This is a reprint of a 2001 book published by Praeger, with a new preface by the author. Szasz (emeritus, psychiatry, State University of New York Upstate Medical University) explores the development of a "pharmacracy" as the natural outgrowth of the tendency to medicalize social problems, deviance, and disruptive behavior. He describes the relationships between medical and political authority, between increased government control and increased funding for health care, and between the medicalization of individual behavior and the avoidance of personal responsibility. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)