlimited opportunities for dining and cafe conversations.

The single-session format insured an atmosphere both

focuses and familiar. Some participants developed ideas first presented in June at the Convention: Ruth Dale on "Psychohistory in the Classroom," Jerry Atlas on "Margery Kempis and Other Aspects of the Medieval Social Fabric," Evan Malachowsky on "Fantasies about the Titanic," and Jerry Piven on "Mortality Salience in History." Other pre sentations included Jay Sherry on "Jung in the 1 940s," Winifred Kurth on "Group Fantasies of Princess Diana," Olga Shutova on "Early Results of the Belarus Oral history Project," Joan Lachkar on "Cruelty and Aggression in Cross-Cultural Couples," Robert Liris on "Psychohistory and Prehistory," and Fred Harling on "Freud and the Prophetic Tradition." Newcomers presented on the Arab Israeli conflict and bungee jumping.

Film analysis is becoming an increasingly important field in psychohistory as our global culture demands visual as well as linguistic literacy. An important part of the confer ence was devoted to it, with Bob Chaiken's "Demonization of Women in American Film," Henry Lawton's "The Search for New Enemies and the Price of Female Equality in Starship Troopers," and in Biff Faunce's "Gender Transgressions and Group Fantasies in Popular Film." Henry and Biff teamed up for a film workshop that explored the evolution of the horror genre with clips from Psycho, Halloween, and Scream. A thematic outline and small group work helped stimulate discussion and make it one of the conference highlights.

What deserves special recognition was the strong pres ence of the IPA's Finnish chapter which sent four presenters. That is the result of the efforts of Juha Siltala and his col leagues Juhani Ihanus, Juha Ala, and Ilkka Leva. Their case studies of Finnish economic and historical material are a model of classic psychohistorical analysis.

Although the conference ended on Saturday, many of the American contingent stayed on, often with family members, for a series of day-trips with a Gothic accent to cathedrals in and around Paris.

Success creates a momentum of its own, and plans are already underway for next year's July conference in Amsterdam. All members are urged to attend and help accentuate the "I" in IPA.

IPA '99 to Feature the

by Lloyd deMause, IPA President

IPA '99 Convention will be as exciting as IPA '98 was, if advanced papers are any indication. The 22nd Annual Convention will be held at Fordham University in NYC on June 2-5, 1999. It will feature as Distinguished Lecturer Neil J. Kressel of William Paterson University, who will present a paper on "The Political Psychology of Mass

Hate," drawing upon his fine new book entitled Mass Hate. Following Prof. Kressel's lecture will be a panel of psy chohistorians who have done research on the psychology of genocide — Prof. Kressel, David Beisel, Ralph Frenken, Paul Elovitz and myself — to discuss how psychohistorical theory can contribute to the understanding of the emotional causes of genocides, including the Holocaust.

Everyone — whether an [PA member or not — is not only invited to attend IPA "99 and join in its intellectual and emotional riches, but is also invited to present a title plus a few sentences describing a proposed paper. The proposals should be sent to me, Lloyd deMause, IPA, 140 Riverside Drive, NY, NY 10024, before the end of this year.

See you in June!

Editor's Announcement

After standing on the sidelines for too long, I am happy to announce that I am now on line, ready to meet the 21st century, and more important, to hear from you all via a more convenient system than the Pony Express!

My email address is: jaysherry@earthlink.net

TAPESTRY:

Tapestry is an exciting scholarly journal written for a diverse audience interested in understanding the motiva tions in history and the fullest nature of the surrounding social fabric. This social fabric approach allows us to probe at history, climate, health, psychocinema, psychoeconom ics, group fantasies, childhood, literature and the many psy chological elements which coalesce to form historical process.

We'd like to have you join us in this dramatic exploration of historical themes, engage in the mini-essays writing, revel in the unusual tidbits to be found in our News Briefs, attend our Euro Congresses (1997 in Amsterdam, 1998 in Paris and 1999 again in Amsterdam — all in early July) as well as present papers or submit articles. Order your sub scription for your personal library and/or have your institu tional library send in their order. We're not your usual jour nal: there's a greater variety and vitality to what we include; there's an engaged readership; there's an annual tax- deductible congress in Europe to bring us togehter, there's a multi-lingual approach to publishing; there's a regular fea ture republishing some classical work pioneering the field.

