One thing about becoming a decent hypnotist is that involves being hypnotized many, many times -- so her talk about hypnotists having utter contempt for good hypnotic subjects is pretty far off-base, too. Any good hypnotist *is* a good hypnotic subject. You *have* to be.
Another of her big examples is Svengali. For the record, he's fictitious. Entirely so. Saying that the hypnotist community has attempted to "suppress the facts" of Svengali and Trilby's case is a little like saying the British government has attempted to "suppress the facts" in the book "1984". They don't claim they're doing that because they're not. It sounds very ominous. Their denials may make it more so. But in fact it's just that the original source is fiction, and doesn't claim otherwise.
Still, if you can get past the fact that she intentionally misconstrues a lot of sources and sees goblins in the woodwork everywhere, it's pretty readable. Better yet, she quotes a lot of very obscure work by very good hypnotists. I had no idea that the government had Milton Erickson demonstrate hypnotic recall, for instance. Pretty cool!
Thank you for choosing to spend time with this book. I send my love and all I've learned. May every sleeper hear this call to wake and tear the wall of silence down!
Yes, you! It is not just hypnotic subjects who sleep. Ignorance and apathy have lulled so many into somnolence. So this book is for general readers who want to be well informed. Knowing real facts abut hypnosis will help you make wiser choices. It is also for those courageous individuals who are trained in hypnosis and who believe truth and justice are more important than professional solidarity, lobbying postures, income protection - even personal safety. And it is for legal specialists who may some day use this information in court to fight for justice.
Especially, this book is for all survivors of abusive hypnosis: past, present, and future. May every sleeper who yearns to wake and struggle toward freedom of mind find the courage to seek help in that waking and the blessing of achieving it.