For those who haven't seen the documentary The Lobotomist, part of the American Experience on WQED PBS, I definitely recommend it. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/lobotomist/program/ It's about Walter Freeman, father of the transorbital lobotomy.

If you haven't seen it I would be tempted to not read what's below ( i always like going to something with too many filters)

It is a chilling story about what was allowed to happen in the 1940's and 1950's in the United States to mentally ill patients. It's one thing for an indvidual go over the line and mame people but another to see the medical establishment turn away from what was going on until it was too late (i guess they drew the line at sticking pick forks in 2 year olds because they were ill behaved. What Walter Freeman did is something which should be taught in every u.s. school.

and then there's the writer of the book who is an apologist for a true monster http://media.www.dailyiowan.com/media/stor...er-985771.shtml

i have a lot of notes from my laptop when i watched this so at some point i'll post them- the docu infuriated me to that point. i have personally witnessed what is done in the 21st century to mentally ill people and that alone ( shock treatment, people tied to chairs slobbering all over) was enough to turn my stomach but walter freeman took it to a whole new evil level.

rick