Peck, M(organ) Scott (1936–2005)

US psychiatrist. He practiced psychiatry in New Preston, Connecticut (1972–84), and eventually and reluctantly attained the status of a guru due to the success of his book, The Road Less Travelled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth (1978). It focused on personal integrity and community building and although dismissed by some as merely ‘inspirational’, it spoke to many people (attested by its presence on best-seller lists for some 15 years). He followed up its success with such books as People of the Lie (1983) and The Different Drum (1987).

Peck was born in New York. He received his MD from Case Western Reserve University (1963) and served in the US Army (1963–72), retiring after two years as assistant chief of psychiatry and neurology at the office of the surgeon general.