William Riverss groundbreaking contribution to anthropology sidelined after his death in 1922, according to a new book
William Rivers, the doctor who treated officers including Siegfried Sassoon for shell shock during the first world war, and who was memorably brought to life in Pat Barkers Booker prize-winning Regeneration trilogy, was also one of the fathers of social anthropology, according to a new book which claims his work in the field was written out of history by subsequent academics.
Rivers is best known for his work at Craiglockhart war hospital in 1917, where he treated soldiers including Sassoon and Wilfred Owen for the condition then known as shell shock, now referred to as post-traumatic stress disorder. Rivers pioneered a humane, talking cure for the soldiers, as opposed to electric-shock treatment.
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