PositiveThe New RepublicCoppins’s authorized biography has given the pundit class an excuse to eulogize his career—which Romney can enjoy from the comfort of his Senate office and not beyond the grave ... Romney’s rather sincere take on political horse-trading explains both his best and worst moments ... Coppins extracts...some of the most humanizing images of Romeny to date.
Andrew Solomon
PanThe Washington PostEven judged solely by the standards of the memoir, The Noonday Demon is remarkably self-indulgent. As an \'atlas,\' it depicts a world view whose cardinal points are me, myself and I. It is difficult to criticize a book in which the author repeatedly reminds the reader of the harrowing mental anguish experienced while writing it; critical reproaches are, one fears, the epitome of kicking someone while he\'s down. And yet few books on depression deserve to be criticized as much as this one, all the more because it is poised to become definitive ... Solomon can be commended for undertaking what was undoubtedly intensive research, and for even attempting to tackle the profusion of forms depression takes, reaching into the realms of biology, philosophy, politics, gender and -- a category often ignored -- class. His chapters on these subjects handily summarize much of the existing literature, and give some context to the many debates that depression raises...But the presentation of this data suffers from Solomon\'s extraordinary ability to make any given piece of information relate to him ... The pseudo-clinical manner of these proclamations reaches a disturbing apogee when Solomon, again using himself as the prism through which all meaning is refracted, discusses the connection between violence and depression ... More than by its omissions and its persistent defects of tone, The Noonday Demon is undone by Solomon\'s resolutely narrow method of inquiry ... part of recovering from depression, and part of keeping it at bay, is coming to terms with pain and suffering as a human experience, not just one\'s own.
