of Ritalin. In 2005, the Pediatric Advisory Commit-
tee of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) re-
leased an announcement stating its concerns over
the use of stimulants. Additionally, in 2006, Ritalin
and other stimulant drugs were ordered by the
government to carry a strong “black box” warning
on their labels.
Further Reading
Brown, Thomas E. Attention Deficit Disorder: The
Unfocused Mind in Children and Adults.New Haven,
Conn.: Yale University Press, 2005. Argues that
attention-deficit disorder is a result of a serious
chemical imbalance in the brain and demon-
strates the ways this imbalance affects behavior.
Hallahan, Daniel P., and James M. Kauffman.Excep-
tional Learners: Introduction to Special Education.
Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2008. The authors argue
that the lack of empirical data suggests that atten-
tion-deficit disorder may not be valid as a medical
condition.
Hallowell, Edward, and John Ratey.Driven to Distrac-
tion: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit
Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood. Both
authors, who have attention-deficit disorder
themselves, argue that the condition should not
be labeled simply as a “disorder,” because of the
negative connotation, and that the uncritical ac-
ceptance of the notion of ADD simply hides the
need for major reforms in public schools.
Hartmann, Thom.Attention Deficit Disorder: A Differ-
ent Perception. Nevada City, Calif.: Underwood
Books, 1993. Popular book that links attention-
deficit disorder to the genetic makeup of men
and women who in prehistoric times utilized their
more active brains to successfully hunt for food.
Sheds a positive light on ADD and strongly sug-
gests that the condition can be associated with
creativity, high achievement, and success.
M. Casey Diana
See also Antidepressants; Drug advertising; Drug
use; Medicine; Pharmaceutical industry.
Audiobooks
Definition Abridged and unabridged audio
versions of fiction and nonfiction books aimed
at both consumers and library patrons
The audiobook industr y enjoyed significant growth during
the 1990’s as the medium adapted to new formats. CD
books and downloadable books joined audio cassettes to
reach more listeners.
Before the 1980’s, books in audio formats were pri-
marily long-playing recordings aimed at the blind,
or recordings of poems, short stories, or fragments
of longer works for other consumers. The evolution
of audio cassettes allowed longer portions of books
and eventually unabridged books to become avail-
able. Tape players in automobiles and portable play-
ers such as the Walkman were developed initially to
meet the needs of music listeners. What began as a
small market began to increase when publishers dis-
covered that consumers enjoyed listening to books
on tape while driving, walking, or exercising. Many
in the industry were surprised that people wanted to
listen to books for periods longer than a half hour.
Audiobooks could be purchased, borrowed from li-
braries, or rented from such companies as Books on
Tape and Recorded Books, which also supplied li-
braries.
The audiobook industry continued to adapt to
change throughout the 1990’s. Brilliance Corpora-
tion began using data-compression techniques to al-
ter the voices of readers electronically to simulate
telephone calls or memories of past events. In 1992,
Brilliance developed CD-ROM books, containing
both audio and text, for Sony’s portable Discman.
Another advance arrived when Audiobooks.com
became the first Web site devoted to selling audio-
books in 1994. By 1995, video stores and supermar-
kets had begun renting audiobooks, with audio
listening posts set up at such businesses as Tower
Records.
The Audio Publishers Association (APA), formed
in 1986 with twelve members, had over two hundred
members by 1999. The organization, which presents
annual Audie Awards, adopted “audiobook” in 1997
as the preferred term describing its industry. A 1999
APA study indicated that audiobook users listened to
thirteen books annually.
The number of titles available on compact disc in-
creased dramatically as newer versions of portableThe Nineties in America Audiobooks 65