Bluesman: A Novel

Book Description

With House of Sand and Fog, his National Book Award-nominated novel, Andre Dubus III demonstrated his mastery of the complexities of character and desire. In this earlier novel he captures a roiling time in American history and the coming-of-age of a boy who must decide between desire, ambition, and duty.

In the summer of 1967, Leo Suther has one more year of high school to finish and a lot more to learn. He's in love with the beautiful Allie Donovan who introduces him to her father, Chick — a construction foreman and avowed Communist. Soon Leo finds himself in the midst of a consuming love affair and an intense testing of his political values. Chick's passionate views challenge Leo's perspective on the escalating Vietnam conflict and on just where he stands in relation to the new people in his life. Throughout his — and the nation's — unforgettable "summer of love," Leo is learning the language of the blues, which seem to speak to the mourning he feels for his dead mother, his occasionally distant father, and the youth which is fast giving way to manhood.

Customer Reviews:

Heartstrings are played like harmonicas........2007-03-27

I am writing this review fresh off the read....just hugged the book before I tucked it back on my bookshelves. It is my ultimate praise as the book touched my heart so deeply.

"The House of Sand and Fog" is on my top ten list of all time books...high praise given I have read thousands in my lifetime. That said, I love that "Bluesman" has a totally different feel. Our young protaginist, Leo, 18 years old, stands on the precipice of adulthood, being pushed over more quickly by a troubled love affair, heartbreaking decisions, a desire to escape emotional pain and the "sign of the times." This novel is set in 1969 in the heat of the Vietnam war and the season of free love:

"He wished he had a picture of him and Allie to pack too. He remembered how she said this was the summer of free love, but Leo didn't believe love was free. As far as he could tell, love cost people more than anything."

The writing is exquisite as exampled, the story heartbreaking yet uplifting. Where "House and Sand" was a roller coaster ride, this is a quiet jumble in a pickup, savoring the sights as senses are heightened by the fullness of the surroundings. Andre Dubus III characters are written so acutely it disables complacency in the reader. The plotline is steady; the writing intrinsic; the story is the blues and whether played on harmonicas or heartstrings, the effect is much the same. Play on, Leo, play on.

Coming of age in the Summer of Love.......2006-08-09

In the summer of 1967, the year he turns 18, Leo Suther learns much in his passage to young adulthood. The lessons themselves are not unusual, but there is nothing wrong in that; this is a small Massachusetts blue-collar town in a time which still had some innocence. Leo falls in love. He starts working in construction, and finds himself good at it. He gets close to his boss (and his girlfriend's father), an idealistic Communist. He comes to a deeper understanding of his own father's love for his mother, who died when Leo was five. He begins to think about Vietnam, at a time when the US casualty rate is rising. And he learns to play the blues harmonica -- hence the title of the book.

There are some affecting moments here, but not much depth in what is clearly a first novel. Some of the larger themes die out, while others (like the diaries which Leo's mother wrote as she was dying) seem artificial. The most consistently developed strands are Leo's love life, which is rocky, and his progress as a bluesman, which seems impossibly fast -- but then I am not that kind of musician, so what do I know? But set within a smallish frame, the book does succeed as a relatively quiet portrait of a time, a place, and some characters who are warm and seemingly true.

I finished the book with the hope it would get better. It didn't........2006-02-16

A few years ago I read "House of Sand and Fog" by this author and thought it was great. That's why I was anxious to read this earlier novel of his. From the blurb on the cover I learned it was set in the late 60s, during a time of political turmoil in America. I therefore thought the author would use his talent to bring us back to a time and place that created major changes in the American landscape.

Well, the story IS about young man's coming of age during this period. But it never deals with any of the real conflicts that were going on at the time. Instead it is about his romance with a young woman and family relationships. And, frankly, some of the people and situations he describes are just not believable. There's the story of his mother, who died when he was a baby but left behind a diary of her life. The boy's father never got over his grief and his recreational activity is playing guitar and playing poker. One of his friends teaches the boy to play the harmonica and we all see that this is the boy's calling. The girl he romances comes from a strange family. Her father, a nut-job communist, is a house builder and tries to force Communist ideals down the throats of the men who work for him. Naturally, violence erupts. This is all supposed to happen in a little Massachusetts town that is so backward that the main characters don't even have a TV. And this is in 1968!

