Mood Genes: Hunting for Origins of Mania and Depression [Paperback]

It's official. Our tendencies to be happy or sad come in part from our genes. Samuel H. Barondes is a neurobiologist and psychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco, and his direct involvement with the subject lends friendly authority to the book. Examining manic depression as a case study, Barondes shows how this strange condition--thought to have been instrumental in the ups and downs of Dickens, van Gogh, and Newton, among others--is definitely heritable. Although the specific gene or genes associated with the disorder haven't been identified, Barondes's account of the search is fascinating. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

"For the millions with mani-depressive disorder, as well as their families and friends, Mood Genes will become an indispensable coping tool for understanding the nature, the science, and the history of the illness."--Healthline

"Mood genes is a lucid and riveting account of scientific discovery, adaptions and pathologies of mood, and complex ethical issues. Dr. Barondes has written an excellent work."--Kay Redfield Jamison, author of Touched With Fire and The Unquiet Mind, Professor of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

"From Mendel's peas to the 'riflips' and 'log scores' that speak to researchers today, Samuel Barondes traces the search for genes that predispose people to mania and depression. Himself a scientist of the highest caliber, Barondes has a talent for making the complex comprehensible and allowing readers access to a medical detective story that is taking leaps forward in our time."--Peter D. Kramer, author of Listening to Prozac and Should You Leave?

"Barondes does the impossible and does so flawlessly....He tells the story of mood disorders, mania and depression, through warm narratives of specific families, interweaving these with vivid explanations of the latest research breakthroughs....Mood Genes captivates the reader and flows with the excitement of a murder mystery. It is must-read and a fun-read."--Solomon H. Snyder, M.D., author of Drugs and the Brain, Director, Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

"Crisp writing dissects this complex story with precision and excitement. The reader is drawn into the hunt as Dr. Barondes skillfully navigates the highways, the byways--and the blind alleys--that make the search for mood genes so fascinating to each of us."--Peter C. Whybrow, M.D., author of A Mood Apart: Depression, Mania, and Other Afflictions of Self, Director, Neuropsychiatric Institute, UCLA

"Are there such things as 'mood genes,' genes that are responsible for controlling the emotional life of the individuals possessing them? Answers to these questions, as well as to many others asked by Barondes, could go a long way toward helping people come to grips with the life-shattering mood swings associated with severe depression."--Publishers Weekly

"[A] riveting story....Barondes lucidly encompasses the development of modern psychiatry and genetics, and shows how the two are coupled in the quest for the genetic basis of mood disorders....An exciting gene hunt, written in comfortable and in parts racy prose by an authority in the field. The evidence for the genetic transmission of mood disorders is incontrovertible, so the hunt must go on."--Nature

"'Unputdownable' is a word one associates with thrillers rather than science books, but I found it hard to stop reading Mood Genes."--The New York Times Book Review

"An engrossing tale....I found it hard to stop reading Mood Genes....the most user-friendly introduction to modern genetics I have read....Barondes unfolds his complex material with...consummate skill."--The New York Times Book Review

"[A] fascinating detective story....essential for those who want to keep pace with the rapidly evolving sciences that seek to tell us exactly who we are."--The New York Times Book Review