The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression
by Andrew Solomon
|
|
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression.
discuss this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
Where's the love? Add this book to your favorite list.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 574)
Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
people who want to learn more about depression
I love this book for many reasons. Andrew Solomon talks about depression in the context of biology, history, politics,and poverty. He also shares his own story of longterm depression and the stories of individuals and communities in the US, Cambodia and Greenland. The book is more for people who want to gain a greater understanding of depression rather than people who want to be lifted out of a depression. But don't worry, the book itself is focused too much on how people experience and overcome...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
ever been or known someone who was sad?
hands-down the best nonfiction book i've ever read, _the noonday demon_ is exhaustive in its examination of depression and mental illness, weaving the author's and others' experiences with "major depressive breakdown" with rigorous research on scientific, anthropological, evolutionary, political, artistic and historical perspectives on the emotion/disease.
solomon engages difficult philosophical questions like whether the blunting of depression by SSRIs is worth its cost in human em...more
solomon engages difficult philosophical questions like whether the blunting of depression by SSRIs is worth its cost in human em...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
2 comments
Read in January, 2005
Oh Andrew, Andrew, Andrew Solomon! What a spoiled, misguided, little man you are. I wanted to like you. I wanted to learn something about myself from your book. I tried not to judge you when you spoke of disagreements with pony riding instructors as precursors to depression. I tried not to judge you when you told me about the "splendid" time you had after your senior year in college when you went to Italy, France, Morocco, Vienna and Budapest. After all, it's not your fault you w...more
Like this review?
yes
(3 people liked it)
add a comment
Read in December, 2006
Depression: more complicated than the Lexapro ads would have you believe.
An intelligent and very thorough interdisciplinary introduction, but with a publication date of 2002, it hews pretty close to the serotonin-oriented theories of depression (although Solomon does a nice job of explaining how very little is known about how Prozac-generation antidepressants actually work, even though they clearly DO work). Since then, medical research has gone on to explore models of depression that explo...more
An intelligent and very thorough interdisciplinary introduction, but with a publication date of 2002, it hews pretty close to the serotonin-oriented theories of depression (although Solomon does a nice job of explaining how very little is known about how Prozac-generation antidepressants actually work, even though they clearly DO work). Since then, medical research has gone on to explore models of depression that explo...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in January, 2008
Not really sure what I think of this one yet. I had read the preceding New Yorker articles and thought they were excellent, so I really had high hopes for this. Ultimately though, at more than 400 pages of actual text plus 130 pages of notes, bibliography, and index, I think I kind of got bogged down in this one. Maybe I just tried to read it too fast. The author clearly put a lot of effort into gathering all the information he could about depression as a disease, yet this amounts to such...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
everyone
An essential read if you have ever suffered from depression, know someone who has or have any interest in understanding the disease.
It is truly comprehensive & elegantly written - exploring the scientific side, the cultural side (he travels the globe & interviews sufferers), the historical, and, most importantly, his own experiences & battles. As someone inflicted with depression & anxiety, and will be for the rest of my life, this book has been critical to my growth and acc...more
It is truly comprehensive & elegantly written - exploring the scientific side, the cultural side (he travels the globe & interviews sufferers), the historical, and, most importantly, his own experiences & battles. As someone inflicted with depression & anxiety, and will be for the rest of my life, this book has been critical to my growth and acc...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in September, 2005
I first got interested in this book when I was watching a NOVA special about Abraham Lincoln, and Andrew Solomon (Noonday author) was one of the references on Lincoln's constant bouts with depression. I was so impressed with him that I went out the day after that episode aired, and bought his book. Solomon is brilliant, and it shines through in his commentary, and much more so in his writing. At the time I was reading it, I had just gone through a divorce, and was myself battling depression. I h...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
psych students, people with depression, friends and family members of those with depression
Very, very expansive text. Everything and anything you ever wanted to know about depression. However, has great first person points of view. Also deals with the less obvious, such as depression among the poor, the evolution of depression, and the politics of depression. There were times I did not like the author, and it was hard to accept his point of view. However, he presents so many points of view that I feel like this is an extremely well rounded book. I read it for class, but certainl...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in September, 2007
especially recommended for anyone who has ever dealt personally with depression. the scope that solomon attempts is vast, covering literature, history, psychology, sociology, politics, anthropology, etc etc. though many questions go unanswered, from the start he is honest about the intention of the book and it is not to give answers. if anything it is to raise questions. what we get is a valuable overview of a complex and misunderstood mental illness that can only help to further the dialogue.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
You probably need to suffer from mild anxiety at the very least in order to pick up this book. As an atlas of depression and mood disorders, it deserves five stars. For pure readability, more like 3 or 4. I put it down halfway through. His inclusion of his own and other people's narratives make the topic much more engaging and his research was exhaustive--it's definitely the most informed and un-self-pitying book on the topic I've ever read. But once it started to splinter off into "depres...more
Like this review?