Tapestry welcomes articles on the following subjects — childhood and the family (past and present), psychohistory (theoretical and applied, group and individual), applied psy choanalysis and social psychoanalysis (other than purely lit-

erary studies), political psychology, art history, medieval/Islamic studies, group fantasy analysis, psy chocinema, psychoeconomics and psychoanthropology. Tapestry offers a dramatic new mix of psychohistorical fea ture articles, classical reprints of key articles establishing the field as well as book reviews and a special news/research update — with special emphasis given to the goal of having multilingual articles and abstracts for the world population of interested colleagues. Tapestry gratefully acknowledges the scholarly generosity of Lloyd deMause in offering blan ket authorization for publication of articles from The Journal of Psychohistory in languages other than English. Submissions should be in hard copy AND an IBM-formatted disk acceptable to Word 97 for Windows — best possible copies of artwork/charts/newspapers/magazines/cartoons should also be sent — APA and AHA styles acceptable.

Editor: Jerrold Atlas

Assistant Editors: Olga Shutova (Belarus); John A. Nawas (Netherlands); Detlef Berentzen (Germany); Evan Malachowsky (USA); N.E. Goldberg (Germany)

Rates: USA: Individuals $40 per year; Institutions $110 per year.

International: Individuals $50 per year; Institutions $120 per year.

Payable in US $ travelers checks or US $ personal checks to: Center for Psychohistorical Studies, Manchester Center

VT 05255-0329 USA.

IPA BUSINESS REPORT

Officers: Lloyd deMause (President), Richard Morrock

(Vice President) and Henry Lawton (Secretary) will all serve another two-year term.

TREASURERS REPORT

1997-1998 Year

Ending May 31, 1998

1997-1998 Membership Income Investment Income

TOTAL INCOME

1997-1998 EXPENSES:

Awards

TOTAL EXPENSES

1997-1998 NET GAIN

Awards

Andrew Brink — Evelyn Bauer women's studies

Ken Adams — Casper Schmidt group fantasy analysis

Ruth Dale — Lorenz graduate student

Laura Burgoyne and Richard Kotchmer Bernabi undergraduate

BREAK OUT THE CHAMPAGNE

by Kenneth Alan Adams

Jay Sherry has been kind enough to ask me to discuss my tenure as the Editor of Psychohistory News from 1986 through 1987, and it is a pleasure to do so. The work was meaningful and, living in Alabama, such a distance from any of the focal points of psychohistory that I was delighted to have the chance to be involved and to contribute.

At that time the Newsletter, using the same emblem as now, was shorter, probably more budget-driven than at pre sent, and somewhat less likely to have substantive articles or debates. It was typically the venue for announcing upeom ing events, for example, the participants and presentations at the upcoming IPA convention, or describing new undertak ings, such as Henry Lawton's Group for the Psychohistorical Study of Film. The work of getting out the Newsletter was largely soliciting infonnation from IPA members about their current projects, with minimal editing chores, revolving mostly around compilation and space con siderations and meeting deadlines. Material would be mailed to me here, and after putting the various contribu tions together, I would send the material to New York to Mel Kalfus, who would oversee the printing and mailings.

