Rating: 
Summary: Good but a little heavy on the chemistry
Review: I like this book very much. It has a very compassionate tone and is incredibly detailed and well-researched. What I especially like so far are the thumbnail sketches of depression and depression treatment in other cultures like Greenland and Senegal--that adds an extra dimension that most other books about depression lack. Also enjoyed reading about the author's experiences with illicit drugs--they give some interesting insights into mood and state of mind. Do not want to try them myself, but like to read first-hand reports from a lucid observer.
What I don't like is Solomon's claim that not taking medication (or having ECT, or surgery) is...what was the line..."as self-destructive as going into a modern war on horseback." I've been dealing with my depression for years without medication, and much prefer this way to being dependent on doctors and constantly dealing with side effects. As far as medication goes, he is extrapolating too much from his own experience of having major, debilitating depression, and doesn't address the problem of the constant low-level kind like mine, which doesn't necesssarily require extreme measures.
Rating: 
Summary: horrible
Review: the other reviews pretty much sum it up- this book stinks. It's too long and too pointless. I suffer from depression and I learned a bit, but not nearly as much as one would think from the size of the book. If you are writing a paper, this might be a good source. I don't suggest it if it is for your own use. If you are horribly suicidal, it will keep your thoughts and self occupied for a long time, hopefully until the feeling subsides a wee bit. Borrow it from the local library if you must read it.
Rating: 
Summary: I got more depressed
Review: This is not a book for the faint of heart. In gory detail you get to live with Solomon and his valueless search for a way out of depression.I found the reading to be repulsive in some areas. In particular the experimentation with homosexuality. Would not recommend at all to anyone in the downside of a depressive cycle
Rating:
Summary: I wanted a refund.
Review: As I read, the lingering thoughts were "Who on earth votes for the National Book Award?" and "I am certain there were other books published last year." The young man Mr. Solomon is a sufferer, to be sure, and he sports a dilettante's Ivy League training and contacts, but he's sadly devoid of humility or modesty or detachment to go with his fine intellect. The caveat emptor here should say "this is primarily about this fellow's troubled mind and regrettable choices, not depression itself." The grandiose book may just set back the cause of "depression as illness" twenty years, since the author's own absurd lifestyle and willingness to live life as a laboratory experiment point out an interpretation that the sufferer is a mess and it's mostly his own fault. Get off the couch, Andrew, stop taking pills and thinking you're a Renaissance artist, and start thinking about someone other than yourself. Worse yet is the grossly misleading "atlas" title. It would be more accurate to characterize the volume as an adolescent's confession sprinkled with the standard recountings of visits with fellow depressives and recitations of "startling" statistics. I'm quite familiar with the experience of depression, but think its genuineness as a medical condition is only undermined by this self-styled "authoritative" work. On the bright side, Andrew could've pursued a career as a stock analyst like his Yalie classmates, so give him a star for that.
Rating: 
Summary: The Noonday Demon
Review: A truly awe-inspiring book full of hope and inspiration for those suffering from depression. Solomon finds the metaphors usually lacking in describing depression. He gives us his own, as well as others' excruciating experiences with depressive episodes, and yet we are not saddened but inspired by the endurance of these amazing people. It makes one take a deeper look into one's own experience. I've read many books on depression, and yet still found information here that I had never come across before (facts), and most of all the hope to continue keeping on, keeping on with life.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written, marvelously informative, humane, but...
Review: This book is a gift, a resource to treasure. Solomon is to be commended for approaching his topic from every conceivable angle, for telling his own story with such candor, and for writing with such genuine care and compassion for the people who suffer from this terrible affliction. Other reviewers have already gone over the strengths of this marvelously readable book (and they are many), so no need to rehash those. My only complaint is that Solomon is just a BIT too enthusiastic about anti-depressive medication. There is absolutely no doubt that these drugs do a world of good and are essential for those people with full-blown and/or refractory cases of depression; it is also true that many people who SHOULD be taking these drugs are not because they fear the prospect of lifelong dependency. But it is also true that many people with milder forms of depression which could respond to talk therapies or alternative therapies are using these drugs as designer pharmaceuticals because they're just not as happy as they think they should be or deserve to be. Very often these people tend to cycle on and off the regimen, which, as Solomon makes clear, is a very bad idea as it tends to make the drugs less effective with each new cycle. I was also surprised that nowhere in the index to this book will you find the word "meditation." Meditation is certainly not a treatment for depression, but many people will attest to its effectiveness as a preventative/prophylactic measure. Depression ultimately arises from a complex interplay of genetic/biological predisposition and environmental stressors. It is also intimately tied in with spiritual life and politics as well. Solomon's handling of these latter two issues is not quite as assured as it could be. He is interested in relgion primarily for its potentially "therapeutic" qualities and his long chapter on politics doesn't really touch the million-dollar Huxleyan question: are some depressions legitimate responses to a political system that is flawed? And by medicating those people who are (quite reasonably) unhappy, are we propping up a status quo that should be changed?
