title: The Best Specimen of a Tyrant
author:  Thomas Doherty 
description: &#34;An absorbing read with themes that resonate sharply today - including treatment of veterans, post-traumatic stress disorder, and corrupt actions by high ranking officials. Structured around the mysterious and grisly death of a minister at the Wisconsin Insane Hospital, The Best Specimen of a Tyrant has a lively pace for a history.&#34; --Linda Falkenstein, ISTHMUS Books Quarterly<br /><br />&#34;Van Norstrand is a strong personality, a leader among men, a warrior through and through. In pursuring his fortune (he) was involved in at least three titanic struggles: the U.S. Civil War, the war against mental illness, and every man's struggle within himself, the struggle to wield power in an honest and ethical manner... Doherty delivers a fascinating character study of a complex and influential physican and provides an illuminating account of hospital psychiatry during a far more rudimentary age.&#34; --Kenneth C. Casimir, M.D., THE WISCONSIN PSYCHIATRIST<br /><br />&#34;Well written... a fascinating character study while at the same time a dynamic history... The book describes in detail Van Norstrand's work as an army surgeon, (moving) from the horrors of war to the horrors of the insane asylum. I recommend this book.&#34; --Kay James, CAPITAL NEWSPAPERS
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  [Begin Reading](dedication.xhtml)
  
  
  [Table of Contents](contents.xhtml)
  
  
  [About the Author](abouttheauthor.xhtml)
  
  
  [Copyright Page](copyright.xhtml)
  
  
  
  
  
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