Psychopharmacology: the Third Generation of Progress

Although the discussions are comprehensive, this book is not an exhaustive reference work. The result of this organization is an extremely usable text for the clinician. The organization and style of the 38 chapters is consistent. Most chapters have several appropriate tables. Some chapters contain one or two representative roentgeno-grams, although many chapters would have been enhanced by additional illustrations and roentgenograms. There are abundant references, averaging approximately 75 per chapter. The organization of the text and the liberal subheadings in each chapter make finding the desired topic relatively easy. A thorough index is also provided. The subtitle of this book reflects the intent to provide a practical answer to clinical situations. The information contained in this text is clearly and succinctly presented and would be useful to medical students and physicians with the need or desire to understand both the intricacies of respiratory infections and the application of that knowledge to patient management. The utility and desirability of Psychopharmacology: The Third Generation of Progress is attested to by the fact that it was the first book to be stolen from our newly established psychiatry library. This book is the third in a series, updated every decade since 1967, from the preeminent biological psychiatry organization in the United States, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP). This comprehensive review of clinical neuroscience was "trimmed" to 184 chapters by 350 authors and amounts to more than 1,800 pages. For a book that is so large and cumbersome, relevant information on most topics in neuroscience is surprisingly accessible. Topics are presented as clusters of individual reviews covering specific interest areas rather than as a single comprehensive review chapter. Thus, an experienced clinician or researcher seeking an update on a specific topic, such as maintenance pharmacotherapy for schizophrenia, is likely to find a brief, focused review. In contrast, readers with limited psychiatry or neuroscience backgrounds may find that the magnitude of the text and its somewhat fragmented presentation style make information more difficult to integrate. For example, in order to learn about schizophrenia, the novice neuropsychiatrist must read two introductory chapters, at least four preclinical chapters, and 24 clinical chapters from over thirty authors. Although this mountain of information would appear to be daunting, I have found that the chapters are quite popular as review materials among second-year psychiatry residents. Despite the excitement and interest that a book such as this generates, it suffers …