Health Books

As someone who is new to the world of macrobiotics, the Self-Healing Cookbook actually became the most useful to get me started. It gives the basics but gives confidence to just jump in and begin cooking. It's a great resource.

I refer to this book often - just this morning I was feeling down and turned to the Food/Mood page. Feeling better already! I keep this one on hand for my own reference and give a copy to all my clients. - Jennifer Howe, Holisitic Health/Food Counselor (www.HoweToEat.com)

I got this cookbook because it was highly reccommended. I can see why! It gives more than just recipes, it gives you a plan to better health. I am still working through my plan but I am loving it. Great book.

I found this book to be a great resource. I am at a time in my life where I am ready to make a change and this book was the perfect introduction to a new life - consciously living healthy.

The only reason I give this cookbook a 4 is because it is a little hard for me to read. The handwritten titles and the way the book is laid out is a little distracting. Having said that, the recipes are quite delicious and the tips and buying guidance is very helpful.

I highly recommend it for those trying to adhere to a Macrobiotic or Vegan diet.

writes great books for parents with ADHD children. She understands what parents live with everyday and she offers practical solutions to everyday problems. She does not give you a lot of technical/medical jargon. She writes so that parents can understand what they read. She interviews teens with ADHD and gets their input in her books. I recommend her books to parents all the time.

This is another excellent book by Chris Ziegler Dendy. The author presents practical information that will help parents in their day to day struggle to deal with the changing world of an adolescent with ADHD. She clearly has dealt with some of these stiuations herself, so she brings humorous and compassionate anecdotes to illustrate the factual material. I would highly recommend this and her other books on the practical aspects of dealing with adolescents with ADHD

This is a must-have book for parents with teenagers with ADD. I also bought for me and for my son's team of teachers, "Teaching Teenagers With ADD" by the same author. Both are excellent books!!!!

THIS BOOK IS WOUNDERFUL! A MUST FOR PARENTS RAISING TEENS WITH ADHD AND ADD. TEACHERS OF TEENS SHOULD READ THIS ALSO, SO YOU CAN UNDERSTAND THE TOUGH JOB OF RAISING AND TEACHING THESE WOUNDERFUL KIDS. THIS BOOK IS A MUST TO READ!

This book was so helpful to me! My 13-year-old son was just diagnosed with ADD and it was a God send. It has so many great suggestions, stories and advice. I stayed up all night reading it! It was like an autobiogrpahy of my son for the past few years. He was especially relieved to figure out what was wrong and read the other kid's experiences.
It was also helpful for me on how to advise my son's teachers of special care that he needs. The appendix for teachers in the back is an excellent tool to give to teachers so they can develop a good basic understanding of the condition.
The book doesn't have much on the medication Adderal which was what our doctor recommended. The information on accompanying sleep disturbances was excellent - our doctor didn't even know about it.

The wealth of information in this book more than makes up for a little bit of disorganization at times and some typos.

In a nutshell, it encapsulates the history of milk production in this country and re-visits all significant studies about the health properties of milk to show unequivocally that certified, clean raw milk is what we all NEED to be drinking, not the pasteurized stuff that destroys enzymes that are very important for human health.

Many alternative health remedies these days recommend to not drink dairy. The reason is that PASTEURIZED dairy contribues to chronic health problems, while RAW dairy helps fix them due to its enzyme and probiotic bacteria content. The two products are not really even comparable from a health standpoint, though both are called milk and both are white liquid.

This message needs to get out. Certified raw milk is not dangerous. Buy the book. Loan it to your friends. Pressure your local government to allow raw milk sales and allow people the choice and opportunity to become healthier.

This book will be the foundation to a world of politics and potential that you probably didn't have a hunch existed in the realm of food science and politics, especially with a food so fundamental as dairy and a subject so fundamental as food!

I have purchased many copies of this book, and I read it over for pragmatic and enjoyment purposes. The author has a clean, but interesting style that will help you see through any dogma about to cook, or not to cook your dairy; and who is taking away one of those options from you.


