“Dr. Scott is one of the most humane and clear writers on what is wrong with the way we deliver mental health . . . . The material in Parts One and Two is the clearest explanation I have ever read. I could not put the book down. It is incredible.”
William Glasser, M.D.
Psychiatrist, Father of Reality Therapy

“A professional lifetime has gone into this book. Although nothing surprises me, it will amaze—and immunize—many, many others. America Fooled is the best book to date on the colossal fraud perpetrated by the pharmaceutical industry and the FDA on trusting Americans. Dr. Scott joins science with common sense to educate the reader as to the state of the art in psychiatry and pharmacology today. Mixing personal detail, history and eye–opening facts, the author’s writing style is disarmingly low–key: it feels like personal advice from a favorite teacher. In my 25 years of practice, the dangers of mind drugs have never been greater. Anyone who takes antidepressants or antipsychotics—and everyone who prescribes them—needs to read this book. I would buy every colleague a copy if I could and prescribe it for every patient.”
John Friedberg, M.D.
Neurologist, Berkeley, CA
Author, Shock Treatment is Not Good for Your Brain

“This well–researched and well–written book should be required reading for anyone considering taking psychiatric medications; more important, it should be required reading for any doctor that might prescribe psychiatric medications.”
Stuart Shipko, M.D.
Psychiatrist & Neurologist, Pasadena, CA
Author, Surviving Panic Disorder: What You Need to Know

“America Fooled is a powerful, easy–to–read account of the vast body of research exposing the damaging myths promoted by the drug industry and many psychiatrists. It is a marvelous accomplishment. Before deciding whether to accept a simplistic chemical imbalance explanation for the problems you or your loved ones are experiencing, and before accepting the antidepressant or antipsychotic drugs that are so freely prescribed today, read this book. Dr. Scott has provided a true service to the American and the international public.”
John Read, Ph.D., Editor, Models of Madness
Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychology
University of Auckland, New Zealand"

I believe America Fooled challenges our apparent cultural preference for a quick medical fix for depression and other mental health disorders by closely examining the data and exposing the marketing hype surrounding psychotropic medications. After reading the book, consumers will have to ask themselves a hard question, ‘Is there enough evidence of benefit for most psychotropic drugs to outweigh the growing evidence of risk?’”
David Antonuccio, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
University of Nevada School of Medicine

“I have a PhD in anatomy with a specialty in neuroanatomy. My research area has focused on the effects of drugs on the developing brain, and my teaching area is neuroscience. It is with that background that I can say that America Fooled is a masterful exposé about how the public has been misled about the science of treating psychological disorders with medications. You have looked at the actual studies with a critical eye and revealed that there is little hard evidence in support of the claims about the antidepressants and antipsychotics so often found in the media. More disturbing is the influence of the pharmaceutical companies on the medical profession which you related. Clearly, if one digs deep enough into the medical literature, the claims melt away, and one is left with little more than a disguised marketing program. I wonder how few Americans realize that Prozac and the other SSRIs have barely beat the placebo in controlled study after controlled study—the ‘dirty little secret’ as some in the medical profession have said—yet with little scientific evidence these medications continue to be prescribed to children, no less, at alarming rates. America was fooled, but the truth is emerging because of people like yourself.”
Jonathan Leo, Ph.D.
Editor, Ethical Human Psychology & Psychiatry

“I know that being an American does not necessarily make one a fool, but the drug companies would like to treat you as one. Your book tells the truths that are desperately needed to wise up our nation—truths about drugs and deception, including Zoloft and its insidious cousins. Those who read your book may conclude that FDA stands for ‘Fools Don’t Ask.’”
Tom Greening, Ph.D.
Clinical Professor of Psychology, UCLA
Int’l Editor, Journal of Humanistic Psychology

