Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely EYE-OPENING!
Review: Talking back to Prozac by Peter R. Breggin is an absolutely eye-opening and awesome book. As the covers suggests, "If you've been listening to Prozac, you haven't heard the real story...", and that is no lie. People are crying out to hear the truth about antidepressants. Peter and Ginger Breggin are unashamed to tell the readers what most physicians are unwilling or unknowledgeable to tell their pateints about Prozac and other similar antidepressants. This common-sense book regards the readers as intelligent people who can understand medical studies and medical terminology. The intensive bibliography proves that in-depth research was taken to bring the most accurate information available to the readers. If you are currently taking Prozac, know someone who is taking Prozac, considering taking Prozac yourself, or just have an interest in psychiatry, doctor-patient relationships, and/or the drug industry, this book is a must for you.In addition, if this book interests you, the following books will give additional insights on the subject: Prozac Panacea or Pandora by Ann B. Tracy; Toxic Psychiatry: Why therapy, empathy, and love must replace the drugs, electroshock, and biochemical theories of the new psychiatry by Peter R. Breggin; Prozac Backlash: Overcoming the dangers of Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil and other antidepressants with safe, effective alternatives by Joseph Glenmullen.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely EYE-OPENING!
Review: Talking back to Prozac by Peter R. Breggin is an absolutely eye-opening and awesome book. As the covers suggests, "If you've been listening to Prozac, you haven't heard the real story...", and that is no lie. People are crying out to hear the truth about antidepressants. Peter and Ginger Breggin are unashamed to tell the readers what most physicians are unwilling or unknowledgeable to tell their pateints about Prozac and other similar antidepressants. This common-sense book regards the readers as intelligent people who can understand medical studies and medical terminology. The intensive bibliography proves that in-depth research was taken to bring the most accurate information available to the readers. If you are currently taking Prozac, know someone who is taking Prozac, considering taking Prozac yourself, or just have an interest in psychiatry, doctor-patient relationships, and/or the drug industry, this book is a must for you. In addition, if this book interests you, the following books will give additional insights on the subject: Prozac Panacea or Pandora by Ann B. Tracy; Toxic Psychiatry: Why therapy, empathy, and love must replace the drugs, electroshock, and biochemical theories of the new psychiatry by Peter R. Breggin; Prozac Backlash: Overcoming the dangers of Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil and other antidepressants with safe, effective alternatives by Joseph Glenmullen.
Rating: 
Summary: Truly frightening expose of FDA betrayal.
Review: The author, a long-term expert in the field of psychotherapy, lays out a frightening picture of how the FDA serves not the people of the United States, but the drug companies. He shows how the pre-approval drug tests were doctored (no pun intended) to allow the FDA to approve a "mind-altering drug" whose effectiveness in battling clinical depression rivals that of placebos.
Before you take Prozac, or before anyone you know takes Prozac, get and read this book.