I certainly hope you'll be able to get your hands on some of the right raw dairy that works for you, after reading this book!

Awsome book. an eye opener to anyone interested in what goes in your body.
scary realisation. after reading this book your friends will think you are insane. it is almost as if you discovered smoking is good for you. Noone would believe you!

A MUST READ

Schmid very carefully tells the history of milk and once you are informed you will be sickened by current "legal" dairy practices. If you have ever driven by large dairies (especially in Idaho) and inhaled the stink of confined cows and observed the mud and filth they live in this book is a must read. Rock on "Real Milk".

This is a fully satisfactory product full of no nonsense information about milk and the politics of its manufacture and distribtion. Anyone interested in nutrition should read this book

I've been having back pain in the morning for the last few months after some furniture moving. I stopped at Borders for a coffee and picked this up to read (ok, I'm shameless). After about an hour with the book, I developed a game plan for dealing with the backache which I learned is of a very common garden type. It might be too early to declare victory but I woke this morning with almost no pain after sleeping in the prescribed position with a heating pad and taking a few NSAIDS before bed.

I have family members that opted for surgery years ago and it ruined their lives - possibly even led to a death of a cousin from OD of narcotics. I wish that they had had this book to read. A lot has changed in medicine and it seems like the author has much more modern thinking than most of the medical profession that still seems bent on drugs and surgery first.

This book is laying on the floor next to my bed. Why? I do the exercises every morning, and refer to the chapter to make sure I don't miss any. I do most of the exercises on the floor, so that's where the book lives. It is a part of my life now.

I've suffered from low-grade back pain for years, and learned a lot from this book. I especially like the integrated mind-body approach, the solid, realistic information about the mechanics of the spine, and the practical advice for care and recovery.

I've spoken with a chiropractor and an MD about my back problems, and the advice they gave me is identical to the advice in this book -- and the book was far less expensive.

Unless you were injured, your back took years to get into its current condition, and it will take a while to improve. This book is a first-rate map of the road to recovery.

This books covers a lot of territory but I did not find it particularly helpful. It feels like it has a lot of filler material to get it to "book length", without focusing in on the most useful information. Also, it completely ignores the neck, apparently assuming that all problems are lower-back problems.

Save your money on Back Pain Remedies for Dummies or just check it out of the library and skim it; in my opinion it is not worth the space it takes up on my book shelf.

Overall, a very informative book, as everyone else says. My only reservation - be careful doing the exercises in the book. The author also has a warning about this - he says "at no point during your back exercise program, should you feel that you are straining...to the point of significantly increasing your pain."

I tried doing a lot of the exercises in the book, and it did add to my pain, so I then got a referral to a physical therapist, who then worked with me, showing me the 9 exercises that were best for me - using the big exercise ball. Those exercises (and perhaps the glucosamine that I take) have gotten me back to where I can again play badminton once a week, and no longer have the serious back pain I had before. (The book does mention, of course, the possibility of getting help from a physical therapist.) I'd recommend the book - just don't increase your pain by overdoing the exercises - as the author warns, in that chapter.

i love this book! its so easy to understand, and it really put my mind at ease on alot of pain issues.it covers so many topics that you dont usually read about, such as: the pros and cons of back surgery, who to seek help from, exercises, getting back to work and the feelings associated with it,etc. a definite must read!

Michael Greger's "Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching" is more terrifying than anything a horror writer could imagine, since it depicts a real-life doomsday scenario that seems poised to occur very soon; indeed, the new H5N1 strain of influenza, known as "bird flu," has mutated into a form that can be transmitted by human contact, though not yet on a massive scale, meaning a mass outbreak is more a question of when, not if.