yes
3 comments
Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
everyone
I would recommend this book to absolutely everyone, but in particular, to people living with depression and/or anxiety. Incredibly well organized, I admit I haven't finished every chapter. The first four (depression, breakdown, treatment, alternatives) contained descriptions of depression that really spoke to me and I imagine spoke would speak to others, like when Solomon quotes Antonin Arraud "never real and always true" as the way depression feels.
I have more to say about this...more
I have more to say about this...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
anyon intrigued by the human brain
Thorough, fascinating, and at times heartbreaking. Explores depression from almost every possible angle - historical, evolutionary, biochemical, circumstantial, and, ultimately, personal. The stories, and there are many, are devastating, but in most cases ultimately hopeful. I was intrigued with the investigation of the nature/nurture debate, his experiments with alternative therapies, and the chapter devoted to the vicious cycle of poverty and depression. Actually, I was sucked in to the en...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2006
recommended to Alegra by:
Rebecca
I really liked this book. I'm on a psychology major and it really gave a different perspective to my studies. It explains absolutely every topic you can relate to depression. It is not depressing in itself, rather informative. What best way to tackle an enemy if not by learning all you can about it? I loved this book, and I really love the friend that refered it to me!
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
1 comments
Read in January, 2004
This book documents depression from every conceivable angle: scientific, historical, political, sociological, evolutionary perspective, et al. Although the author does relate his personal travails with depression, and those of others as well, this isn't a biography. It really is what it's called- an atlas of depression. The book is so jam-packed with information that over a hundred pages are taken up with the notes, bibliography and index.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
anyone dealing with depression
Everything you wanted to know about The Black Dog. An impressive book of information, personal memoir, statistics,
history and politics about Depression. A well written, well researched "atlas" of the ailment, the treatments, the myths,
the recovery, the suicides, the stigma, et al. I was astonished at how much I didn't know. The author's personal
life was interwoven which made it less a text book and put the humanity in it.
history and politics about Depression. A well written, well researched "atlas" of the ailment, the treatments, the myths,
the recovery, the suicides, the stigma, et al. I was astonished at how much I didn't know. The author's personal
life was interwoven which made it less a text book and put the humanity in it.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Though about the single topic of depression, Noonday Demon's scope is vast. Solomon tries to address the politics, biology, economics, and psychology of depression, and succeeds in describing depression's brutality. But his constant use of real-life stories of depression becomes tedious and detracts from the book's flow. I found myself deeply engaged for the first few hundred pages, but merely skimming through the end of the book.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I kept calling my friends while I read this to make sure they weren't going to off themselves. I bought this because I met its author and I liked the way he used his napkin in converstion at the dinner table and because I was in a low mode and it's very informative and interesting and fabulously written and it kind of pulls you out of your hole while it makes you desperately want to dig another, if that makes sense.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2008
This is a must read for anyone trying to understand depression from the sufferers POV. I'm not too sure on all the facts, especially now that the effectiveness of antidepressants is being called into question. However, the author paints a very vivid description of the disorder and gives us some insight to our societal views on mental disorder. I love the description of the African ceremony he went through.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2008
A memoir of depression crossed with a cultural critique of depression, the book turns the I'm-sad-and-it-sucks genre on its head. Solomon has created real literature, both harrowing and inspiring. Unfortunately, he makes some factual errors, and then there are moments when his own psychological problems--described and not--color his takes on topics. The suicide chapter, for instance, is totally disturbing.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
This beautifully written book is massively comprehensive in its own quirky way. There are parts of it that interest me less than others, but parts of it have helped me so profoundly I can't give it anything less than 5 stars. I turn to this book again and again; it's rarely far from my nightstand. Andrew Solomon never condescends to pity or romanticism: he knows there is no real compassion without respect.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