The Vietnam War is just a backdrop to the story. I never got a feeling about the real undercurrent of conflict and change that was happening in the country. Mostly, the story was about a budding love and its consequences. I was soon bored but I pushed myself to finish the book in hopes it would get better. It didn't.

What it didn't say, said a lot.......2004-10-23

Andre Dubus III, writes in a way that is so pointed, yet understated that when I had finished the book, I could appreciate the complete greatness of it. Bluesman is set in 1967 and as any American historian knows, we were, as a country was headed into turmoil. Dubus III takes the time period and manages to capture the innocense of small town values as America was embracing the war in Vietnam and the sexual freedom (awakenings) in America. This view of these issues contrasts the way America looks back at these very same issues, and Dubus captures the way it was, rather than the we choose to remember it.

I also found Dubus III was able to spin a tremendous plot in a well written, sensitive way. There were strong ties between a father and a son, a first love involving the son and a girl from high school, as well as how the loss of a spouse effects people and the decisions they make. It certainly is a picture that Norman Rockwell would paint, in a time that Rockwell's work was being displaced as the accepted images of America.

An entrancing story.......2003-02-14

I have no idea why the Kirkus reviewer essentially trashed this book. I found it entrancing. Dubus is a great storyteller, and he made me care about the characters. His prose is amazing: without the usual descriptive tricks (adjectives and adverbs), he creates a living, breathing world populated by well-realized characters.

Customer Reviews:

Bluesman Series.......2007-01-06

I read a fair number of comics or graphic novels if you prefer that classification. I don't consider myself to be a geek, in that I have no fetish for artwork. I appreciate a good story. The Bluesman series is well written, with a lot of historical information, and illustrated in a realistic way that adds to the story and helps set the mood and establish the truth of the times. Highly recommended. I understand that the compilation will be out soon. Might be worth waiting for to be able to read the whole series at once.

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Bluesman 3 (Bluesman)
Rob Vollmar
Manufacturer: ComicsLit
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 156163476X

Book Description

The buzz is mounting on this series! The law hot on his trail, Bluesman Lem Taylor travels to Little Rock seeking out J.L. Dougherty, the one man that might still have the power to help him escape this nightmare alive. But with storm clouds brewing on the horizon, can Lem find shelter before his best hope becomes his worst nightmare? Find out in the explosive climax to this ground-breaking saga!

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Bluesman: Book 1 (Bluesman)
Rob Vollmar , and Pablo G. Callejo
Manufacturer: Nantier Beall Minoustchine Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0974246832

Book Description

A loyal soldier and a wealthy merchant have served bravely in the flames of an enduring war that is ravaging their land. But swords, bows, wits and courage will no longer be enough to defeat the scourge that is descending upon their home. For a foul and terrible thing has escaped from a world already devoured to feed on one consumed by chaos—an insatiable nightmare creature of dark and murderous nature which seeks to own and corrupt the very source of life itself

The final conflict is joined, pitting serpent against man and magician against demon. For those who battle in the cause of good, there will be victory . . . or there will be doom for all.

There can be no other outcome.

Customer Reviews:

Great.......2007-06-27

Exciting books. I have not reread this one yet, but I remember it from about 5 years ago. RF is a great writer. If you like a good story that keeps you turning the page,choose him. Love the series aspect.

The death of all life or salvation for all .......2007-06-12

By: Trent Volkman

An army from across the sea, a demon king, a war of massive perportions.

This is Fiests third installment of the serpent war saga a 4 book series. It tells the story of Erick Von Darkmoor and his life training the many raw recruits for the special fighting force the crimson eagles. The story of Rupert Avery as he clashes with the mighty merchant Jacob Esterbrook and his seductive daughter Silvia for control over trade to Kesh. This also speaks about the magician Pugs part in this he is combating the mysterious third player Nalar the mad god of evil. My favorite part in this book is when the Marcos the black, magician, fights the demon king Maarg.