Whereas humans generally contract the disease by ingesting contaminated birds, or being in frequent contact with them, bird flu could blanket the globe when the virus has learned to jump easily from human to human. The author writes: "One day soon, experts fear, with more and more people becoming infected, the virus will finally figure out the combination -- the right combination of mutations to spread not just in one elevator or building, but every building, everywhere, around the globe. One superflu virus. It's happened before, and experts predict it many soon happen again."

Dr. Greger sets the stage for what could come by giving readers a grisly account of a previous avian influenza outbreak: the 1918 flu pandemic, in which 50 to 100 million humans perished. These were gruesome deaths, with blood oozing from eye sockets as the victim's lungs liquefied. Fatalities were so abundant that officials were unable to keep up with burying the corpses. It seems this was merely a sample of what's in store for humanity. "As devastating as the 1918 pandemic was," Dr. Greger writes, "on average the mortality rate was less than 5%. The H5N1 strain of bird flu virus now spreading like a plague across the world currently kills about 50% of its known human victims, on par with some strains of Ebola, making it potentially ten times as deadly as the worst plague in human history." One reason, he explains, is the 1918 virus attacked only the lungs, whereas H5N1 shuts down all the internal organs.

"Bird Flu" eloquently contextualizes the subject, giving us a greater understanding of the virus' origins and our critical role in it. The director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at the Humane Society of the United States, Dr. Greger examines bird flu from every angle, creating a meticulously researched work that traces how agricultural, scientific, environmental, political and economic forces have conspired to transform a virus that once threatened only waterfowl into a "highly pathogenic avian influenza" destined to lay waste to large segments of human population.

Among the stops on the author's bird flu reality tour is President George W. Bush's decision in April of 2006 to lift the ban on poultry products from China -- a country well known for its recent outbreaks of avian influenza -- possibly in return for China's agreement to drop its mad cow disease-related ban on U.S. beef imports. (One disease for another, perhaps? No trade deficit there.) Other troubling highlights include the world's inadequate hospital capacity and the inability to create a vaccine, or enough of it, to combat a virus that kills half its victims. In other words, we are as ill-prepared for avian flu today as we were in 1918. And, as Dr. Greger notes, not only is H5N1 worse than what our grandparents faced, but 21st-century transportation means a virus can travel around the planet in 24 hours, not a year.

The book is also a sobering lesson in how many of our human ailments, from the common cold to AIDS, have come from our oppression of animals, especially the practice of breeding and raising them for food. (Dr. Greger notes that human influenza began with the domestication of ducks 4,500 years ago.) Yet authorities refuse to confront the obvious cause of this "virus of our own hatching," preferring instead to devote their resources to containing the outbreak by culling chickens and turkeys and extolling the virtues of well-cooked meat.

Even without the looming pandemic, "Bird Flu" reminds us that eating animal flesh can be deadly. Dr. Greger writes: "For the same reason that people don't get Dutch Elm Disease or ever seem to come down with a really bad case of aphids, food products of animal origin are the source of most cases of food poisoning, with chicken the most common culprit." He notes that although the USDA asserts that proper cooking methods kill all viruses, including bird flu, 76 million Americans still suffer food poisoning every year and an estimated 5,000 die from food-borne illness. The average American kitchen, it seems, has become a biohazard, with pathogenic bacteria found on food-preparation surfaces, sinks and utensils. Dr. Greger quotes flu expert Albert Osterhaus, who concluded that "the gastrointestinal tract of humans is a portal of entry for H5N1."

Although pandemics seem inevitable, Dr. Greger's landmark book suggests an obvious (some might say radical) solution: the elimination of intensive poultry production. Perhaps this is more wishful thinking, given the world's ever-growing appetite for cheap animal protein, but others in the scientific community are also supporting this recommendation, so we may at least see improvements in the way agribusiness operates. "Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching" could herald dramatic changes in farming practices, finally driving decision-makers to critically examine not only how this virus came to be, but how we can curtail it and future diseases lurking within animal factories around the globe.

Mark Hawthorne, author of Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism

I didn't want to read this book. Maybe you don't either. But you must. And when you do, you'll find that the author has made it easy, and even entertaining, for you to learn everything you never wanted to know about bird flu.