Believe me, you'll run, not walk, to some drug-free way of handling your depression
Rating:
Summary: Breggin is courageous and right on
Review: The negative reviews call Breggin unscientific, fear mongering, etc., but Breggin was just ahead of his time. In the past year, English regulators have warned against SSRI use (except Prozac)in youths and adolescents, basically due to the dangers Breggin warns of in this book. Recent headlines in the U.S. report the FDA is also recommending similar warnings about agitation and suicidality resulting from use of SSRI's in children and adults.A 2004 network evening news headline story recounted how a senior FDA scientist recently reviewed SSRI trials and concluded that suicidal ideation occurred twice as often in the SSRI group as in the placebo group (and then the FDA tried to suppress the public revelation of the conclusions of their own scientist). The truth is the drug companies knew from the start that SSRI's pose serious dangers of agitation, akathisia and suicidality. It's been years since anyone on the inside seriously believed the Serotonin imbalance theory of depression. This information has been available all along and was deliberately suppressed by the drug companies. Now, ten years later, people are beginning to wake up, acting as though this is brand new news. Go online to Prevention and Treatment, Volume 5, articles 22 through 32, published by the American Psychological Association, for extensive discussion of the fact that the FDA trials barely showed any difference between the SSRI's and placebo. Better still, read Let them Eat Prozac, by David Healy, soon to be available in the U.S. Healy is a total psychiatric insider, an SSRI researcher and perhaps the world's leading authority on the history of the development of SSRI's. He's not an anti-psychiatrist. He's just pro-truth. He cites chapter and verse, and his conclusions are basically the same as Breggin's. The negative reviewers simply miss the mark. To judge the value of Breggin's books, you need do one thing: List his specific factual claims, and then try to find in mainstream psychiatric literature any attempt to rebut those specific claims, point by point. Not "he's dangerous," or "he's a zealot," or "he's unscientific," but actually point for point. For instance, Breggin charges that many Prozac patients in the FDA trials were also put on Benzodiazepines because Prozac alone made them so agitated they couldn't sleep. Look for mainstream psychiatry to a) state whether Breggin's claim is actually true, b) explain why that isn't a serious comment on Prozac, and c) answer Breggin's claim that where Benzo's were used, if the patients on Benzo's were excluded, the Prozac group was no more effective than placebo. Healy makes many of the same specific points, and more. He exposes the systematic way the drug companies distorted their research and saw to it that both the scientific literature and popular promotional material contained the same distortions. Breggin was right, and his critics, who accuse him of being shrill and unscientific, are describing themselves more than they describe Breggin.
Rating: 
Summary: Shameless fear-mongering...
Review: The review of another reviewer here says it all -- This book (and many others like it) prey on the fears of the ignorant masses, who know nothing about psychology, psychiatry, medicine or science. A few already on the drug who read this may go off it, with potentially negative results -- for example, it's easy to "placebo effect" oneself into anything (including severe withdrawal symptoms one otherwise wouldn't have) after being scared to death by trashy books like this. Thankfully, its target audience consists mostly of "survivors" who had negative experiences (possibly caused by their mental issues rather than the drug) and who read this kind of crap to feel vindicated. In the previous review I referred to, the person says: "Prozac is known to harm the brain and the body. Listed side-effects reported included: Heart Attack, Bronchitis, Impotence, Pneumonia, Hair loss, Deafness, Cataracts, Duodenal ulcers, Kidney disorders, Stomach ulcers, Hepatitis, Gallstones, Arthritis, Pelvic pain, Breast cysts, Uncontrolled bowel movements, Breast pain..." It is obvious that this person (and maybe even Breggin!) doesn't understand how to interpret reported side effects of a medication (clue: listed side effects include *all things that happened to anyone for any reason while taking the drug*). It's really sad when this kind of one-sided sensationalism becomes "holy gospel" for the ignorant and agenda-driven, who then proceed to close their minds, turn off their critical thinking facilities and refuse to investigate further. But of course we're already aware that Breggin is "preaching to the choir" here, and that this kind of sensationalist trash is what sells books these days. A real impartial, scientific view? Sadly, one's choices are probably limited to classroom textbooks anymore. A few have stated that Breggin really cares for people -- how the hell do they know? If he cared, why doesn't he offer an impartial viewpoint with proofs so people can judge for themselves? Undoubtedly big pharma is "evil" (i.e. purely in it for the money) but given that Breggin is profiting bigtime off the fear generated from his books, what does that make him? A final question for Breggin's congregation: Why didn't he just release all this information on the Net freely to the public if he's such a great guy doing his best to save lives?
Rating:
Summary: Shameless fear-mongering...
