Better than I expected - and funny.

I didn't have any particular expectations about "Bad Medicine" when I purchased it, except what the title (and the subtitle) told me. In fact, the subtitle was somewhat misleading - it had led me to expect that this book was an encycopdeia of bad ideas in medicine or healthcare (a bit like "the Skeptic's Dictionary"), but it isn't.

"Bad Medicine" is a series of short chapters covering such topics as common myths about physiology and diet, and ineffective alternative medicine. The very first chapter is an introduction that provides a history of medicine from the dawn of recorded history to the modern day. This introduction, in itself, is facinating and worth the price of the book.

The information presented in this book is drawn from reputable scientific sources - a bibliography for each chapter is provided at the end. In addition, internet sources are also listed for interested readers to pursue the topics in the book further.

Although drawn from science, the material in the book is presented in a truely understandable format. For example, when talking about theraputic magnets (and how they don't attract the iron in blood) the author used a good analogy to Magnetic Resonance Imagining (MRI). He points out that the if the theory behind theraputic magnets were correct the very strong magnets used in MRI should rip the blood from your body - but they don't.

After about 10 pages of "Bad Medicine" it dawned on me that not only was the content interesting and well written, the author was also very funny, so I wanted to know more about him. Turning to the back cover, I discovered that not only had Christopher Wanjek written for major newspapers and university publications, he's also written jokes for tv comedy shows. As such, if you read "Bad Medicine" I expect you'll find yourself amused, as well as well informed.

Rating:


interesting, readable, funny

Some reviewers were a little skeptical about the author, but a quick search on google will show that he is indeed qualified to write about medicine.

But about the book: I found this book to be written in a very readable and easy to understand way. Many times I chuckled outloud at the authors sarcasm.

While most people know why homeopathic medicine is bunk, he goes onto explain why it is bunk. He also has an interesting chapter on diets and on milk.

This book is full of interesting information, and i highly reccomend it to everyone who is interested in real medicine.

Rating:


Bad Medicine - Good Book

A spirited defence of evidence-based medicine with a wry sense of humour, this is an entertaining and informative read. The chapters break it up into easily digestible chunks for dipping into, although it is just as suited for reading straight through.

The core message is eat well and exercise: you'll save a fortune.

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