In 2004, Americans will spend $250 billion on prescription drugs. Marcia Angell says that much of that spending is superfluous, the byproduct of the drug companies' "iron grip" on Congress and the White House, its massive marketing machine and the proliferation of "me-too" drugs. Angell also takes on commonly held perceptions of the drug industry, a passive and acquiescent FDA and susceptible doctors influenced by pharmaceutical industry perks and advertising.

Summary by Commonwealth Club staff.