Using an impressive array of sources, Claire D. Clark meticulously and thoughtfully traces addiction treatment from Synanon's therapeutic communities in the 1960s to the surge of treatment centers in the twenty-first century. A magnificent achievement.
W. J. Rorabaugh, University of Washington and author of American Hippies Clark provides the most authoritative account to date of the origins and evolution ... Read moreof modern drug treatment in the United States. Beautifully written, The Recovery Revolution embeds treatment developments in the social, political, and cultural moments from which they sprang instead of treating them out of context and provides real insight into the development of the modern, punitive system of criminal justice and the era of mass incarceration.
Joseph Spillane, Professor and Associate Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Florida The Recovery Revolution recounts the origins, history, and influence of modern 'therapeutic communities' as a treatment for addiction. It argues that these shrewdly marketed programs and their charismatic leaders played a central role in the shift of American drug policy away from traditional punitive responses and towards therapeutic responses starting with Synanon in the late 1950s... Clark's book is extensively and creatively researched, intelligently and fluidly written, and it performs a crucial task for modern drug historiography.
David Herzberg, University of Buffalo Show Less