Michael Greger writes in an engaging and accessible style that will keep you turning pages as he guides you through the history of zoonotic (animal-based) diseases and explains how contemporary factory farming and meat-packing practices not only make the emergence of new diseases more likely but also place consumers at risk of food poisoning by everyday microorganisms like E. Coli and Salmonella. Despite his somber subject matter, Greger is upbeat, giving us the bad news in a way that energizes us to do something about it.

It can happen here. It has happened here. The 1918 influenza pandemic that killed more Americans than World War II was a bird flu. The next pandemic will be too. We all need to know what we might be able to do to prevent or mitigate that pandemic. You need to what to do to protect yourself and your loved ones when the pandemic comes. Read this book now and make sure that the public policy makers who are supposed to be looking out for you read it too.

Watching a pandemic unfold and take shape before your eyes is like watching paint dry. It is an agonizing process, slow and painful. But at the end, the product is there for all to see.

This is the book to read while watching the paint dry. Like Mike Davis' excellent "The Monster at Our Door," Dr. Greger has done a lot of the heavy lifting for you. He has read countless books, scientific papers, newspaper and magazine articles along with medical/scientific journals and produced the definitive work on avian influenza for the lay reader, decision-maker and concerned citizen.

Along the way, Dr. Greger also shows us the principal underlying cause of the spread of H5N1 (factory farming of chickens and other poultry) and supports his theories with mountains of data, opinion and observation -- much of it directly from the commercial poultry industry he takes to task for putting the world in the shape it is in, bird flu-wise.

Certain passages contain the most relevatory things about food production I have read since Upton Sinclair. It would not take much more to turn me into a vegetarian! I now seek free-range chickens to consume.

Speaking of consume: Once you have read (in order) The Great Influenza (Barry), The Monster at Our Door (Davis) and Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own hatching (Greger), you are ready to dive into the scientific literature yourself. Have a go at all three of these excellent books.

It is amazing how much is hidden from the public eye. This author does a great job of explaining how the avian flu is VERY probable. You will never want to eat chicken or eggs again after reading this one and learning about overcrowding, filth, and treatment of chickens and how the avian flu is mutating because of the conditions that we (humans) create. I highly recommend this book.

BIRD FLU: A VIRUS OF OUR OWN HATCHING opens not with H5N1, the modern day "bird flu virus" which has the potential to mutate into the deadliest pandemic that the world has ever seen, but with H1N1, the influenza virus responsible for the 1918 flu pandemic. In just two short years, an estimated 50 to 100 million people perished as World War I raged on.

As described by author Michael Greger, MD, in chilling detail:

"What started for millions around the globe as muscle aches and a fever ended days later with many victims bleeding from their nostrils, ears, and eye sockets. Some bled inside their eyes; some bled around them. They vomited blood and coughed it up. Purple blood blisters appeared on their skin. [...] [The Chief of the Medical Services, Major Walter V. Brem] wrote that `often blood was seen to gush from a patient's nose and mouth.' In some cases, blood reportedly spurted with such force as to squirt several feet. `When pneumonia appeared,' Major Brem recounted, `the patients often spat quantities of almost pure blood.' They were bleeding into their lungs."

Yet, H1N1 had a "low" (relatively speaking) mortality rate of 2.5% to 5%. Compare that to H5N1, which thus far has killed 55% of those infected - and one must wonder why the possibility of bird flu pandemic is confined to occasional media reports that are quickly dwarfed by the latest Hollywood gossip. Is bird flu-inspired panic just another example of media sensationalism?

Not so, argues Greger. From 1918 he transitions seamlessly to the research laboratories of today. Greger, who is Director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at The Humane Society of the United States and "an internationally recognized lecturer on public health issues", launches into Viral Biology 101, explaining in layman's terms how a virus reproduces, spreads, mutates, and interacts with its host. Though he's dealing with (arguably) dry subject matter, Greger manages to keep the discussion engaging via the liberal use of colorful analogies and sharp, witty prose. This isn't your high school bio textbook.

