With uncommon humanity, candor, wit, and erudition, award-winning author Andrew Solomon takes the reader on a journey of incomparable range and resonance into the most pervasive of family secrets. His contribution to our understanding not only of mental illness but also of the human condition is truly stunning. The Noonday Demon examines depression in personal, cultural, and scientific terms. Drawing on his own struggles with the illness and interviews with fellow sufferers, doctors and scientists, policymakers and politicians, drug designers and philosophers, Solomon reveals the subtle complexities and sheer agony of the disease. He confronts the challenge of defining the illness and describes the vast range of available medications, the efficacy of alternative treatments, and the impact the malady has had on various demographic populations around the world and throughout history. He also explores the thorny patch of moral and ethical questions posed by emerging biological explanations for mental illness. The depth of human experience Solomon chronicles, the range of his intelligence, and his boundless curiosity and compassion will change the reader's view of the world.

安德鲁·所罗门，先后毕业于美国耶鲁大学及英国剑桥耶酥学院，是艺评家，长期研究俄国地下前卫艺术，他本人就是忧郁症患者。在历经数次崩溃并努力探寻解决之道后，他整理出一篇报导，登刊于《纽约客》。没想到这篇报导引起读者广大的回响，于是他决定将这篇报导扩大为一本从医学、心理、文学、历史、政治等角度全面关照忧郁症的书籍，便是此书。