Explains what madness is, to show that it can be understood in psychological terms, and that by studying it we can learn important insights about the normal mind. This book argues that traditional approaches to madness must be abandoned in favour of an approach which is more consistent with what we know about the human mind.

Richard P. Bentall holds a Chair in Experimental Clinical Psychology at the University of Manchester. In 1989 he received the British Psychological Society's May Davidson Award for his contribution to the field of Clinical Psychology.