A question of madness

This book records how the Soviet Union misused allegations of mental illness to imprison opponents of the regime. It tells the story of how Zhores Medvedev, a distinguished russian biochemist, was thrown into a mental hospital and incarcerated on the grounds of alleged 'reformist delusion.' Through the protests of men like Solzenitsyn and Tvardosvsky, he was eventually released. Although the Soviet Union no longer exists, there are plenty of countries in the world which do not have adequate safeguards against the misuse of allegations of mental illness. For many years Britain was one of them. There have been several proposals brought forward recently in the British parliament, by people whose intention was to protect the public from attacks by those who are genuinely mentally ill, which could have chipped away at those safeguards. "A question of madness" provides a chilling warning of what can happen in any society which makes it too easy to lock people up. But it also provides an uplifting account of the courage of the brave men and women who secured Medvedev's release.