“I just wanted to let you know that I have enjoyed reading your book tremendously. Your book is very well written, very readable and engaging, and walks the line well between talking to experienced professionals in the field and to the general public. I felt a sense of recognition on every page. I avoided drug companies from the moment I refused my first ‘free’ stethoscope at Harvard Medical School. I did not speak to a drug rep if I could avoid it until recently when—out of desperation—I met with a few to get free samples for the Latino Clinic (where the uninsured fall through the cracks). I have never been tempted to attend a ‘free’ dinner or symposium, but it is incredible how tenacious the reps can be. When Lexapro came out, they would accost me on my way to the bathroom between patients at my private practice, sometimes literally getting a foot in the door. What has been most useful to me in reading your book: I think I have the inner convictions to withstand overt influence by drug reps or the prevailing ideology, but it is sometimes difficult to hold one’s ground in more subtle ways. The pressure to prescribe more and more of these medications is powerful on all sides. I am not a statistician or a researcher, and I am on some level intimidated by those who back up their arguments with volumes of research I feel ill equipped to evaluate. It was fascinating to read your exposés of some classic and recent research claims. I wish you all success in getting the book out there.”
Elissa Kleinman, M.D.
Psychiatrist, Harvard University
The Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, MA

“America Fooled is a clear, factual, easily read presentation of the data on the brilliant marketing of psychiatric drugs which are not as helpful as advertised and are a lot more dangerous. Everything is documented carefully, but it is never dull. Every patient and mental health professional today needs to be familiar with what is in your book.”
Bertram P. Karon, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Psychology
Michigan State University, East Lansing

"I greatly enjoyed reading America Fooled. I highly recommend your book as a prescription to every person who is seriously concerned about mental health. Unfortunately, it is not just America that has been fooled. My nation has also experienced the harmful promotion of biological psychiatry's fraudulent concepts and myths. I certainly hope that America Fooled will be a light that will benefit America and the world."
Dr. Joseph Isaac
Consultant Clinical Psychologist
Medical College Hospital, Kottayam, India

“As a professor of clinical psychology working with severely mentally ill patients, I very much welcome America Fooled, which provides a timely antidote to the excessive claims of drug companies and biological psychiatrists.  Not only does it offer a welcome critical analysis of the evidence on the effects of pharmacological interventions for psychiatric problems, but it also provides a compelling analysis of the reasons why belief of these interventions is so at odds with the actual evidence.  I recommend it not only to trainee clinical psychologists but also to anyone who is interested in the state of our mental health services today.”
Richard Bentall, Ph.D.
Professor of Clinical Psychology
University of Manchester, Great Britain
Author, Madness Explained: Psychosis and Human Nature

"Congratulations on your book!  It is a barnstormer . . . with every page I turned over I was nodding my head and muttering, ‘Yes at last . . . someone is saying it as it really is!’   It is a compulsive read which is unusual for books of this type.  It will sell by the millions and be hugely influential.   I fully agree with your central thesis . . . current biological models of mental illness are simply not accurate enough . . . . We are relying on grossly inadequate biological models of mental illness which means that most patients are inappropriately pigeon holed and treated with a drug that is fairly irrelevant to their central problems.  The correspondence around this book is going to be amazing!”
Douglas Turkington, M.D.
Fellow, Royal College of Psychiatry
Honorary Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Psychiatry
Univ. of Newcastle–upon–Tyne, Great Britain

“As a seriously overeducated physician (retired), I’ve been exposed many times to the requirements of experimental design, especially while studying epidemiology and statistics at Harvard School of Public Health.  I have rarely encountered a discussion of the subject as lucid as your America Fooled.  I was appalled to learn the extent to which the experimental process has apparently been purposefully subverted by the drug companies.  Although you have devoted yourself to the discussion of psychoactive drugs exclusively, the principles are applicable generally, and I feel your book is mandatory reading for anyone involved in health care delivery and not just for those pursuing mental illness.  I have long felt that we are overdependent on medication to resolve psychosocial as well as some physical problems, which could respond to simpler and cheaper though less convenient remedies.  I hope your next edition will devote more space to the proliferation of what I consider ‘pseudo psych syndromes’ such as Social Adaptive Disorder, which seem to elevate minor problems to the level of a ‘disease’ requiring expensive medication.”
A. E. Rahm, Jr., M.D., M.P.H.
Diplomate of American Board of Preventive Medicine (Public Health)
Diplomate of American Board of Internal Medicine (Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease & Gastroenterology)