Dr. Murstein creates a memoir that showcases his talents as a serious scholar, stand-up comic and engaging raconteur. Bernard I. Murstein, Ph. D., is an internationally known psychologist and historian who has just published his latest book, When Seltzer was Two Cents a Glass: A History of America and Me, 1929-1955. Unlike his previous research and writing, which covered, projective techniques, defining love, choosing a marital partner, sexual attitudes and behavior, and getting psyched for Wall Street , the present volume is a memoir of his history. He interweaves the social and political history of the United States with his personal experiences in living through the depression, World War II, and the affluent post- war decade. His extraordinary memory of his childhood enables you to inhale the aromas of the “Appetizing Store,” experience the banter between fishmonger and housewife, and enjoy the excitement of a young boy buying a new pair of shoes, while his mother and the salesman watch his foot fluoroscoped through the porthole. The boy’s hard-working parents have no time to offer emotional support. He is however very good-looking and gets attention as an object, while he searches for identity. He meets constant frustration as his parents change residences almost annually in search of cheaper rents. His search for selfhood is the center theme of this first of a two-volume memoir. His writing draws such comments as “A splendid memoir...Murstein’s vivid writing makes you feel you are spending an evening chatting with one of social psychology’s pioneering (and most eminent) researchers. Sweet, fascinating and thoroughly engrossing…” What a wonderful way to hear a first-hand account of what it was like to live through the Great Depression, experience a Bronx Utopia, how the war affected life in America, and so much more. Dr. Murstein has held an endowed chair at Connecticut College, Fulbright Grant at the Universite de Louvain, and was designated a 20th Century Distinguished Psychologist by Papeles Psicologos del Colegio of Spain. He was elected a fellow of three divisions of the American Psychological Association, past president of the Society of Personality Assessment, and Diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology in Clinical Psychology. He has written 10 books among 165 publications. Several books have been the Behavioral Sciences Book Service Main Selections; some were translated into Portuguese and French. He has lectured throughout the United States , Canada, England, France, Sweden, Norway, Russia, Belgium, Greece, Spain, and Morocco. He has also been interviewed on television programs over the years (e.g. Phil Donahue Show) and has been the subject of many newspaper and television interviews. Comments on his books range from “the best book on projective techniques ever written”, (on the subject of the Thematic Apperception Technique), to marital relations “America’s principle theoretician in mate selection”; to a rational approach to an irrational financial market “A ground-breaking book on how investors’ actions and emotions affect the stock market”, to a reminiscence of fulfilling fantasies in his book “Is Sex Tax-Deductible?”. The book is, now available through Amazon.com as well as his newly redesigned website at www.bernardmurstein.com, This first volume of his memoirs showcases his twin talents as a serious scholar and engaging raconteur. His second volume in the series, entitled “Memoirs of a Professional Malcontent: A History of My America, 1956-2013” will be available in 2014. Comments/ratings on his current book drawn from Amazon.com include: 5 out of 5 stars My Two Cents, May 13, 2013 By Mary E. Hanrahan “When Seltzer Was Two Cents a Glass: A History of America and Me, 1929-1955" is much more than a memoir. While sharing remarkably detailed recollections of his journey from an insecure childhood to the realization of his educational and personal aspirations, Dr. Murstein provides an entertaining and enlightening account of life in the U.S. during the mid-20th century. While focusing on the intimate details of a boy growing up in pre and post-WWII America, "Seltzer" provides sociological and historical insights into those tumultuous times. " 5.0 out of 5 stars You don't have to be Jewish to love this book March 30, 2013 By Otello Desiderato "Like Proust's Madeleine instantly conjuring the entire village of Combray, Murstein's autobiography recreates every forgotten detail of the fabric of life in the New York of the 1930s and 40s. All this through the eyes of a remarkably perceptive octogenarian, admirably self-disclosing, wryly nostalgic, brimming with wit and humor. This book will appeal to all ages. In this book, the human qualities of this world renowned authority in psychological research are now revealed. As a colleague of his many years ago, I was glad to see his analyses, both serious and whimsical, available to all."
