Inventing the Feeble Mind A History of Mental Retardation in the United States

James W. Trent uses public documents, private letters, investigative reports, and rare photographs to explore our changing perceptions of mental retardation over the past 150 years. He contends that the economic vulnerability of mentally retarded people (and their families), more than the claims made for their intellectual or social limitations, has determined their institutional treatment.Trent, James W., Jr. is the author of 'Inventing the Feeble Mind A History of Mental Retardation in the United States', published 1995 under ISBN 9780520203570 and ISBN 0520203577.