Andy Warhol Was a Hoarder: Inside the Minds of History's Great Personalities

Journalist Kalb (formerly of Newsweek) draws attention to 12 common mental health conditions by describing how each manifested itself in the personality of a historical figure. We learn that Marilyn Monroe probably suffered from borderline personality disorder; George Gershwin may have been afflicted by attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; and Frank Lloyd Wright demonstrated signs of narcissism. Individual chapters focus on a specific person and his or her situation, with Kalb first discussing the upbringing that formed their character, then introducing a mental illness, lucidly describing its etiology and manifestations. Drawing heavily on firsthand accounts, the author addresses individual cases, such as Betty Ford's alcoholism. She makes a cogent argument based on what is known of the individual and the condition being described. All in all, readers are left wondering what role the ailments played in the success of these individuals.