Editing the Newsletter was an exciting time for me. It provided me with a means of feeling and being connected to people with similar interests and a common intellectual framework. Alabama, perhaps as is tme in many areas of contemporary America, is hardly a fertile ground for psy chohistorical theory and research. The university at which I teach is still largely enamored of behaviorism as the para digm of choice for explaining the human mind, somehow failing to see the inherent contradiction in such an approach, so the IPA was and is a welcome haven for the views that I first developed in college. In important ways, the IPA and the Newsletter functioned as a sanity antidote to the toxici ty of assembly-line education in "the Heart of Dixie" in a decade of "Cut, Slash, Chop" and "A Thousand Points of Light." It was liberating just to see that others, like Dave Beisel and Paul Elovitz, were teaching psychohistory in their classrooms, instead of having to smuggle it in through the back door as was I. It was also exciting to get the latest news from Howard Stein about whatever was happening in Oklahoma, not to mention Lloyd, Henry, Mel, Andrew and Helen Brink, Mel Goldstein, Jerry Atlas, Bernard Flicker, Herbert Barry, Rudolph Binion, Robert Rousselle, Stan Rosenman, Peter Petschauer, Brett Kahr, Eli Sagan, Robert Paul, Henry Ebel, Reuben Fine, Jay Gonen, William Joseph, Jim and Ardyce Masters, Casper Schmidt, Carol Ravenal, Dan Dervin, John Connor, Donald Hughes — and I am probably leaving out lots of others; my apologies. In an era before the Internet, the Newsletter struck me as an important effort toward creating a community of psychohistorians who could support each other, provide critical comment, direction, advice and friendship for each other.

If editing the Newsletter helped me feel included, how ever, it also worked in the opposite direction. When I would see a report of who was speaking on Saturday mornings at the Institute for Psychohistory or at a meeting of the Psychohistory Forum, I always felt isolated. That was in New York, or elsewhere, and here was I. No wonder the IPA conventions, whether in New York or D.C., were so pleasant. I knew what I had missed the rest of the year.

Perhaps that is a theme to re-emphasize in closing. Through the hard work of Jay Sherry, Richard Morrock and many others in the NYC area and elsewhere, we can remain informed regarding the activities of concerned and knowl edgeable colleagues around the country and world and engage in discussions of those issues that engage our atten tion. Access to such resources, whether they be defined in terms of knowledge and expertise or with regard to friend ship and support, is a gift to be treasured, as one who has been away for an extended time knows. It is not common to find a group with such tolerance, knowledge and generosi ty, and for two decades the Newsletter has been an impor tant link binding this eclectic network of scholars together. Without narcissistic grandiosity or maudlin sentimentality, celebration of our successes and continuing efforts at under standing the psychological basis of collective life are in order. Break out the champagne.

Review of

M. Eisenstadt, A. Haynal, P. Rentchnick and P. De Senarclens (eds.). Madison, CT; International Unlversities Press, 1989. $3.00; pp. 338.

What drives people to accomplish great things during their lives? Psychologists have investigated achievement motivation, and many have concluded that parental expec tations and encouragement play important roles. But how might childhood trauma spur the growth of ambition?

Arnold Toynbee, in his study of the rise of civilizations, suggested the concept of "challenge and response." Perhaps this notion applies also on the individual level. Is it possible that some children and adolescents are driven to success and fame in life by the obstacles they encounter in connection with loss of parents? Such a thesis is propounded in Parental Loss and Achievement.

Each of the four authors has written his own separate chapter with references, and the book contains six appen dices. The first author, Marvin Eisenstadt, a clinical psy chologist on Long Island, New York, came across a book in French by three Swiss writers that complemented a pub lished article of his own. In collaboration with them, he had the book translated into English and added his own pub lished material with a few explanatory notes and details. The result is a surprisingly coherent integration of four separate perspectives.

The concept that animates all the contributions — com pensation — is well summarized in a passage from "Psychoanalytic Discourse on Orphans and Deprivation" by Andre Haynal:

It is possible that orphans more than others feel the missing something that has marked their destiny; doubtless, by creation, they seek to compensate; and, for these reasons, it is possible that they go further along this path, that they are more creative than others in science or the arts, and also in their desire to amend which often leads them to this particular "will for power".... (pp. 169-170)

The book starts with Eisenstadt's "Parental Loss and Genius." It provides a statistical framework together with a complete account of birth and death data for 573 famous subjects and their parents in an appendix. Using simple and elegant methods of collecting subject material throughout history from two encyclopedias and presenting it in readily understandable ways, Eisenstadt shows, among other facts, that one-quarter of the famous in history had suffered the deaths of one or both parents by age ten, and slightly over one-third by age fifteen. Are we able to conclude from such evidence that if you wish to become famous for your achievements, it helps to be orphaned in childhood?

