Customer Reviews

A Primer of Drug Action: A Concise, Nontechnical Guide to the Actions, Uses, and Side Effects of Psychoactive Drugs (Primer of Drug Action: A Concise, ... to the Actions, Uses, & Side Effects of)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The 10th Edition of Robert M. Julien's Primer of Drug Action is excellent both as a reference and as a primary text on psychoactive drugs.

The book is designed for readers with a passing knowledge of synaptic transmission and basic neuroanatomy. As such, his explanations of these foundation topics are lacking, but a text like Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain or a similar introductory text would give a clearer, more drawn out explanation for the beginning student.

Using the book as a reference guide is simple because the index is detailed and simple to navigate. Quickly finding the chemical structure or learning about some of the side effects of one of any number of drugs shouldn't be a problem. While this book is likely outside the realm of helpful for the casual browser, it is still a useful guide, particularly to, say, a student with a chemistry background.

I cannot stress how excellent this text is as a primary source. It is an easy read; Julien's writing is incredibly clear. He writes with an almost tongue-in-cheek kind of humor that make the writing come to life much more than the majority of science books.

The book can be read out of order without any losses to the information contained therein because each chapter is capable of standing alone. The diagrams are large and clearly labeled and explained. The glossary could benefit from work, as it is brief, but I've found Julien's writing to be clear enough to keep me from using it particularly often.

In the end, Julien knows what he's talking about and over the course of ten editions of this book, has crafted a tight resource for any chemist, neuroscientist or curious soul who wants to know more about psychoactive drugs and the brain.

I became aware of this book because it was used as the textbook for a recent upper level biopsychology seminar. It was one of the best books I have ever had to use for a class, and I believe is an extremely valuable reference for anyone with interest in the way drugs affect the brain. The writing is clear, concise, informative, interesting, and complete. Each chapter gives an overview of the family of drugs and then goes into detail on a few of the most common examples. Everything from delivery to half-life to molecular action to side effects is covered. Many of my friends went out and bought the book after looking at my copy to learn about either their recreational habits or prescription drugs. A background in biology would be useful for understanding all of the information, but there are also appendices which explain the basics.

This is the third edition of this book that I own. As a dual diagnosis counselor I have found this book to be an invaluable resource. The psychopharmacology of both drugs of abuse and mental health medications are explained in a detailed manner that is very accessible. I find it a valuable resource in helping me educate clients about drug action.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in getting real facts about psychoactive drugs. Don't be fooled by the low price or the fact that it is "nontechnical." (All that means is that psychiatrists can read it without digging though their biochem notes!)

This is a real medical-grade book that gives a very complete and easy-to-understand introduction to the drugs used to treat psychiatric disorders.

Don't waste time with popular books that either claim psychoactive drugs will solve all our problems, or alternately, that they are useless brain-damaging poisons.

*A Primer...* is the most honest, readable introduction to the psychotherapeutics I know of. It is essential reading for the informed patient or caregiver.

This book is an excellent synthesis of pharmacology and research based comments on drug pharmacology. To the point, not a bunch of extra gobbeltigook text to wade through like in Uppers, Downers and Allarounders. I work in the addiction field and this book covers the topic well in terms of neurochemistry as well as effects of drugs and their effects and legitmate uses, as well as some history on them. It also covers pharmacological treatment of drug addictions, again something that I use in my field. I use this book as a reference in my work. The references cited in the book are extensive and they are noted (numerically) after each statement in the text, which I prefer. I have often looked up the references for more information, although usually this text provides the information I need without a bunch of parenthetical B.S.

The reason I did not rate this book 5 stars is because I have a paperback version and the binding fell apart. I feel a paperback should not fall apart unless I got it used at a garage sale. So I am looking to see if they have a hard bound version of this book.

I first read a friend's copy of this book, which he had used as a text in a psychopharmacology course. i soon acquired my own copy, and a number of my friends have read it--it's a very accessible introduction to mind-affecting drugs, with generally good pointers into more specific literature. Julien's strengths are in the area of legitimate, prescription use; i feel that the recreational sections are somewhat less complete. the chapter on psychedelics is, unfortunately, nigh-on-useless--errors and omissions here mar an otherwise excellent book. this book has been an indespensible reference for me.

"A Primer of Drug Action" is quite amazing and reads very easily! What I find so fascinating is how up-to-date the info is. To give an example, in the analgesic section about NSAIDs, the author tells of the new skin patch for diclofenac that came out this year (2008). The eleventh edition began being printed in 2008! Also I enjoy the fact that much of the information provided has references stated at the end of the sentences. The information about the drugs is very clear and not too oversimplified. I recommend this for anyone who enjoys pharmacology and especially for those who lack upper-level life science knowledge.

A Primer Of Drug Action is a nontechnical guide to the actions, uses and side effects of psychoactive drugs which will prove important for any psychology or health library collection. A Primer Of Drug Action covers everything from herbal applications to clinical treatments of psychological disorders, revealing the latest findings in the applications of drug therapy to various conditions.

First, I divulge a long-time professional relationship with the author. In the years when I served as Director of Training in a large community mental health center, I contracted with Dr. Julien to provide In-service training to our staff of over 350.
His sessions always filled our training room and received positive evaluations from both persons with medical training and our case manager/counselors.

I focus my review on two portions of the book's sub-title. 1)Non-technical and 2) Revised and Updated.

Robert Julien writes as he speaks. He demystifies the vast information in this field and clarifies it. However, for the reader who wants in-depth information about the topics, there are treasures to be found. Your "aha !" and "ohhhh" buttons will be pushed constantly.

I appreciate the conscientious way Dr. Julien and his publisher have kept the book "revised and updated." There are so many research findings being reported all the time. New medications come on line. This makes many excellent (and expensive) books obsolete within a couple of years. "A Primer of Drug Action" remains current and useful.

But seriously, they sometimes are slow in being returned. I buy them two at a time.

This is my 2nd procurement of this book. The reason I am buying it again is b/c I used the first one so much it fell apart. I only wish it were available in hardback so it would hold up to high usage.