Once a basic understanding of viruses has been established, Dr. Greger addresses modern animal agriculture, specifically, how it's especially conducive to the transmission and evolution of avian influenza. Animals, particularly "broiler" (meat) and "laying" (egg) hens, are packed into windowless sheds by the thousands; by the time they're fully grown just 45 days later (in the case of broiler hens), they don't even have enough space to spread their wings or turn around. Chickens are selectively bred for fast growth or maximum egg production - much to the detriment of their immune systems. Rather than improve the birds' ability to stave off disease (which would come at the expense of their "energy efficiency"), large-scale corporate "factory farmers" opt to pump their livestock full of antibiotics, thus contributing to bacterial resistance in humans. Add to this mix the fact that chickens literally spend their short lives wallowing in their own feces (and sometimes even that of previously butchered flocks), and you've got the perfect environment for a virus such as H5N1 to thrive.

And thrive it has. The billions of chickens, turkeys, and pigs raised and slaughtered for food annually act like "petri dishes" in which avian influence can mingle, swapping genetic material in order to mutate, gradually evolving into a strain more lethal and infectious to humans. Their compromised immune systems and unsanitary and stressful living conditions only facilitate this process. Despite numerous attempts at eradicating the virus - for example, by wiping out entire flocks of chickens, to the tune of millions of birds at a time - H5N1 (along with additional viral strains) can still be found on many farms, throughout the world.

While some critics - particularly those in the animal agriculture industry - dismiss this as scare mongering, Greger argues his points convincingly, and offers a wealth of evidence to support his claims. Indeed, his "Reference" section spans an impressive 90 pages! Throughout the text, he quotes a myriad of experts in the field, including Robert Webster, Kennedy F. Shortridge, and Michael Osterholm, as well as health professionals from the USDA, CDC, FAO, and WHO. Even "food scientists" admit - in the comfort and familiarity of their own trade journals, mind you - that the industry is flirting with disaster. The general - nay, unanimous - consensus seems to be "when, not if."

A pandemic is inevitable, that is, unless we swiftly and dramatically move away from factory farming methods towards less intense animal agriculture methods, such as free range farming. Additionally, this must be preceded by a temporary global moratorium on meat and egg production, in order to eradicate the bird flu virus(es) already present in farm animals worldwide. None of which is bloody likely to happen.

Thus, Greger urges readers to take precautions before a pandemic hits. He recommends obtaining and filling a prescription for Tamiflu (the more effective of two antivirals used to treat avian influenza), as well as stocking up on necessary groceries and such - TODAY. Greger also advises readers on how to purify water with bleach, and concoct cheap, homemade hand sanitizer. Oh, and do make sure you have plenty of liquor, cigarettes and ammo on hand, just in case the world reverts to the barter system! Though Greger reiterates and even elaborates upon government-issued pandemic guidelines in this last section, I didn't exactly walk away with a sense of empowerment. The rest of BIRD FLU was so horrifying that stocking up on canned veggies and medical masks won't do much to ease my troubled mind.

Whether you're a vegan, a carnivore, an average Jane, a state Senator, an animal welfarist, or a hunter, BIRD FLU is one book you can't afford to ignore. For too long, we've been playing chicken with our food supply - and nature may soon see fit to reward our taste for cheap meat with a global pandemic.

This book is incredible. I remember seeing myself on camera two years after my daughter was born and realized I was still forty or fifty pounds overweight. Disgustingly obese, I thought to myself at the time. (Ha! You can double that now, ten years later) I have to tell you, being a vegetarian I didn't use the diet section of the book; instead I watched my own calories and limited my fat intake. What I did do that made all the difference in the world was do this workout every day, faithfully. If nothing else, I figure it would give me cardiac health or some other airy-fairy benefit that didn't matter to me at the time.

