About the Author

Samuel H. Barondes, M.D., is Jeanne and Sanford Robertson Professor and Director of the Center for Neurobiology and Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. His books include Molecules and Mental Illness and Mood Genes: Hunting for Origins of Mania and Depression, both selected as "Great Brain Books" by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives.

Reviews

"A fascinating chronology of just where Prozac, Ritalin, Valium and other medications come from and what our future drugs may be able to do."--Chicago Tribune
"This is likely the finest book I have ever read on psychopharmacology."--Solomon H. Snyder, American Journal of Psychiatry
"A good, short introduction to the history and current methodology of drug development, from the accidental discovery of Thorazine (it was supposed to be an antihistamine) to the current use of 'designer' mice, bred to mimic human psychiatric conditions, to the quest for genetic markers of Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and Parkinson's disease."--Library Journal
"Case Studies combined with solid descriptions of research reveal an interesting path of development for psychiatric drugs."--Science News
"A lively, informative, well-written and authoritative source about likely future developments in the treatment of mental illness."--Washington Times
"An engaging guide to the new biological paradigm of psychiatry."--Publishers Weekly
"Better Than Prozac is accessible to all and accomplishes the seemingly impossible task of making complex issues in psychopharmacology understandable and clear."--Allan Young, New England Journal of Medicine
"An excellent read.... A well-written and comprehensive account of a field that has developed rapidly in the past few decades."--Les Iversen, Nature
"Better than Prozac is more than just an excellent history of drugs developed to treat mental illness. It is also a fascinating account of the scientists who explore the brain and who are providing us with a new and remarkable understanding of how it works. Dr. Barondes--a lucid writer esteemed neuroscientist, and respected physician--is uniquely able to tell this important story."--Kay Redfield Jamison, Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Medical
School, and author of An Unquiet Mind and Night Falls Fast
"Samuel Barondes is a scientist with a knack for making technical material accessible to the general reader. Better than Prozac is a lucid and thorough account of the history and likely future of medications for the mind."--Peter D. Kramer, author of Listening to Prozac and Spectacular Happiness
"Samuel Barondes, one of the great expositors of biological psychiatry, has done it again! He has used his wonderful knowledge of medicine and psychiatry and his insights into the biological basis of drug therapy to give us an historical overview of the development of psychiatric drugs. In so doing, he not only explains how these drugs work and the benefits they bring, he also teaches us about their shortcomings and the roads we have to traverse to go beyond
the currently available pharmacological therapies. These roads include, at their core, a better understanding of the biological bases of mental processes and mental disorders, areas which Barondes
describes masterfully. In short, this book is a must read for those who want to know where drug therapy in psychiatry is, where it has come from, and where it is heading."--Eric R. Kandel, University Professor, Columbia University, and Nobel Laureate
"Better Than Prozac is like a conversation with a genuine expert about the psychiatric medications used to treat clinical depression and other disorders of mental life."--J. Raymond DePaulo, Cerebrum
"Case Studies combined with solid descriptions of research reveal an interesting path of development for psychiatric drugs."--Science News
"A fascinating chronology of just where Prozac, Ritalin, Valium and other medications come from and what our future drugs may be able to do."--Chicago Tribune
"This extensively documented book describes the bumpy road from Thorazine to Prozac--a thoroughfare paved with quirky strokes of luck and sometimes tragic side effects, with fascinating anecdotes and eye-opening facts. The history Barondes provides then serves as a background for his report of recent scientific advances, such as the human genome project, which aims at a time when drugs can be customized to suit each person's unique needs and physiology,
averting unwelcome side effects. Barondes discusses the world of psychiatric drug therapy with candor and compassion, painting a hopeful future for anyone suffering disorders ranging from clinical depression
to schizophrenia."--Booklist
"A good, short introduction to the history and current methodology of drug development, from the accidental discovery of Thorazine (it was supposed to be an antihistamine) to the current use of 'designer' mice, bred to mimic human psychiatric conditions, to the quest for genetic markers of Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and Parkinson's disease."--Library Journal
"An excellent read.... A well-written and comprehensive account of a field that has developed rapidly in the past few decades. It was written for intelligent non-scientific readers, but experts will also find much entertaining material about the scientists who were involved in some of the major discoveries, and in the case histories."--Nature
"An engaging guide to the new biological paradigm of psychiatry."--Publishers Weekly
"A lively, informative, well-written and authoritative source about likely future developments in the treatment of mental illness."--Washington Times
"Better than Prozac is more than just an excellent history of drugs developed to treat mental illness. It is also a fascinating account of the scientists who explore the brain and who are providing us with a new and remarkable understanding of how it works. Dr. Barondes--a lucid writer, esteemed neuroscientist, and respected physician--is uniquely able to tell this important story."--Kay Redfield Jamison, Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins
Medical School, and author of An Unquiet Mind and Night Falls Fast
"Samuel Barondes is a scientist with a knack for making technical material accessible to the general reader. Better than Prozac is a lucid and thorough account of the history and likely future of medications for the mind."--Peter D. Kramer, author of Listening to Prozac and Spectacular Happiness
"Samuel Barondes, one of the great expositors of biological psychiatry, has done it again! He has used his wonderful knowledge of medicine and psychiatry and his insights into the biological basis of drug therapy to give us an historical overview of the development of psychiatric drugs. In so doing, he not only explains how these drugs work and the benefits they bring, he also teaches us about their shortcomings and the roads we have to traverse to go beyond
the currently available pharmacological therapies. These roads include, at their core, a better understanding of the biological bases of mental processes and mental disorders, areas which Barondes
describes masterfully. In short, this book is a must read for those who want to know where drug therapy in psychiatry is, where it has come from, and where it is heading."--Eric R. Kandel, University Professor, Columbia University, and Nobel Laureate
"This is likely the finest book I have ever read on psychopharmacology."--Solomon H. Snyder, American Journal of Psychiatry
"It is accessible to all and accomplishes the seemingly impossible task of making complex issues in psychopharmacology understandable and clear."--Allan Young, New England Journal of Medicine
"Barondes provides this information better that any other account I have read. Moreover, he does it in such a creative way that researches as well as clinical practitioners will learn from and enjoy the material which he has so skillfully assembled."--Herbert Y. Meltzer,Nature Medicine
"Better Than Prozac is like a conversation with a genuine expert about the psychiatric medications used to treat clinical depression and other disorders of mental life."--J. Raymond DePaulo, Cerebrum