Overview

Drugs for anxiety are a billion-dollar business in the United States. Yet in 1955, when the prescription tranquilizer Miltown became available, pharmaceutical executives worried that there was no market. In The Age of Anxiety , historian Andrea Tone provides a comprehensive account of the rise of America's prescription drug culture through the lens of our complicated relationship with tranquilizers.

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9780465025206

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Reviews

O magazine<br> A fascinating history of our dependence on downers.... Thoughtful, timely, and evenhanded. <br><p> Kirkus <br> Readable, informative account of how cultural, economic and political forces have shaped the way Americans address anxiety.... Untangles the variety of complex factors that have shaped Americans' increasing use of tranquilizers amid conflicting attitudes toward them. <p> New York Post <br> Very accessible and well-researched. <p> Minneapolis Star-Tribune <br> [A] lively and thoughtful history of tranquilizers.... [Tone] is a diligent researcher, and she deftly covers the tangle of historical, medical, legal and cultural issues here without lapsing into jargon - no easy feat with a subject like this. <p> Newsweek <br> [A] smart and crisp history of American tranquilizer use. <p> New England Journal of Medicine <br> A superb history that illustrates which cultural groups embraced tranquilizers, how these drugs were initially wildly popular but were subsequently rejected, and the rise of SSRIs as their replacements.... Informative and intriguing. <p> Bookforum <br> Excellent book.... A strong historical account of the most important topic of our interior lives - and noninterior as well.... Great reporting and incisive treatment of the origins of the modern neurosis industry. <p> Reason magazine<br> The Age of Anxiety, Andrea Tone's revelatory history of tranquilizers in America, complicates the usual tale of patriarchal oppression, in which greedy pharmaceutical companies profit by keeping housewives placid and subservient.... Without minimizing the hazards of tranquilizers, Tone suggests that the backlash against them has caused more harm than the uncritical embrace that preceded it. She also shows that a drug's reputation is a function of culture as much as chemistry. <br> <br> The National Catholic Reporter <br> [A] captivating account of the development and use of medications in the treatment of anxiety in the United States...

O magazine A fascinating history of our dependence on downers... Thoughtful, timely, and evenhanded. Kirkus Readable, informative account of how cultural, economic and political forces have shaped the way Americans address anxiety... Untangles the variety of complex factors that have shaped Americans' increasing use of tranquilizers amid conflicting attitudes toward them. New York Post Very accessible and well-researched. Minneapolis Star-Tribune [A] lively and thoughtful history of tranquilizers... [Tone] is a diligent researcher, and she deftly covers the tangle of historical, medical, legal and cultural issues here without lapsing into jargon -- no easy feat with a subject like this. Newsweek [A] smart and crisp history of American tranquilizer use. New England Journal of Medicine A superb history that illustrates which cultural groups embraced tranquilizers, how these drugs were initially wildly popular but were subsequently rejected, and the rise of SSRIs as their replacements... Informative and intriguing. Bookforum Excellent book... A strong historical account of the most important topic of our interior lives -- and noninterior as well... Great reporting and incisive treatment of the origins of the modern neurosis industry. Reason magazine The Age of Anxiety, Andrea Tone's revelatory history of tranquilizers in America, complicates the usual tale of patriarchal oppression, in which greedy pharmaceutical companies profit by keeping housewives placid and subservient... Without minimizing the hazards of tranquilizers, Tone suggests that the backlash against them has caused more harm than the uncritical embrace that preceded it. She also shows that a drug's reputation is a function of culture as much as chemistry. The National Catholic Reporter [A] captivating account of the development and use of medications in the treatment of anxiety in the United States... [Tone] presents a carefully researched and thoughtful narrative... The Age of Anxiety serves as a cautionary tale as to how social and political structures can overshadow scientific data in professional and public discourse about medical treatments. New York Excellent

O magazine A fascinating history of our dependence on downers.... Thoughtful, timely, and evenhanded. Kirkus Readable, informative account of how cultural, economic and political forces have shaped the way Americans address anxiety.... Untangles the variety of complex factors that have shaped Americans' increasing use of tranquilizers amid conflicting attitudes toward them. New York Post Very accessible and well-researched. Minneapolis Star-Tribune [A] lively and thoughtful history of tranquilizers.... [Tone] is a diligent researcher, and she deftly covers the tangle of historical, medical, legal and cultural issues here without lapsing into jargon - no easy feat with a subject like this. Newsweek [A] smart and crisp history of American tranquilizer use. New England Journal of Medicine A superb history that illustrates which cultural groups embraced tranquilizers, how these drugs were initially wildly popular but were subsequently rejected, and the rise of SSRIs as their replacements.... Informative and intriguing. Bookforum Excellent book.... A strong historical account of the most important topic of our interior lives - and noninterior as well.... Great reporting and incisive treatment of the origins of the modern neurosis industry. Reason magazine The Age of Anxiety, Andrea Tone's revelatory history of tranquilizers in America, complicates the usual tale of patriarchal oppression, in which greedy pharmaceutical companies profit by keeping housewives placid and subservient.... Without minimizing the hazards of tranquilizers, Tone suggests that the backlash against them has caused more harm than the uncritical embrace that preceded it. She also shows that a drug's reputation is a function of culture as much as chemistry. The National Catholic Reporter [A] captivating account of the development and use of medications in the treatment of anxiety in the United States...

Author Information

Andrea Tone is Canada Research Chair in the Social History of Medicine at McGill University. She lives in Montreal.

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