Medicine: Diagnosis

Nazi Rudolf Hess parachuted into Scotland on May 10, 1941. From that day until his trial at Nürnberg in the fall of 1946, Hess was quizzed, examined and speculated about by British and U.S. psychiatrists. Last week eight of them published their findings in The Case of Rudolf Hess (W .W. Norton & Co., Inc.; $3).

An authors' foreword apologizes for ignoring medical ethics in making public the case history of an identified patient—though an involuntary one. The psychiatrists' explanation: "In a world where psychopathic men can so easily become leaders and where today they might by their own personal whims or...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!