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Noonday Demon (Hardcover)

by Solomon (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 576 pages
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster (25 Jun 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 068485466X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0684854663
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.7 x 4.1 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,107,405 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

"Breakdowns are preposterous" writes Andrew Solomon in his wide-ranging and illuminating study, The Noonday Demon: An Anatomy of Depression. With the current vogue for self-help books, medication doled out at the drop of a hat, and therapy-speak, it would seem that depression is a modern phenomenon, a reaction to the stresses of a consumerist, high-achieving world. Yet as Solomon explains, the word " depression" was "first used in English to describe low spirits in 1660"; prior to this time, the vagaries of the unquiet mind were termed "melancholia". Bravely cataloguing his own series of depressive episodes, Solomon attempts to go to the roots of the illness--for an illness it is, and has to be treated as such--by interviewing fellow sufferers, delving back into history ("the history of depression in the West is closely tied to the history of Western thought")--analysing suicide, addictions, treatments, and depression's underlying causes, from politics to poverty. At the heart of this informed, compassionate book lies Solomon's own story--an established writer with seemingly everything going for him, he succumbed to a series of breakdowns in his 31st year, and eventually rallied with the support of his father, other family members and friends, a good therapist and a shopping list of medications, which he still takes daily. Out of his depression emerged qualities of self he never knew existed, and a desire to "find and cling to the reasons for living". Solomon's dark night of the soul, on a par with Lewis Wolpert's Malignant Sadness is a significant and important chronicle. Between 10 and 15 per cent of Americans and up to 6 million people in the UK experience depression; books like The Noonday Demon might just broaden our understanding of it. --Catherine Taylor --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.


Review

Naomi Wolfauthor of "The Beauty Myth" and "Promiscuities"With unflinching humanity and empathy, Solomon has written a landmark work about the universal experience of chronic grief. The book is so beautifully documented and widely researched that it reinvigorates the dying tradition of the public intellectual. And for so many women who are the more likely gender to experience lasting depression, whose grief is so often trivialized, "The Noonday Demon" will be a valued sourcebook, even a lifeline.
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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
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4 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars BRILLIANT: exhaustive, riveting, unbiased, compassionate, 7 Jun 2001
This review is from: The Noonday Demon (Hardcover)
I could not put this book down. It is by far the best book on the subject of depression that I have read. The book has such range and depth; Solomon tackles all the angles of this complex subject with great intelligence, warmth and insight that he achieves a synthesis of the literary, political, medical, personal, historical, and philosophical dimensions of depression. Somehow the author manages to combine an incredibly personal and moving account of his own struggle with mental illness and that of others with a first class, rigorous text which any expert in the field would benefit from reading. His research, both academic and personal interviews, is impeccable, and I came away completely in awe of Solomon's command of the literature and handling of the numerous controversies surrounding the study of depression. I can't recommend this book highly enough. It is so sophisticated a treatment of the subject that it made me constantly challenge my own views and I was left feeling exhilarated by the book's wealth of subject matter and the author's sensitive and unpatronising handling of it. The Noonday Demon is a fascinating read for anyone with an interest in depression and mental illness, either personal or professional. Solomon comes across as being like the most interesting guest at a dinner party: someone you want to talk to for hours about his experiences as they are so wideranging and unusual in some instances (read the book to see what I mean). It's hard to imagine a better book on depression, and this is surprising given that Solomon is a writer as opposed to a psychiatrist/psychologist. He might as well be, however, as he appears to know at least as much as a professional does and offers us a broader and more heartfelt account than a dispassionate doctor might be able to. I feel that the author has put such mental and emotional energy into the researching and writing of this book that it deserves, in my opinion, to be seen as the spectacular product of many years of Solomon's private reflections on his own illness and the work of an extremely intelligent and gifted writer, a text which future authors tackling the thorny subject of depression will not be able to ignore.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Quintessential work on depression, 7 Jun 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: The Noonday Demon (Hardcover)
This is a landmark work in the history of depression. Never before has anyone described the emotions felt during depression so elegantly. Andrew's literary skill makes each page of this book a pleasure to read. The Noonday Demon is not only well-written, it is also extremely informative. The author takes us on a journey through personal experiences, provides detailed descriptions of medications and side affects, and explores the efficacy of alternative treatments. In the second half of the book he goes on to describe depression in multiple contexts such as history and philosophy.

I have been a long time sufferer of depression and I have found hope in this book. It is a subject that I have long been ashamed to speak about outside of my therapist's office. Andrew works to remove the stigma behind this illness and bring all aspects of the disease to light. Depression has no cure, it something must be dealt with and treated on a daily basis. I find strength in the knowledge that so many others are successfully treating depression, even if they are not conquering it completely.

The Noonday Demon is a remarkable work that should be read and reread.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars atlas of depression, 14 Jan 2004
This review is from: Noonday Demon, The: An Atlas of Depression (Paperback)
having read many books on depression i can confidently say this truly is the best ever! it does not just talk of living with the illness but also how other cultures deal with it from Tribal africans to eskimos! it tells u the history of medication and diagnosis from Greek times to present day. it also discusses the politics of having people depressed in society and its links to poverty. a big book but worth the effort!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Affectionate and Non-judgemental - Hope for us all
This book has any number of good things going for it. An informed, literate, engaging and passionate author is merely the best place to start. Read more
Published on 19 Sep 2003 by gnimia

5.0 out of 5 stars If you need to understand depression this book can help!
This book covers all areas of depression, in such detail that it is as useful to Mental Health workers as any text book yet reads like a novel. Read more
Published on 1 Jan 2002

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