Prior (social policy, Queen's University-Belfast) unites contributors in medicine, sociology, and history to examine demographic trends and the evolution of laws related to mental health care and services in Ireland in the 19th and 20th centuries. There is also a review of mental health services in Ireland 1959-2010, and a survey of mental health law in Ireland 1800-2010. Specific topics include disease epidemics in Irish asylums, Irish migrants in New Zealand asylums 1860-1926, and daily life for staff at Holywell Psychiatric Hospital. The book includes a chronology of policies from 1634 to 2012. It is distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)