The theme of this book could be considered protect your heart don't give it away to anyone unless you know they are the right one for you. As far as I'm concerned this was a good book it had suspense, action, mystery, even a little romance everything a good novel needs.

Outstanding!!!!.......2007-01-29

This book is among many amazing stories that Feist has written. I love how he devolps everything. People need to be patient when they read his books. its not like u can " have an amzing tragic story, and still be homefor dinner " they take time. He doesnt rush his series, which, as long as he delievers like hes done every single time, then thats fine with me.

FEIST.....You couldn't do better than steal old Marvel Comic Storylines?.......2006-06-29

The Riftwar was a good saga. Pug was good. Tomas was good. Arutha was good. Everything was good.

Then Feist came out with this series...

Anyone who wants to know the plotline for this one just save yourself the money and read the Atlantis attacks comic books by Marvel, the Eternals by Jack Kirby, and the Fantastic #337-340 and then you'll easily see where Feist stole this storyline from.

A dreaming Mad God that influences a world around him, that's buried under a mountain, whose thoughts become reality?/A dreaming Black Celestial from a race of space gods who is buried under a mountain and can control reality around him and is trying to destroy the universe?

C'mon, I can't believe I'm the only who has seen this. Everyone takes ideals from someone, hence Tolkien syndrome, but to couple it with this sorry book(ie a stupid book where a stupid Pug that throws fireballs but can't dodge them and can't time travel like in other books and can't deal with a minor demon captain)insults the people that made the Dreaming Celestial(KING KIRBY) and the Eternals. If he was gonna steal ideas, he should have made the entire book worthwhile.

In this book, besides the old guard, Erik is the only guy we really care about. Characters that were developed in the two lackluster books before are killed off before they have a chance to sign and we're left with characters like Miranda, whom we don't reall any thing for at all. All in all, a very poor effort in the Serpentwar saga.

Feist gets an A for stealing storylines and an F for originality. I'll stick to newer guys like Simon R Green, Aaron Mccarty, and Ferrenzano for new takes on fantasy/sci fi.

Appalling, sometimes it is better to stop writing........2006-04-24

This book attempts to "reboot" the continuity of several major characters by changing their backstory in midstream. Mr Feist is faced with the problem writers face when their major characters become too powerful (Both Pug and Tomas are almost gods). You end up just inventing more and more powerful adversaries. At some point it becomes both tired and ridiculous. This is way past that point. Yet somehow I still kept reading. Sigh. I am sure there are still Midkemia stories to be told. But vast end-of-the-world stories should not be one of them. After all, just how many times can Midkemia be threatened with "the end to everything" before it becomes just another yawn.

2 HBs by Raymond Feist, Serpentwar Saga 3&4: Rage of a Demon King & Shards of a Broken Crown (Serpent War Saga)

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2 HBs by Raymond Feist, Serpentwar Saga 3&4: Rage of a Demon King & Shards of a Broken Crown (Serpent War Saga)
Raymond Feist
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000RW8N8W

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Rage of a Demon King (The Serpentwar Saga, Volume III)

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Rage of a Demon King (The Serpentwar Saga, Volume III)
Raymond E. Feist
Manufacturer: Sterling/Soundelux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: 076940734X

Product Description

Rage of a Demon King on 2 audiocassettes.3 hours. Publication date unknown.

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RAGE OF A DEMON KING VOLUME III

Manufacturer: Avon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GQJHS4

Rage Of A Demon King - Volume Iii Of The Serpent War Saga

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Rage Of A Demon King - Volume Iii Of The Serpent War Saga
Raymond E. Feist
Manufacturer: Avon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000TDJ4PK

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RAGE OF A DEMON KING VOLUME III
E. Raymond Feist
Manufacturer: Avon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000R93SZ8

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Rage of the Demon King
Raymond Feist
Manufacturer: Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MVTKSU

The Serpentwar Saga - Shadow of a Dark Queen - Rise of a Merchant Prince - Rage of a Demon King - Shards of a Broken Crown