Such a conclusion could emerge from the data only if suitable comparison (control) groups are used. And here is where difficulties arise. As Eisenstadt admits, "Naturally, the lack of true control groups must be repeatediy empha sized" (p. 24). Comparisons are made with orphanhood rates among juvenile delinquents, psychiatric patients, and general populations. While comparisons with the two spe cial populations provide material for discussion, and help clarify Eisenstadt's later interpretations, only a control group from the general population can definitively establish orphanhood as a potentially positive motivational influence.

Thus, in one comparison, orphanhood rates for the emi nent were found to be about double those in the British 1921 census data. But there is a catch: only about 25% of the sub jects lived in the twentieth century, and only about 25% were British. Since life expectancy varies by nationality and era, it is difficult to concoct a valid control group, a problem that seriously weakens another attempt at a control group using eminent vs. non-eminent fathers.

A comparison group using only twentieth century English and Welsh people does not match well for national ity and era with the entire subject population. Accordingly, I made up my own sample of famous subjects using data from an appendix for those who seem to have lived with their parents in England and did die in this century. This select sample contained only 39 subjects and required a lit tle guesswork, but produced data for first parental bereave ment that closely approximated the findings for all 573 sub jects. When I expanded my select sample to encompass all nationalities of famous people dying in the twentieth centu ry, the percentages of orphanhood dropped somewhat but still remained substantially above the two major general- population comparison groups.

It seems that orphanhood does indeed correlate some what with eminence. The question now is why. In "Orphans and the Will for Power," Pierre Rentchnick states:

"Depending on the age at which the child is orphaned, an identify crisis emerges which seems to be the common denominator of all the great leaders of history" (p. 39). Rentchnick thus focuses on identity problems. He presents a few autobiographical statements, most notably Sartre's, and discusses ideas from the literature on child bereavement mixes with brief glimpses of orphans who craved supreme power, such as Hitler and Napoleon. While highly diffuse, this chapter nevertheless conveys a sense of how an orphan might narcistically reach for fame.

In the chapter, "Is the Psychoanalytic Biography of Political Leaders Feasible?" Pierre de Senarclens offers a sceptical look at political psychobiography from the stand points of a professor of international relations. he takes a highly informed but cautious, traditional view of psycho dynamic explanations of famous historical figures. In reviewing psychoanalytic studies of Churchill, Jefferson, Wilson, and Nixon, Senarclens acknowledges the value of introducing psychodynamic factors into general interpre tations. "The psychic distress of an unhappy childhood, the loss of a father or mother at a young age, a psychic trauma, a disability, can certainly create the psychological repercussions which favor the blossoming of a political career, or of an artistic vocation" (p. 106). But the approach emphasizes the dangers of oversimplifying a complex reality. The chapter thereby provides a useful corrective to any one-factor formulations.

Haynal 's chapter, previously cited, is a clear presentation of psychoanalytic ideas on how childhood loss can lead to artistic creativity. "If it is true that all creation re-creates what we have loved and then lost, which has been ruined, destroyed, it focuses also on the restoration of an interior world damaged by this loss" (p. 149).

Yet somehow Haynal seems to have missed the boat. he appears to be writing in defense of psychoanalysis rather than attempting to convey his own viewpoint. Whereas the other two Swiss authors offer insights into the possibilities and limitations of psychobiography through fascinating, though brief case presentations, Haynal's chapter is discur sive and disorganized.

Eisenstadt states that "a significant and important begin ning has now been made" (p. 28) I agree with this assess ment. The book advances our understanding of the orphan- hood-eminence linkage as a real phenomenon, and suggests its connections to other related phenomena of childhood loss. Although the motivational implications of orphanhood are discussed without being clearly spelled out, still there are intimations in all the chapters of underlying processes, such as narcissistic ambitions arising from unresolved grief.

Psychohistory is rightly concerned with the repercus sions from childhood losses of all kinds. Ironically, orphans tend to be neglected not only in real life, but also as a sub ject for study. This book moves this research area forward. It belongs in the library of every dedicated psychohistorian.