Helpful Score: 9
Prozac-like drugs are being prescribed not only for their original purposes but increasingly to alter individual personalities to currently valued norms. With dead-on accuracy and the prescience of tomorrow's headlines, Robin Cook explores the perilous intersection where fame and unfathomable lucre waylay and seduce the very best and brightest of those sworn to do no harm. When neuroscientist Edward Armstrong begins dating Kimberly Stewart, a descendant of a woman who was hanged as a witch at the time of the Salem witch trials, he takes advantage of the opportunity to delve into a pet theory: that the "devil" in Salem in 1692 had been a hallucinogenic drug inadvertently consumed with mold-tainted grain. In an attempt to prove his theory, Edward grows the mold he believes responsible from samples taken from the Stewart estate. In a brilliant designer-drug transformation, the poison becomes Ultra, the next generation of antidepressants with truly startling therapeutic capabilities. Acceptable Risk is a story of quest: a researcher's quest for the ultimate drug and a woman's quest for self-understanding. Unbeknownst to either person, the two seemingly separate quests collide with devastating consequences.
Great book!! I really enjoy Robin Cook's writing. If you like medical thrillers this is it. I was amazed by what people (or at least fictional characters) will do in the name of science!
Helpful Score: 4
A bit disturbing in parts, to be perfectly honest. Could be a cautionary tale against letting ambition blind a person to the very real potential risks. It was fast paced and exciting and I really didn't want to put it down
Helpful Score: 3
Another book by Cook providing "food for thought". The plot is not as fast-paced or as easy to believe as some of Cook's other works it was still a lot fun to read. I believe the book became unbelievable mixing the historical side and medical side but the book was still worth reading.
Helpful Score: 2
This is perhaps my favorite book by Robin Cook. Neuroscientist Edward Armstrong discovers a chemical that may have been responsible for the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials. Genetically engineered, this drug becomes a seemingly miraculous anti-depressant. Reluctant to waste time with FDA trials, a group of scientists test it on themselves. And that's when the troubles begin. This is a really good book and raises many questions about drug safety and what defines 'normal' behavior.