Review: The review of another reviewer here says it all -- This book (and many others like it) prey on the fears of the ignorant masses, who know nothing about psychology, psychiatry, medicine or science. A few already on the drug who read this may go off it, with potentially negative results -- for example, it's easy to "placebo effect" oneself into anything (including severe withdrawal symptoms one otherwise wouldn't have) after being scared to death by trashy books like this. Thankfully, its target audience consists mostly of "survivors" who had negative experiences (possibly caused by their mental issues rather than the drug) and who read this kind of crap to feel vindicated. In the previous review I referred to, the person says: "Prozac is known to harm the brain and the body. Listed side-effects reported included: Heart Attack, Bronchitis, Impotence, Pneumonia, Hair loss, Deafness, Cataracts, Duodenal ulcers, Kidney disorders, Stomach ulcers, Hepatitis, Gallstones, Arthritis, Pelvic pain, Breast cysts, Uncontrolled bowel movements, Breast pain..." It is obvious that this person (and maybe even Breggin!) doesn't understand how to interpret reported side effects of a medication (clue: listed side effects include *all things that happened to anyone for any reason while taking the drug*). It's really sad when this kind of one-sided sensationalism becomes "holy gospel" for the ignorant and agenda-driven, who then proceed to close their minds, turn off their critical thinking facilities and refuse to investigate further. But of course we're already aware that Breggin is "preaching to the choir" here, and that this kind of sensationalist trash is what sells books these days. A real impartial, scientific view? Sadly, one's choices are probably limited to classroom textbooks anymore. A few have stated that Breggin really cares for people -- how the hell do they know? If he cared, why doesn't he offer an impartial viewpoint with proofs so people can judge for themselves? Undoubtedly big pharma is "evil" (i.e. purely in it for the money) but given that Breggin is profiting bigtime off the fear generated from his books, what does that make him? A final question for Breggin's congregation: Why didn't he just release all this information on the Net freely to the public if he's such a great guy doing his best to save lives?
Rating:
Summary: This book hurts people
Review: There are side effects to Prozac but it doesn't deserve this kind of treatment. Too many people have been helped, compared to a few that have been hurt. Likewise, Eli Lilly hasn't been completely aboveboard, but that should not obscure the fact that this drug has saved so many lives, families, and jobs. The author uses as much pseudoscience and pseudojournalism to trash Prozac as he says its supporters use.
Rating:
Summary: It is a great book that tells the other side of Eli Lilly.
Review: There is nothing on the earth that works for everyone! I had a very bad "Cocaine Like" reaction to Prozac. You don't realize your own reaction. The drug can consume your life and destroy you before you know what is happening. Thank You, Dr. Breggin (It is a wonder that Lilly hasn't put out a contract on you! The are ruthless and have made many drugs that have destroyed the lives of many people.
Rating:
Summary: Poor Research at its Best
Review: This book proves the point that any and everything can be published in the market today, especially if it in any way relates to psychological, physical health. I was constantly blown away by the poor research, overstated claims, unfounded hypotheses etc. spewed forth by the author of this book. At a certain point I wondered if I wasn't reading a tract on Christian Science (you know, no medication to cure any and all ills). This text is highly irresponsible, egregiously misrepresentative of facts both medical and sociological and, frankly, a waste of money. The implications made by the author, that patients on Prozac can be prone to homicidal rage, that they become walking, emotionless automatons and the like are jaw-dropping and silly. Prozac, the most highly-researched anti-depression drug on the market today, is not the center of some huge medical, FDA conspiracy like the author would lead readers to believe. Multiple studies have been paid for and published by organizations with no connection whatsoever to the company that manufactures Prozac that reveal the wellspring of benefits from this wonderdrug. Granted, medication is not always the right option for every patient but in many cases can be the needed reprieve from a life of darkness and inner-turmoil. I speak from personal experience. If you're truly interested in the effects of Prozac, its use in studies and so forth I would highly recommend going to medical journals and/or texts for the real details. Not as easy to go through but, ultimately, much more effective and insightful.
Rating:
Summary: Brave author, well researched, a great read!
Review: This book shows that after many decades of extremely costly research, there is still no solid evidence linking depression to a chemical imbalance in the brain, and shows why Prozac is, at best, only slightly more effective than the placebo. It describes the short and long term side-effects associated with anti-depressants, why you should never start taking them, and exposes Eli Lilly's fraudulant behavior. Buy this book if you are taking or considering taking anti-depressants.
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