Benzodiazepines, a class of tranquilizers and sleeping pills (including Valium, Xanax, and Ambien), are dangerously addictive; the author, exposed to a range of Benzodiazepines, antidepressants, and psychiatrists, tells the story of his unusual journey: for his own sake, for his friends, and for others who might wish to compare their own journeys with his.

America had a radically different relationship with drugs a century ago. Drug prohibitions were few, and while alcohol was considered a menace, the public regularly consumed substances that are widely demonized today. Heroin was marketed by Bayer Pharmaceuticals, and marijuana was available as a tincture of cannabis sold by Parke Davis and Company. Exploring how this rather benign relationship with psychoactive drugs was transformed into one of confusion and chaos, The Cult of Pharmacology tells the dramatic story of how, as one legal drug after another fell from grace, new pharmaceutical substances took their place. Whether Valium or OxyContin at the pharmacy, cocaine or meth purchased on the street, or alcohol and tobacco from the corner store, drugs and drug use proliferated in twentieth-century America despite an escalating war on “drugs.” Richard DeGrandpre, a past fellow of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and author of the best-selling book Ritalin Nation, delivers a remarkably original interpretation of drugs by examining the seductive but ill-fated belief that they are chemically predestined to be either good or evil. He argues that the determination to treat the medically sanctioned use of drugs such as Miltown or Seconal separately from the illicit use of substances like heroin or ecstasy has blinded America to how drugs are transformed by the manner in which a culture deals with them. Bringing forth a wealth of scientific research showing the powerful influence of social and psychological factors on how the brain is affected by drugs, DeGrandpre demonstrates that psychoactive substances are not angels or demons irrespective of why, how, or by whom they are used. The Cult of Pharmacology is a bold and necessary new account of America’s complex relationship with drugs.

With the FDA's warning that antidepressants may cause agitation, anxiety, hostility, and even violent or suicidal tendencies, these medications are at the forefront of national legal news. Harvard physician Joseph Glenmullen has led the charge to warn the public that antidepressants are overprescribed, underregulated, and, especially, misunderstood in their side and withdrawal effects. Now he offers a solution! More than twenty million Americans -- including over one million teens and children -- take one of today's popular antidepressants, such as Paxil, Zoloft, or Effexor. Dr. Glenmullen recognizes the many benefits of antidepressants and prescribes them to his patients, but he is also committed to warning the public of the dangers associated with overprescription. Dr. Glenmullen's last book, Prozac Backlash, sounded the alarm about possible dangers. The Antidepressant Solution provides the remedy. It is the first book to call attention to the drugs' catch-22: Although many people are ready to go off these drugs, they continue to take them because either the patient or the doctor mistakes antidepressant withdrawal for depressive relapse. The Antidepressant Solution offers an easy, step-by-step guide for patients and their doctors. Written by the premier authority in the field, The Antidepressant Solution is an invaluable book for all those concerned with going through the process -- from friends and family members to doctors and patients themselves.

The Social and Cultural Construction of Risk: Issues, Methods, and Case Studies Vincent T. Covello and Branden B. Johnson Risks to health, safety, and the environment abound in the world and people cope as best they can. But before action can be taken to control, reduce, or eliminate these risks, decisions must be made about which risks are important and which risks can safely be ignored. The challenge for decision makers is that consensus on these matters is often lacking. Risks believed by some individuals and groups to be tolerable or accept able - such as the risks of nuclear power or industrial pollutants - are intolerable and unacceptable to others. This book addresses this issue by exploring how particular technological risks come to be selected for societal attention and action. Each section of the volume examines, from a different perspective, how individuals, groups, communities, and societies decide what is risky, how risky it is, and what should be done. The writing of this book was inspired by another book: Risk and Culture: An Essay on the Selection of Technoloqical and Environmental Dangers. Published in 1982 and written by two distinguished scholars - Mary Douglas, a British social anthropologist, and Aaron Wildavsky, an American political scientist - the book received wide critical attention and offered several provocative ideas on the nature of risk selection, perception, and acceptance.

This novel, an Indian sensation, describes a young man's growing up and coming to grips with sexuality with delicious and often-hilarious detail, but it is about much more: political, ironic, and "an indictment of colonialism" (The Hindu). This comic novel of childhood, coming of age, of modern Indian manhood, and an American Dream was described as "humorous and manic" by The Independent of London, and as personifying "the post-Independence Indian male." It has also been adapted for the stage and played to many standing room only audiences. "Hilarious."--Time Out. "Indefatigable good humor, charm"--Publishers Weekly. "A comic timing never seen in any Indian novel to date."--The Indian Express "Should be a recognized classic. An Indian Catcher in the Rye"--Mark Ledbetter, Author and Professor of Linguistics Keywords: Coming of Age, Indian novel, Contemporary India, Indian society, the Male Experience, Literary Fiction, Sexual Repression, Indian Christians, Indian Catholics, Konkani language, Indian Comic Novel, Politically Incorrect, Men and Women, American Dream, Immigrant American Writers, Asian writers, Asian-American fiction

Imagine Edward Said, George Carlin, and Malcolm X jointly writing a book about universal racism from a cosmopolitan Indian's perspective and compiling “The Fourteen Commandments of Impressing the Whites” delivered by a White God? Impressing the Whites is exactly that kind of book. It had a controversial reception when first published in India, where it was featured on national television and briefly made an online bestseller list. Ferociously satirical and idealistic in turns, “Impressing the Whites” suggests ways in which the world might be made fairer for its increasingly multicolored inhabitants. The book also urges that diverse cultures and peoples retain their authenticity what makes them unique rather than succumbing to the universal tendency towards standardization. "The reader laughs, squirms, recognizes his/her own hypocrisy and the blatant absurdity of most unquestioned social conventions. Zany exuberance . . . mischievous.", says one review. Ferociously satirical, idealistic, and politically incorrect (because political correctness becomes a barrier to thought and expression), it is an argument for diverse cultures and peoples remaining authentic rather than succumbing to a global, McDonaldsized culture.It also examines the dilemma faced by non-white people forced to strive to be judged and found worthy by the West, but also yearn to be authentic. What does this situation mean for authenticity, honesty, integrity, and a mutually respectful and honest communication between West and East? "Boldly goes where no Indian writer has gone before."--The Asian Age, Book Pick of the Fortnight.

In Physician Suicide Letters-Answered, Dr. Wible exposes the pervasive and largely hidden medical culture of bullying, hazing, and abuse that claims the lives of countless medical students, doctors, and patients. Now-for the first time released to the public-here are private letters and last words from our doctors who could no longer bear the pain of an abusive medical system. What you don't know about medical training and culture can kill you. Dr. Wible takes you behind the white coat and into the mind, heart, and soul of our doctors-and provides answers.