The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression » (Reprint)

Andrew Solomon studied at Yale University and Jesus College, Cambridge, England. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker, ArtForum, and The New York Times Magazine. He is the author of The Irony Tower: Soviet Artists in a Time of Glasnost and the novel A Stone Boat, which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times First Fiction Award. For more information, visit www.noondaydemon.com

The Noonday Demon examines depression in personal, cultural, and scientific terms. Drawing on his own struggles with the illness and interviews with fellow sufferers, doctors and scientists, policymakers and politicians, drug designers and philosophers, Solomon reveals the subtle complexities and sheer agony of the disease. He confronts the challenge of defining the illness and describes the vast range of available medications, the efficacy of alternative treatments, and the impact the malady has had on various demographic populations around the world and throughout history. He also explores the thorny patch of moral and ethical questions posed by emerging biological explanations for mental illness.

Book Magazine

Few audiobooks impart the kind of gentle wisdom found throughout Solomon's National Book Award winning tome on depression. Part memoir, part analysis, it describes Solomon's anguished battle with depression and examines the role this affliction has played through the ages. Solomon is a sincere and engaging reader who brings emotional shading to the material, and there is not one dry note. The only flaw worth mentioning is the abridgement: While nicely handled, it isn't necessary. Listeners may find themselves reaching for the printed book for more on this fascinating topic.