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Acceptable Risk
Acceptable Risk
Author: Robin Cook
Robin Cook confronts one of the most provocative issues of our time--a terrifying glimpse into the dangers of antidepressant drugs... — "Cook manages to keep the suspense mounting and the pages turning."-- San Francisco Chronicle — "King of the mind-bending medical thriller"-Kirkus Reviews — "[A] morality tale of antidepressants and g...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780399139710
ISBN-10: 0399139710
Publication Date: 1/11/1995
Pages: 406
Rating:
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 82

3.6 stars, based on 82 ratings
Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback, Audio Cassette
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

Kmarie avatar reviewed Acceptable Risk on + 529 more book reviews
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.
readerbug avatar reviewed Acceptable Risk on
Helpful Score: 6
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!
reviewed Acceptable Risk on + 118 more book reviews
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
reviewed Acceptable Risk on + 204 more book reviews
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.
sarah5775 avatar reviewed Acceptable Risk on + 386 more book reviews
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.
Read All 43 Book Reviews of "Acceptable Risk"


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