This book is, without a doubt, the finest introduction to psychopharmacology available. From the structure and function of neurons and the brain, to drug metabolism, to the social and cultural import of various drugs and drug laws, to drug mechanisms of action and more, this succinct yet "action-packed" volume informs like a textbook and reads like the work of an outstanding author--because it is. I have taken classes with both co-authors, and they're both extraordinarily valuable people who will I never forget for as long as I live. I write this in such glowing terms because I am absolutely enthralled with psychopharmacology as an area of study, and it was Tibor Palfai who is responsible for turning me on to it and patiently and compassionately attending to every little question and concern I had, even trying to reach out to me and encourage me when I was in the depths of my own mental illness. I have since read thousands of pages on the subject, from textbooks to journal articles, and nothing has even come close to the enjoyment this book brought me. At $5 or less used, it is one of the best deals on all of Amazon.

If you've ever wondered anything at all about drugs, this book is, without a doubt, the first one you should buy! In fine style yet with compassion for the ignorant (read: US policymakers), the authors convey essential principles, information about every major class of common psychoactive drug, and dispel myth after myth about drugs--licit and illicit--while all the while maintaining an informal, highly readable tone that will keep you chained to your seat reading, wondering:

a) how on Earth a book like this ever came to be a textbook
AND
b) why all college professors aren't this passionate about teaching, which one would have to be in order to produce a book like this.

It would be on my coffee table right now had I not lent and subsequently lost BOTH copies I had.