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by ttctciyf 4328 days ago
I read Rokeach's book a good few years ago, and found it more interesting for the incidental detail than for the larger narrative or for drawing conclusions from.

As the article notes, as a "scientific" experiment, the methodology was badly flawed, and the narrative (as I recall) is impaired by the repetitious and somewhat theory-laden recounting of the trajectories of the inmates.

Nonetheless, as you say, it's worth reading for anyone whose interest is caught by the article. I'd also recommend another book I read around the same time, Operators and Things [1], which is at the opposite end of the spectrum from Three Christs, having been (apparently) written by someone visited suddenly by clinical paranoia about that experience; it's strong on narrative, weak on clinical detail, quite possibly fictional, and with perhaps a more cheerful ending.

[1] http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/761935.Operators_and_Thin...