Buchanan's Journal of Man, July 1887

A curious collection of essays and reports, this volume opens a window onto the fever‑ish debates of the 1880s, when physicians, scholars and laypeople alike wrestled with the promise of magnetism, hypnotism and other “adjunct” sciences. The pieces range from translations of continental medical journals to lively commentary on public health scandals, all tied together by a common thread: the search for a more reliable way to heal.

The author, a skeptical observer of contemporary medicine, chronicles a time when patients could be sent from one doctor to another with contradictory diagnoses, prompting many to turn to magnetic “cures.” Drawing on the work of figures such as Dr. Bernheim, Mesmer and Braid, the text argues that the mind itself may hold the key to genuine therapeutic progress. Readers will find a vivid portrait of a discipline at a crossroads, where old doctrines clash with daring new ideas, and where the hope for a “psychic therapeutics” begins to take shape.