The handy book of Prof.Klein & Prof.Wender is readily comprehensible without lacking profundity and effectively assists a layperson with grasping the ominous and agonizing burden of depression darkening the lives of millions. The information it conveys is concise and relevant in any respect. In addition to the theoretical account of the depressive syndrome and its treatment the medical histories of several patients are vividly portrayed. Unfortunately there is one matter that affects my general contentment. The book should have a further subtitle: ...seen from a biologistic point of view! For the authors clearly go too far by claiming sole predominance of psychopharmacology over any kind of psychological psychotherapy (like cognitive or interpersonal therapy), whose practical value they are degrading to mere "comforting support" that "is not actually treating the underlying depression"(p.106). In a somewhat biased way they reduce the psycho-social impacts on the genesis of depression to secondary trigger-factors and deny them being genuine pathological causes. There can be no doubt that heredity plays an important role, but to treat the considerable moulding influence of nurture and socialisation on the individual person as marginal and minor remarks upon a purely neuro-physiological etiology of the insidious mood disease, focusing almost exclusively on genetic determination, is surely inadequate and exceeds the actual explanatory and therapeutic skills of bio-psychiatry at the end of the 20th-century. The book's sophistication notwithstanding, a bit more self-critical modesty and cooperative fairness against the so-called 'communicative therapies` and their verifiable usefulness would have redounded to the authors' scientific credit.

It was with initial fear that I read the book. However, as reading progressed I was able to identify with so many cases and situations.

You see, no one would every imagen, not even I, that I was depressed. During work, and at home my responsibilities would require me to have a smile on my face, be positive, give great advice to others, be there for everyone.

And yet, during those moments, my moments alone, I realized and would tell myself how unhappy I was, how much I did NOT LOVE ANYONE, not my husband, not my children, not even my ailing mother, who had a terminal illness. I couldn't be intimate and intense, everything was superficial, I felt all alone.

Upon reading the book I realized that I was not an evil, cold person without feelings, I was in fact in some sort of depression. The book gave excellent advice on how to identify what stage I might be in.

I read the book as many times as I need to review and remind myself that I can somehow overcome these feelings.

I am not "cured", but the book has wonderful advise and guidance enabling me to identify where my feelings are coming from and how I can help myself.

This book has some very good information about ADD. I don't think it was actually written for a person with ADD to read. For somebody who claims to know so much about ADD, he does not know how to write a book that a person with ADD to actually read through.

It may be full of great information but seems very hard for the average ADDer reader to stay focussed on.

The author has very negative view on ADD. There was not any mention of the positve aspects of ADD like Thom Hartman and Lynn Weiss have in their books. I was disapointed by this book.

There was very little mention of ADD with out hyperactivity or innatentive ADD.

There was very little mention of ways to manage ADD other than medication.

This book has helped me in writing useful psychological evaluations and understanding the ADHD in adults. It has a great deal of useful information. I particulalry like his method of what to look for in the childhood history and the checklist he provides to do this. However, there are other books that should be consulted too that provided an additonal perspective on making recommendations for a particular individual. It is a very useful book for the professional but cannot stand alone.

I have ADD and have been looking for a book which gives insights into the causes of ADD, in order to help me self-manage the condition effectively. This is a serious book, written for medical professionals, but with the aid of medical dictionary, I discovered valuable information I have found nowhere else. If you're not familiar with medical terminology, you (like me) will probably find it tough going, but its worth persisting. I have found the information useful in modifying diet, handling ignorant medical professionals, and reading other medical literature. If you have ADD, aren't getting enough from superficial self help books, want to know what's behind our condition and are ready to work to get through the occasional medical jargon, I recommend this book to you.

The book provides accurate information on the ADHD child in general, but I found it to have little information on adolescent children. My search for this specific information was the reason I bought it, so I was somewhat disappointed.

As the mother of a "hyperactive" child and founder of the first parent support group for the parents of such children in Germany, I can fully endorse this book. To anyone who suspects that their child suffers from AD/HD, this book is an absolute must. It not only gives information on the symptoms of the syndrom, info on medicative treatments, but also valuable tips on structuring.