Los Angeles Times Book Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 8 (1987) Winner
Robert Jay Lifton
ロバート・ジェイ・リフトン
Robāto Jei Rifuton
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1926-05-16 （Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.）
- Died
- 2025-09-04 （Truro, Massachusetts, U.S.） age 99
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Religion
- Judaism
- Residence History
- Brooklyn (born) → Wellfleet, Massachusetts (residence/meeting place) → Truro, Massachusetts (later life)
Career
- Occupations
- psychiatrist, author, professor, psychohistory researcher
- Active Years
- 1949-2025
- Affiliations
- Washington School of Psychiatry, Harvard University, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Yale University, Collegium International
- Memberships
- Collegium International
- Influenced By
- Erik Erikson, Sigmund Freud
- Influenced
- Scholars in psychohistory and trauma/war studies
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cornell University | — | — | — | 1942–1944 | United States |
| New York Medical College | — | Medicine | MD | 1944–1948 | United States |
| SUNY Downstate Medical Center (residency) | — | psychiatric residency | — | 1949–1951 | United States |
Cornell University
Period:
1942–1944
Year of Graduation:
1944
Country:
United States
Enrolled at age 16; later entered medical college
New York Medical College
Medicine
Degree:
MD
Period:
1944–1948
Year of Graduation:
1948
Country:
United States
Received MD
SUNY Downstate Medical Center (residency)
psychiatric residency
Period:
1949–1951
Year of Graduation:
1951
Country:
United States
Psychiatric residency training
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | National Book Award (Science) | Death in Life: Survivors of Hiroshima | Science | National Book Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1987 | National Jewish Book Award (Holocaust) | The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide | Holocaust | Jewish Book Council | 受賞 |
| 2012 | Honorary Doctorate | — | — | The New School | 授与 |
National Book Award (Science)
1969
Work:
Death in Life: Survivors of Hiroshima
Category:
Science
Organization:
National Book Foundation
Result:
受賞
National Jewish Book Award (Holocaust)
1987
Work:
The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide
Category:
Holocaust
Organization:
Jewish Book Council
Result:
受賞
Honorary Doctorate
2012
Organization:
The New School
Result:
授与
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of "Brainwashing" in China
1961 nonfiction, academicBased on interviews and fieldwork, analyzes 'thought reform' (so‑called "brainwashing") in China and outlines psychological features of totalistic movements.
thought reformtotalismgroup psychology
Death in Life: Survivors of Hiroshima
1968 nonfiction, psychiatryA psychological study of Hiroshima survivors, examining fragmentation of the psyche after mass destruction and paths to resilience.
psychology of wartraumaresilience
Adaptations
- [TV documentary] To Die, To Live: The Survivors of Hiroshima / Robert Vas (1975)
The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide
1986 history, psychiatryAn in‑depth study of medical professionals' participation in the Holocaust and the psychological mechanisms that enabled medical killing.
medical ethicscollective perpetrationgenocide
The Protean Self: Human Resilience in an Age of Fragmentation
1993 psychology, social theoryIntroduces the concept of the 'protean self' and argues for a fluid, multifaceted self as adaptive in modern fragmented societies.
selfresiliencemodern fragmentation
Surviving Our Catastrophes: Resilience and Renewal from Hiroshima to the COVID-19 Pandemic
2023 nonfiction, social commentaryA collection of essays that examines societal and psychological resilience from Hiroshima to the COVID‑19 pandemic.
resiliencesocial criticismdisaster and renewal
Bibliography
- Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of "Brainwashing" in China (1961)
- Death in Life: Survivors of Hiroshima (1968)
- Home from the War: Vietnam Veterans—Neither Victims nor Executioners (1973)
- The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide (1986)
- The Protean Self: Human Resilience in an Age of Fragmentation (1993)
- Witness to an Extreme Century: A Memoir (2011)
- Surviving Our Catastrophes: Resilience and Renewal from Hiroshima to the COVID-19 Pandemic (2023)
Adaptations
- To Die, To Live: The Survivors of Hiroshima (BBC Horizon episode, 1975)
- Flight From Death (appeared in documentary, 2003)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- scholarly and analyticalcase-study and interview-based approachethical and historical perspective
- Recurring Motifs
- death and fear of deathtrauma and recoverytotalism and fragmentation of the selfmedical ethics and psychology of perpetration
Legacy
Through pioneering studies of war, trauma, thought reform, and medical perpetration, he had major impact across psychiatry, history, and ethics. Works such as Thought Reform, Death in Life, and The Nazi Doctors provoked interdisciplinary debate.
Academic Societies
- Collegium International
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences (associated)
In Popular Culture
- BBC Horizon episode based on Death in Life aired (1975)
- Appeared in documentaries such as Flight From Death
Quotes
-
What's happening there [in Bosnia] merits the use of the word genocide. There is an effort to systematically destroy an entire group.
Source: Statement (1993) (1993)
Trivia
- Married children's author Betty Jean Lifton in 1952; they had two children (she died in 2010).
- Published humorous cartoon books about birds and pursued cartooning as an avocation.
- Served as a U.S. Air Force psychiatrist in Japan and Korea during/after the Korean War; this influenced his interest in war and politics.
- Was among those who advocated for inclusion of PTSD in the DSM.