With exceptional humanity, unparalleled frankness, acute intelligence, and encyclopedic erudition, Andrew Solomon takes us on a journey into the depths of one of the most widespread and deadly mental illnesses. His contribution to our understanding of mental illness - and indeed of humans themselves - is truly astonishing. The Afternoon Devil examines depression from a personal, cultural, and scientific perspective. Drawing on his own struggle with illness and interviews with many patients, doctors, scientists, politicians and philosophers, Solomon reveals the nuances of the suffering caused by depression. It takes on the challenge of defining depression and explains the wide range of medications available, the effectiveness of alternative treatments, and the impact of depression on different individuals around the world and throughout history.