The Pill Book (14th Edition): New and Revised 14th Edition [Mass Market Paperback]

Harold M. Silverman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 27, 2010 | Series: Pill Book

THE CONSUMER’S GUIDE TO PILLS—COMPLETELY REVISED 14th EDITION FOR 2010 WITH MORE THAN 20 IMPORTANT NEW DRUGS AND DOZENS OF NEW BRAND NAMES
 
For more than three decades, millions of consumers have trusted The Pill Book to provide official, FDA-approved information on more than 1,800 of the most commonly prescribed drugs in the United States with guidelines from leading pharmacists. Each drug is profiled in a concise, readable, easy-to-understand entry, making The Pill Book the perfect reference when you have questions about the medications your doctor prescribes. Inside you’ll discover
 
• generic and brand-name listings that can help you save money
• What each drug is for, and how it works
• usual dosages, and what to do if a dose is skipped
• side effects and possible adverse reactions, highlighted for quick reference
• interactions with other drugs and food
• overdose and addiction potential
• alcohol-free and sugar-free medications
• the most popular self-injected medications and their safe handling
• information for seniors, pregnant and breast-feeding women, children, and others with special needs
• cautions and warnings, and when to call your doctor
• 32 pages of actual-size color photographs of prescription pills
 
No home should be without this book!
 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

 
Educated at Columbia University, Dr. Harold Silverman has been a hospital pharmacist, industry consultant, author, and educator for more than 35 years. Dr. Silverman’s professional objective is to help people understand why medicines are prescribed and how to get the most from them.

    In addition to The Pill Book, Dr. Silverman has also authored The Women’s Drug Store, The Pill Book Guide to Safe Drug Use, The Consumer’s Guide to Poison Protection, and Travel Healthy. He is also a co-author of The Vitamin Book: A No-Nonsense Consumer Guide and The Med-File Drug Interactions System.

    Dr. Silverman has contributed more than 70 articles, research papers, and textbook chapters to the professional literature, including The Merck Manual of Medical Information, Home Edition. He has taught pharmacology and clinical pharmacy at several universities and has won numerous awards for his work. Dr. Silverman resides in the Washington, D.C. area with his wife, Judith Brown, and their son Joshua.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 1296 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; 14 New Rev edition (April 27, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553593404
• ISBN-13: 978-0553593402
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.8 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,876 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Medicine > Reference > Drug Guides
  • #2 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Consumer Guides
  • #3 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Medicine > Reference > General

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must, October 2, 2010

By 

V. Phillips - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pill Book (14th Edition): New and Revised 14th Edition (Mass Market Paperback)

I use this book so often. I'm older and medications are unavoidable, but I can find out how safe something is or isn't and try to stay off what I don't really need. My doctor is always impressed that I know about what I'm taking.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Concise profiles of 1800 of the most commonly prescribed drugs, October 31, 2010

By 

Emily Trak (Vancouver, BC, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Pill Book (14th Edition): New and Revised 14th Edition (Mass Market Paperback)

I was looking for a book that has brief descriptions of most of the prescription drugs used today, because I want to familiarize myself with drug names and purposes before trying to get a job as a pharmacy assistant. I originally went to the bookstore to pick up a copy of the PDR Pocket Guide to Prescription Drugs (9th Edition) after reading glowing reviews on Amazon, but The Pill Book was placed right next it so I was able to examine both (I ended up buying The Pill Book).

What I didn't like about PDR's Pocket Guide was that the drug profiles are arranged in alphabetical order by the predominant American brand name of the drug. This is less helpful to those of us who live outside the US - we may not be familiar with US brand names because we sometimes have different brand names for the same drug. In The Pill Book, drugs are ordered alphabetically by their generic name, which I'm quite sure is universal around the world. For example, the antidepressant Wellbutrin is the in "W" section in the PDR, but in the "B" section in The Pill Book (its generic name is Bupropion). I would rather learn drugs by their generic name, because each drug may have several different brand names, but only one generic name. Both books list each drug's generic and brand names, but the difference is in which name appears in the heading in bold print.

The entries in PDR seem wordier, with each drug profile lengthier than the corresponding profile in the Pill Book. This may be better appreciated by people who wish to know more about the drug they are taking, but I prefer the conciseness of The Pill Book for doing a general study on common prescription drugs.

Although the PDR has more pages (1600 pages) than the Pill Book (1296 pages), it has fewer drug profiles. The Pill Book boasts on its back cover that it contains information on more than 1800 drugs, while the PDR advertises that it has more than 1000. So, The Pill Book is the way to go if you want briefer entries on a greater number of drugs, while those who prefer longer entries that are possibly more complete (but with the trade-off of fewer listed drugs) may opt for PDR's Pocket Guide.

Fonts used: I find The Pill Book's font easier on the eyes. It is similar to Arial, while PDR's font is akin to Arial Narrow (taller, vertically-stretched letters).

Pronunciations: The Pill Book has pronunciations for most generic drug names, but not for any brand names. Based on Amazon's "Look Inside!" feature, I don't believe PDR has pronunciations for any drug names. I think knowing how to pronounce a drug name would aid in remembering what it is used for.

Take a "Look Inside!" of both to see which you'd like best, as they are very similar books, for the most part.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Resource, June 27, 2010

By 

G G Grant "Windstorm" (Chattanooga) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Pill Book (14th Edition): New and Revised 14th Edition (Paperback)

PLEASE buy this book! It is the FIRST place I look for info on meds my physician prescribes or recommends. It allows me to talk to my doctor(s) intelligently about what might happen in MY body, considering MY medical history! I have used the newest editions of this book for years! Also-this large format is well worth the extra cost for some of us!