Tallarida, R. J., and Jacob L. S.
The Dose-Response Relation in Pharmacology. Springer-Verlag, 1979.
A slim volume that deals in some depth with the quantitative aspects of dose-response relationships.
Physicians Desk Reference. 56th ed. Medical Economics Data, 2002.
The "PDR." A compendium of FDA-approved package inserts updated annually and available on most medical wards. Written by drug companies and edited by lawyers and bureaucrats. Readily available information on approved indications and dosages, strengths and dosage forms available, pill shape and color, major side effects and precautions.
Pratt, W. B., and Taylor P. Principles of Drug Action: The Basis of Pharmacology. 3rd ed. N.Y.: Churchill-Livingstone, 1990.
A rigorous book with in-depth discussions of the principles underlying general pharmacology.
Drug Information for the Health Care Professional. Vol. 1. 23th ed. United States Pharmacopeial Convention, Micromedex, Inc., 2003.
A huge collection of monographs on drug classes and individual drugs updated annually. Cumbersome presentation, but includes information on unapproved indications and reflects actual practice better than PDR. Also available on CD-ROM.
USP Dictionary of USAN [United States Adopted Names] and International Drug Names. United States Pharmacopeial Convention, 1998.
Listing of approved and investigational drugs with manufacturer's code, Adopted (trivial) name, mol. wt., & structural formula.
Kenakin, T. Pharmacologic Analysis of Drug-Receptor Interaction. 2nd ed. Raven Press, 1993.
Treatise on theoretical and quantitative aspects of drug-receptor interaction. Detailed treatment of antagonists, partial agonists, radioligand binding, etc.
Gibaldi, M., and D. Perrier. Pharmacokinetics. 2nd ed. Marcel Dekker, 1982.
"Classic" pharmacokinetics. Still a useful book after all these years.
Carruthers et al., eds. Melmon and Morrelli's Clinical Pharmacology. 4th ed. McGraw-Hill, 2000.
Pharmacology from the perspective of clinical therapeutics. Lengthy, up-to-date chapters are not especially easy to use for quick reference, but the book contains hundreds of useful "pearls" about approaches to patients and drug therapy of most disease states.
Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology.
In-depth reviews of selected topics.
Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
Drug Metabolism and Disposition.
Molecular Pharmacology.
Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.
Pharmacological Reviews.
Molecular Interventions.
Periodicals 2-7 are authoritative, official journals of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET). No. 7 is a recent addition - short, up-to-date reviews with high quality graphics.
The Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics.
Popular bi-weekly newsletter announcing new drugs and giving summaries of recommended drug treatment for specific clinical applications. Includes comparative cost data. Brief reviews are authoritative, but without references.
Trends in Pharmacological Sciences.
For the receptor afficionado. If you really want to know the latest nomenclature and selective ligands for every defined receptor subtype, you'll find the information here. Good articles (mainly review) but tend toward the heavily theoretical.