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The Serpentwar Saga - Shadow of a Dark Queen - Rise of a Merchant Prince - Rage of a Demon King - Shards of a Broken Crown

Manufacturer: Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000FJQN7A

Product Description

4 paperbacks. Book 1 thru 4 in The Serpentwar Saga - Shadow of a Dark Queen - Rise of a Merchant Prince - Rage of a Demon King - Shards of a Broken Crown

THE SERPENTWAR SAGA: Book (1) One: Shadow of a Dark Queen; Book (2) Two: Rise of a Merchant Prince; Book (3) Three: Rage of a Demon King; Book (4) Four: Shards of a Broken Kingdom

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THE SERPENTWAR SAGA: Book (1) One: Shadow of a Dark Queen; Book (2) Two: Rise of a Merchant Prince; Book (3) Three: Rage of a Demon King; Book (4) Four: Shards of a Broken Kingdom
Raymond E. Feist
Manufacturer: Avon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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The King's Buccaneer

ASIN: B000NRTLV4

Set of 3 Novels By Raymond E. Feist: Riftwar: Serpentwar Series, Volumes 1-3 - Shadow of a Dark Queen, Rise of a Merchant Prince, Rage of a Demon King

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Set of 3 Novels By Raymond E. Feist: Riftwar: Serpentwar Series, Volumes 1-3 - Shadow of a Dark Queen, Rise of a Merchant Prince, Rage of a Demon King
Raymond E. Feist
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000V7ALY2

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Riftwar: Serpentwar Series By Raymond E. Feist, Volumes 1-3 - Shadow of a Dark Queen, Rise of a Merchant Prince, Rage of a Demon King.

Book Description

Lost in the frozen polar wastes, an explorer writes a journal of his extraordinary exploits, preparing to send it to the nepheew he has never seen.

Customer Reviews:

Funny and Beautiful.......2005-01-05

I read "Letters from a Lost Uncle" after reading the Gormenghast books, and I thought it was absolutely fantastic! The story revolves around a one-legged man who is searching for a White Lion in a distant and icy land, accompanied only by a creature he acquires along the way, as well as his journal. The man writes several letters in his journal, partly as something to send to a nephew he has never seen, and partly to entertain himself on his long and arduous trip. Every page consists of text as well as beautiful artwork, and the story is bizarre, fascinating and hilarious all at the same time. This book, being more for children but probably read more by his adult fans, is a much easier read than the Gormenghast books, but contains all the same beauty and intrigue that made the Gormenghast novels so wonderful. It is easily read in a night but you'll remember it for a long time.

Peake's masterpiece.......2002-12-20

The author of the Gormenghast trilogy produced his greatest work with this unassuming work. It is an outrage that it is currently out of print. The artwork is astonishingly funny and surprisingly (or maybe not so surprising given the author) evocative of the distant lands where the hero's adventures take place. A book to treasure along side the great works of fantasy of the 20th century by such authors as C.S.Lewis and Tolkien.

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Letters from a Lost Uncle
Mervyn Peake
Manufacturer: Picador
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 033025037X

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Letters from a Lost Uncle
Mervyn Peake
Manufacturer: METHUEN PUBLISHING
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000K85M5A

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This story also happened to me

Not bad

Required reading for any empowered patient

A Great Expose of Legal Drugs and the FDA

An Important Issue Gets Excellent Reporting

Bitter Pills: Inside the Hazardous World of Legal Drugs
Stephen Fried
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Personal Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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Over Dose: The Case Against the Drug Companies: Prescription Drugs, Side Effects, and Your Health

The Big Fix: How the Pharmaceutical Industry Rips Off American Consumers (Publicaffairs Reports)

The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us and What to Do About It

Selling Sickness: How the World's Biggest Pharmaceutical Companies Are Turning Us All Into Patients

On the Take: How Medicine's Complicity with Big Business Can Endanger Your Health

