Abstract
The issue of DSM-111 (the little blue book) in 1980 changed the face of psychiatry. It was intended to put the discipline on a scientific footing, ensure reliability of diagnoses and provided the basis to elucidate the scientific causes of such disorders.
 
 It has however failed in almost every task set out, with succeeding iterations leading to even more controversy, culminating in DSM-5 in 2013.
 
 DSM has had enormous success in terms of distribution and income for the APA but led to great controversy as evidenced by the growing number of critical articles and books.
 
 This review of Allan Horwitz’s book looks at the background to the controversy and the ongoing crisis for psychiatry.
 
 
 
Highlights
It has failed in almost every task set out, with succeeding iterations leading to even more controversy, culminating in DSM-5 in 2013
If the vicissitudes of psychiatry over the following decades that came and went – and there were many –were the equivalent of perigean tides, this was nothing compared to the present state of desuetude which can be best compared to the debris left after a tsunami
Allan Horwitz, who writes excellent books on the history of psychiatry, has provided what will turn out to be the definitive account of the DSM, one that will set the guidelines for future studies, the extent to which it will quell the acrimonious debate is another matter
Summary
It has failed in almost every task set out, with succeeding iterations leading to even more controversy, culminating in DSM-5 in 2013. Allan Horwitz, DSM, Psychiatry Classification, Robert Spitzer, Pharmaceutical companies, Health Insurance
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