Reviews

Sports Heroes, Fallen Idols:
How Star Athletes Pursue Self-Destructive Paths and Jeopardize Their Careers

"Drugs, gambling, domestic abuse, even--occasionally--murder, are all part of the day-to-day existence of the world class athletes profiled in this sobering account.  Teitelbaum goes beyond the headlines to devote chapters to less famous gambling scandals, serious drug deals, and chilling incidents of domestic abuse.  While Teitelbaum does cite "an erosion of morality and ethical behavior in the public sector" he is not a moralist, but objective and unsympathetic in his detailed examination of the foibles, compulsions, and pathologies of the men and women many fans still idolize."
--Publishers Weekly

"Teitelbaum writes persuasively that sports stars have much to answer for... An even-handed practical argument that athletes must be guided by decency and held accountable for their actions--and that fans need to get a life, or at least a dose of reality."
-- Kirkus Reviews

"It is sobering to read Stanley Teitelbaum's survey of the moral climate of modern sports.  Teitelbaum presents a most disturbing rewind of the evidence of how athletes, anointed into heroes by a media machine, and pampered to an extraordinary degree for most of their adult lives, have not found the moral stamina to resist the assortment of temptations such a wealthy lifestyle brings.  Teitelbaum cites our larger culture's moral erosion, our unwillingness to enforce the concept of responsibility, and our unending fascination with celebrity and our perplexing need to manufacture heroes from jocks."
-- William Sharp, Athleon: The Journal of Sports Literature

"Stanley Teitelbaum's study of sports heroes could hardly be timelier.  His thoroughly documented and richly illustrated account develops intertwined themes:  the first is the rise and fall of the athlete hero, which follows a tragic trajectory of flawed character, overreaching through drugs, gambling, violence, or promiscuity, and the inevitable fall from grace:  the second stems from a "hero-hungry public" that craves connections with sports icons; aided and abetted by a media which helps create "larger than life" figures who are "expected to be perfect."  Along with the media, fans perform as enablers who send messages that the athletes "have a free pass to do whatever they want."
-- Daniel Dervin, Ph.D., Clio's Psyche

"Sports Heroes, Fallen Idols is a well documented book that reveals a disturbing, unflattering, and at times unnerving account of self-absorbed, flamboyant, sports stars, who like fireworks, are thrilling to watch before exploding before our eyes.  In this day and age, it is easy to see how their egos are cradled and primed for grandiosity:  the constant hero-worshipping by adoring fans, the endless stream of media attention, and the extraordinary salaries that allow these sports stars to live unimaginably pampered and privileged lives."
-- Andrea Corn, Psy.D., Psychologist-Psychoanalyst Newsletter

Illusion and Disillusionment:
Core Issues in Psychotherapy

"It is a rare experience to come across a book which concomitantly delights us, informs us, and paves the way to enable us to be more sensitive, empathetic, and skilled clinicians.  Dr. Stanley Teitelbaum has provided mental health professionals with such a book.  Once you pick it up, it is very difficult to put down:  like a sumptuous meal, you don't want to stop in the middle."
- Herbert S. Strean, D.S.W., Journal of Psychoanalytic Social Work

"Stanley Teitelbaum provided us with a thorough and perceptive insight into the vicissitudes of illusion and disillusionment.  All the chapters are evocative and readable.  I highly recommend this work."
-- Albert J. Brok, Ph.D., Group Journal