Drugged: The Science and Culture Behind Psychotropic Drugs
"I've read virtually all the books for the general public on psychoactive drugs.  None come close to Miller's volume in breadth, depth, engagement and accessibility.  He recounts the stories of all the principal drugs with a flair that is engaging as a novel.  From morphine to marijuana the history, chemistry, pharmacology and societal roles of every agent are chronicled with comparable emphasis on cultural roles as on brain actions.  A must read both for the lay public and professionals."-- Solomon H. Snyder, MD, Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins Medical School, Baltimore, MD"Drugged:  The Science and Culture Behind Psychotropic Drugsis atour de forceby Professor Richard J. Miller of Northwestern University.  This book makes a powerful case that to deeply understand drug effects on the brain, one needs to understand how the emergence of these drugs in both ancient and modern cultures have shaped and continue to shape human culture; from the emergence of religion over 11,000 years ago to our "Prozac nation" and "Rave" cultures... [and] is all the more engaging for the personal reflections and the evident sense of humor of its author.  I recommend it highly to people interested in both the scientific and social contexts of psychopharmacology."-- John H. Krystal, MD, Robert L. McNeil, Jr., Professor of Translational Research, Chair, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine and Chief of Psychiatry, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT"Finally, psychotropic drugs, the drugs which speak loudest to our minds and hearts,  have found the voice that provides the basis for understanding  how these miraculous, misunderstood, and often misused and maligned substances, came to be discovered, how they achieve their magic, and how  they have shaped society and vice versa.  Miller's  breathtaking knowledge of pharmacology, history, literature ,and social mores, leavened by a great talent for writing readable prose,  is awesome, enabling him to produce  a book that will enlighten, delight, inspire,  amuse, appall, and humble everyone from professors of neuropharmacology to the consumers of  Prozac, Valium, Risperdal, lithium, meth, 'special k' and coke."-- Herb Meltzer, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL"Miller casts his net [wide]..., covering everything from tea and coffee to LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) and Prozac (fluoxetine hydrochloride), and not limiting himself geographically. He also makes lengthy and lively excursions into culture." --Nature"Indeed, the connections Miller makes between the arts and the science of our brains on drugs are some of the most delightful bits inDrugged. Even if you can't bear the chemical compounds, you can take pleasure in the 19th-century paintings." --The Daily Beast"As interviewed in the Swiss French-language newspaperLeTemps.""As interviewed in the Croation Sunday Edition newspaperNedjeljni Jutarnji."Featured inNew Statesman"When presenting the vignettes associated with any particular drug as well as the drug's proponents, developers, and detractors, the book is at its best. The stories are interesting, well written, and historically engaging often presenting facts unknown even to those in the field of brain chemistry." --New York Journal of Books"[Miller] is literate in a way that we hope all scientists to be, and his account is not only engaging ... but also scientifically rigorous." --Irish Times"Druggedis not a typical work on psychotropic drugs. The book blends historical and current research in an engaging style more common in pupular works than in historical scientific writing.Druggedshould be part of the library of virtually anyone who is employed in the alcohol and drug use/abuse industry. [... I]t will also make interesting reading for general readers along with students and professionals in numerous disciplines. Highly recommended. All readership levels."--G. A. Blevins,CHOICE