This book was written to show that light is a primal element of life. All life originates and develops under the influence of the light of the sun, that "super terrestrial natural force" (Goethe). Sunlight influences the vital processes not onlyofthe plant (e. g. , heliotropism, photosynthesis) and the animal (e. g. , color change, maturation of the gonads) but of man as well. The human organism too reacts "heliotropically," as the 24 hour rhythm of the sleep-waking cycle demonstrates. of Artists have always perceived clearly the intensive stimulatory effect sunlight on their activity. One is reminded here ofCesare Lombroso, who wrote to his daughter "that thoughts come in the greatest profusion when (my) room is flooded with the sun's rays. " Richard Wagner exclaimed: "Ifonly the sun would come out, I would have the score finished in no time. " Bernard Shaw had a little cottage where he worked that could be turned according to the position of the sun. The composer Humperdinck wrote: "The sun is indispensable for my work; that is why it is important for me to have my study face east or south. " As these few examples indicate, it is above all those active in the arts who intuitively grasp the positive influence of sunlight on the psycho-physical effi ciency of their organism. In an age, however, when fluorescent lighting turns night into day, we are in danger of forgetting that man is a creature of nature as well as of culture.

THE INSANITY OF NORMALITY: TOWARD UNDERSTANDING HUMAN DESTRUCTIVENESS by ARNO GRUEN According to Sigmund Freud, man is born with an innate tendency to destruction and violence; in THE INSANITY OF NORMALITY, the psychoanalyst Arno Gruen challenges that assumption, arguing instead that at the root of evil lies self-hatred, a rage originating in a self-betrayal that begins in childhood, when autonomy is surrendered in exchange for the "love" of those who wield power over us. To share in that subjugating power, we create a false self, an image of ourselves that springs from a powerful and deep-seated sense of fear. Gruen traces this pattern of adaptation and smoldering rebellion through a number of case studies, sociological phenomena - from Nazism to Reaganomics - and literary works. The insanity this attitude produces, unfortunately, goes widely unrecognized precisely because it has become the "realism" that modern society inculcates into its members. Gruen warns, however, that escape from this pattern lies not simply in rebellion, for the rebel remains emotionally tied to the object of his rebellion, but in the development of a personal autonomy. His elegant and far-reaching conclusion is that while autonomy is not easily attained, its absence proves catastrophic to both individual and society. "With compassion and conviction Dr. Gruen carefully exposes the undiagnosed and undisclosed insanity unwittingly accepted as normality... This is a text for leaders and followers, for conformists and rebels alike, for members of the healing professions who seek to repair the destructive fallout from our pursuit of normality and for all who strive for a more compassionate and saner social order."-Montague Ullman, M.D. DR. ARNO GRUEN was born in Germany and emigrated to the United States as a child in 1936. After completing his graduate studies in psychology at New York University, he trained in psychoanalysis under Theodor Reik. Dr. Gruen has held many teaching posts in this country, including seventeen years as professor of psychology at Rutgers University. Since 1979 he has lived and practiced in Switzerland. His groundbreaking first book, THE BETRAYAL OF THE SELF, was published by in 1988. THE INSANITY OF NORMALITY was first published in Germany by Ksel Verlag under the title Der Wahnsinn der Normalitt-Realismus als Krankheit: eine grundlegende Theorie zur menschlichen Destruktivitt. The book was first published in English in 1992.

"A provactive critique of traditional therapy's view of childhood . . . This is explosive stuff. I can't imagine anyone coming away from this book without several newfound discoveries about herself and her relation to her parents."--Nancy Evans, "Glamour"Originally published in 1984, "Thou Shalt Not Be Aware" explodes Freud's notions of "infantile sexuality" and helps to bring to the world's attention the brutal reality of child abuse, changing forever our thoughts of "traditional" methods of child-rearing. Dr. Miller exposes the harsh truths behind children's "fantasies" by examining case histories, works of literature, dreams, and the lives of such people as Franz Kafka, Virginia Woolf, Gustave Flaubert, and Samuel Beckett. Now with a new preface by Lloyd de Mause and a new introduction by the author, "Thou Shalt Not Be Aware" continues to bring an essential understanding to the confrontation and treatment of the devastating effects of child abuse.""Thou Shalt Not Be Aware" is that rarest of gems, a highly creative and exciting work which throws a multifaceted light upon the development of human nature in the Western World."--Ashley Montagu"Alice Miller is not out to 'hang the bastards, ' but rather to help create a world of self-conscious and self-loving individuals who don't need, want or know how to abuse others."--Sheila Koren, "San Francisco Chronicle ""It is timely. It is powerful. It is painful . . . absorbing, enlightening and provoking."--Louise Lione," Charlotte Observer"Alice Miller, Ph.D., practiced and taught psychoanalysis for over twenty years before devoting herself to writing in 1979. She is the author of the bestselling "Prisoners of Childhood" (reissued inpaperback as "The Drama of the Gifted Child") and "For Your Own Good: Hidden Cruelty in Child-Rearing and the Roots of Violence," as well as numerous other books.