ASIN: 055337852X
Release Date: 1999-05-04

Amazon.com

Bitter Pills started as a magazine story, inspired by Stephen Fried's wife's frightening reaction to an antibiotic. After he won a National Magazine Award for that article, he expanded his investigation into this book. What he has uncovered is astounding, starting with the fact that, in the U.S. alone, between 45,000 and 200,000 people die annually of reactions to legal drugs (2 to 9 percent of the 2.3 million Americans who die each year) versus the 5,000 to 10,000 who die of illegal drug use. As Fried compulsively investigates what happened to his wife and how reactions like hers were considered statistically insignificant by drug companies and the FDA, he learns things most of us don't want to know about the mechanisms that cause pills to land on pharmacy shelves. Chances are, after reading Bitter Pills, you'll be much more careful about accepting prescriptions for new medications.

Book Description

We take our medicines on faith. We assume our doctors are well-informed, our drug companies scrupulous, our FDA diligent—and our medications safe. All too often we're wrong. Just how wrong is documented in this critically acclaimed portrait of the international pharmaceutical industry by one of our most highly respected investigative journalists.

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), adverse drug reactions are the fourth leading cause of death in America. Reactions to prescription and over-the-counter medications kill far more people annually than all illegal drug use combined.

Stephen Fried's wife took a pill for a minor infection—and ended up in the emergency room. Some drug reactions go away in a few hours or days. Diane's did not. This emotionally wrenching experience launched Fried into a five-year examination of the entire pharmaceutical industry, the most profitable legal business in the world. Rigorously documented, Bitter Pills is a full-scale portrait of pill making and pill taking in America today, presented through the powerful human drama of doctors, patients, drug companies, the FDA, and government regulators as they war for control of our medicine cabinets.

Customer Reviews:

This story also happened to me.......2007-04-12

I am another victim of a Fluoroquinolone, just like the author's wife. Take this book very seriously, because what doctors tell you is 'rare' is in fact extremely common. Levaquin (one of the fluoroquinolones) caused me to develop Fibromyalgia. For a time I had to use a walker. I was in constant pain for nearly one full year. Although the doctors say this is 'rare', three other women in my office of 30 people also developed Fibromyalgia after taking one of these pills. In my realm of family and friends, I have discovered nine others...each and every single one had a doctor telling them they did not know the cause of their pains. Each and every single one took a Fluoroquinolone pill before getting these terrible pains that never go away. No doctor will admit to it, and so therefore it goes unreported, and continues to falsely be considered a 'rare event'. There is a group of victims on yahoo that number more than 1600 from all over the world. Some have died or have family members who have died from these pills. Others are permanantly in wheel chairs or confined to bed from the pain. The pain these pills can cause is not like anything else you have ever felt. It's new and extraordinarily tortuous. I have been suffering for almost two years because of ten Levaquin pills. I am only in my 30s and before Levaquin was in great health. The information in this book is worth reading, because the Fluoroquinolones are the most prescribed antibiotic out there, and chances are you will be handed a prescription for one. You need to know the truth about these pills before you even take just one. The first pill nearly ruptured my eyes! The third pill decayed my ankle. The list goes on forever, even long after I stopped the last pill, and you can never be entirely the same after you're affected.

Not bad .......2005-07-30

not a bad book but since i already knew most of the information in it, it wasn't as interesting as i hoped. Yeah, FDA is joke, most doctors prescribe antibiotics without even considering your illness or your medical history, sort of like free candy. Modern medicine became a sham since there are plenty of "alternative" or "natural" cures that work as well as most of medications that are being supressed. I have also had a negative reaction to antibiotics before and because of it stopped taking it altogether. Nothing new there.

Required reading for any empowered patient.......2002-02-06

I didn't know about Stephen Fried and "Bitter Pills," much less quinolone antibiotics, until I myself was, like Mr. Fried's wife, "Floxed," just a few weeks ago. I began my search for information on reactions to quinolones after four days of gatifloxacin (brandname Tequin) left me with tingling and weak arms and legs, difficulty swallowing and breathing, visual disturbances, headaches, dizziness, and more. I seriously thought I had a stroke or Guillain Barre syndrome or rapid onset multiple sclerosis, I was so sick.