Rating:
Summary: Written with compassion and empathy....
Review: This is the first time I have ever seen anyone describe the infinite faces of depression from the perspective of those who suffer from the disorder. There is a plethora of books available that offer a pragmatic and clinical view of depression; those who are depressed have become experts on the disease. We need our feelings validated, the manifestation of our anxieties accepted, and our feelings respected. Andrew Solomon reveals the thoughts of fellow sufferers, reminding us that our psyches are fragile and that we need to take care of bodies. Despite my good fortune to have had a psychopharmacologist who actually found the words to reflect to me how depersonalization felt, I have been locked in my own prison of depression for over 20 years. Andrew Solomon finally answers all of the questions my mother (may she rest in peace) had as she failed in her loving efforts to help me get well--the thing she wanted more than anything in the whole wide world. Mr. Solomon tells everyone who has ever been clinically depressed that there is, at last, someone who understands why getting out of bed in the morning can be the most arduous task in the world despite a high dose of medication and being treated with a number of medications. He confirms the reality that there is no magic pill. Mr. Solomon spends quite a bit of time discussing psychotherapy versus psychotherapy with medication(s).d the duration of treatment. The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression is required reading for the patient, his or her family, and his or her friends. It is for those who have lost friends or family because of excessive needs during crises, and those who have "st[u]ck pins into their own life rafts." With nothing short of candor, Andrew Solomon says, "When you are depressed, you need the love of other people, and yet depression fosters actions that destroy that love." A wonderful book on all counts, written with compassion and empathy for all of its characters.... Randi Jenkins
Rating:
Summary: The Whole Ball of Melting Wax
Review: Andrew Solomon has written a work that is at once well researched and very movingly written. This is both a valuable sourcebook for the person who wants to understand the disease that is afflicting him/herself or someone he/she loves AND a magnificent read in its own right. I especially found Solomon's comparison between the medieval perception of depression as a sin (sloth) and our modern medical understandings to be highly enlightening and explanatory of the hostile attitudes a depressive must face. Solomon, the son of a drug company magnate, realizes he is lucky, too: he has had access to all the best medicine. His book is, therefore, also a call for measures in the public sector to wisely and properly provide for all people who suffer from this illness.
Rating:
Summary: Wait for the Oliver Sacks Version
Review: This is a narcisstic book--badly written-- by someone who is in pain and wants to share it. Consider the sentence "I was blissfully happy" (describing his college years) What does it mean?He was very happy? College was bliss? Solomon is quite write that depressives can tax their friends patience--but at least a certain contract exists between friends. If Solomon wants to share his pain with the public he must craft a language,shape sentences that have enough impersonality or distance" to compel. That is hard work. So: he relies on worn out phrases and cheap locutions like 'hearts and minds'
... his book has the tone of narrative self-confession and self agrandizement coupled with post romantic cliche's about the value of Pain...
Rating:
Summary: Not at all depressing-high quality work for the layman
Review: Having family experience with depression, I was both intrigued by and afraid of this book. I don't like to read things that get me down - but pop-psychology-feel-good literature seems to trivialize the issue. This book avoids both of these problems and stands as the best book on depression that I have read. Mr. Solomon begins by recounting his own depression in a non-woe-is-me but rather engaging tone. He then proceeds to look at depression from the points of view of pharmacology and talk psychology, and history. He also hits on the subjects of treatment, different patient populations (men, women, US, non-US, Gay, Addicts etc.). He includes a fascinating chapter of poverty and depression. Many anecdotes from one-on-one interviews with sufferers are spread throughout the book. The book deserves the praise it has received. Like anything that deals with an emotional (no pun) subject it will not appeal to everyone. The book is long and for the more serious reader. But is also very accessible to the layman. I also believe that it would appeal to professionals as well. The subject is covered with great compassion and flexibility of thought.
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