Let me say that first, Stephen Fried's book is an excellent overview of the circumstances of adverse drug reactions to quinolone antibiotics. And with the increased visibility and use of Cipro, and the ease with which doctors dispense heavy-hitting antibiotics like Levaquin and Tequin, I'm sure I'm not going to be the last person to suffer a reaction and end up being "Floxed" and needing the information and reassurance provided by this book.

But it is also much much more. It's an expose of the pharmaceutical industry's fast and loose way of dealing with drugs, drug safety and the American public. This is not a rant -- it's an impeccably researched and detailed presentation of the intricacies involved in drug approvals and tracking of adverse reactions that exposes the limitations of the system, and the dangers those limitations present to us as patients and consumers.

As a patient advocate and spokesperson for thyroid and autoimmune disease patients, I know all too well the feeling of being held hostage to big pharmaceutical companies at the expense of my health and wellness.

Stephen Fried has finally exposed and explained -- clearly and without rancor -- how the drug industry really works, and his book, including the excellent appendix on how to contact pharmaceutical companies, report adverse reactions, protect yourself against bad drugs, and generally protect yourself as a consumer -- is must-reading for every empowered patient or health consumer.

I highly recommend this book to doctors, patients, and anyone who prescribes or takes prescription drugs.

A Great Expose of Legal Drugs and the FDA.......2001-09-10

"Bitter Pills" is the real-life version of "Strong Medicine" by Arthur Hailey. With a very personal beginning resulting from his wife's near death and slow recovery from taking ONE PILL (Floxin), author Fried went on to find whether there were other victims (many), and why the drug was approved in the first place. Interviews in profusion show why the FDA has its problems. Examples are given of the tendency of drug companies to defend their drugs at any cost regardless of evidence. The end of the book contains addresses of many drug companies, organizations to whom to report adverse drug reactions, and a sample form to send to the FDA. Well thought-out advice for patients (or their helpmates) to investigate drugs are given. A number of other good books on the subject are listed.
Fried is to be congratulated for doing a very accurate job with a minimum number of accusations. I did not find a single technical error in the entire book, and I have about 12 years exploratory drug development and teaching about it as a professor of medicinal chemistry.
Even Fried may not have realized how many drugs not discussed in his book shorten life, because they are tested and accepted based on surrogate endpoints for short periods. This may not be so bad for antibiotics that are taken for two weeks, but can be very destructive for drugs intended to be taken for 20-40 years.

An Important Issue Gets Excellent Reporting.......2001-01-13

This book begins as a personal story. One day journalist Stephen Fried was forced to rush his wife, novelist Diane Ayres, to an emergency room, when she suffered a severe seizure. She turned out to be suffering an adverse reaction to an antibiotic, Floxin, which she had been instructed to take for a minor urinary infection. "Bitter Pills" grew out of Fried's attempts to understand what had happened to his wife.

Fried, and his readers, soon discover that Diane Ayres' case was not unique, or even rare. Floxin is only one of legions of prescription drugs which can cause severe adverse reactions, which cause at least 45,000 deaths per year in the US (some estimates go as high as 200,000). It is a tribute to Fried's excellence as a reporter that he is able go beyond his dramatic personal story to give a comprehensive picture of what he calls " the hazardous world of legal drugs."

Fried reviews the history of drug regulation in the US, and ably documents the shortcomings of the current regulatory system, as well as the inordinate influence drug companies have on the process. Two of the many specific "hazards" he identifies are the desperate need for doctors to have an independent, reliable source of information on the drugs they prescribe (almost all the informatin they currently have comes from drug manufacturers), and the equally crying need for an effective system for reporting and cataloging adverse drug reactions.

I put this book down very impressed with Fried as both a reporter and a writer. He has clearly immersed himself in an important issue long enough, and deeply enough, that he has mastered it. He has then turned around to convey the complex issues involved to readers very effectively and without losing their interest. I look forward to work of similar excellence from Fried in the future.

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Bitter Pills: Inside the Hazardous World of Legal Drugs
Stephen Fried
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NQGXKM

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