What I wasn't expecting was for it to work. The first week, nothing. Sore muscles, but I was proud of myself. The second week, less sore, still proud, getting impatient. I am not a patient woman, but I was going to stick this out, I vowed! Week 3: Believe it or not, starting to see some definition in my arms. That alone made me keep going. After a few more weeks, I could see that my stomach was flatter, my waist was smaller, and my arms were toned. I kept up this routine for months, probably for the better part of a year, and by the time I finished I felt sexy, proud of my body, and confident. And I no longer hated the workout! It took a while, but after a couple of months but my friends were complimenting me on how svelte I looked, my arms had definition, and my booty drew attention. I had never felt better and this had taken less than a year. I ended up dropping sixty pounds altogether!

The key to this workout is repetion. There are different levels to the exercises, depending on how hard you're willing to work (I picked the easiest one cause I'm pretty lazy). Some of the exercises, like the leg lifts, are tedious, but they're not about lifting your legs in the air. They require resistance to work. And boy howdy, do they work.

The best moment after all this working out stuff was when my friend's mother came up to me. "How did you lose all that weight?" She asked. "Pills? Plastic surgery?" She was a pills and plastic surgery kind of woman. "No," said I, "diet and excercise." But I didn't give her the secret of this fantastic book.

Now that I'm a chubbo again I'm going straight for the Definition Workout. I am a fan.

Avoid buying it used. I've bought this book used twice now from different sellers, and in both cases the book was missing the tear-out wall chart on pages 189 through 202. Not all sellers check this, so if you buy it used, know that you risk paying for a book that has missing pages. (And people, if you're going to tear pages out of your books, don't turn around and take them to a used bookseller.)

Joyce's workout is great for busy people. I work two jobs, have two busy children, and do this work out 6 days a week. It takes more then 15 minutes most days but the results are well worth it. I actually weigh 20 pounds more than I did before my first child, but wear the same pant size. You really do lose a dress size in a month. Losing inches is a great goal. I have more energy, strength, and stamina. It is also quite adaptable for traveling and economical. I actually use my son's old daycare mat for the floor exercises!!! I would recommend this for all of us who just can't get to the gym.

I am 60 years old and had been pretty skinny all my life. I was always very active..horsebackriding, scuba, belly dancing, but after our retirement and move to Florida, I had too much time on my hands (and not enough weights IN them), cooked too much, (ate it all, too), traveled alot with my husband, and pigged out on easily obtainable and horribly fattening "road grub". I finally took a long, hard look in the mirror and was horrified at the fat person staring, equally horrified, back at me. WHO WAS THAT FAT PERSON?? Gasp! ME! We are not too Gymmy here in retirement heaven, so I scoped out a few books online and liked the approach of this one best. My (fabulous)Husband agreed to help me out and for the last 6 weeks, we have been following the diet that Joyce sugests, and I have been doing the Definition Workout, now up to 6, 8, 10 lbs and Dragon Lady Status. The workout is easy to understand and follow. The equipment is inexpensive and easily obtainable. The diet highlights sensible, nutritious food. The upshot is that so far I have lost 11 pounds, one jeans size, and my (faboulous)Husband has lost 10 pounds and gone from a 36 to a 34 inch waist. According to bio, Joyce is only 3 months older than I am, and (next to Cher) she is definitely my ideal "golden ager". I still have a looong way to go, but it is MARVELOUS to feel enabled and in control of my weight and my life again! THANKS JOYCE!

This was the first book I ever bought when I decided to try my hand at free weights at home. I used it for about three years solid, then began working with a personal trainer to really up my workouts. Recently I quit the trainer and have built up my own little home gym, and guess what - I'm back to this same book all these years later. I've found that even though I've got a lot more experience now, and have built up good muscle tone, I can still use this workout because of the advanced options she offers to add-on to each routine. It worked for me as a beginning book and helped me get started on my road to better fitness, and seven years later, it's still helping me stay in shape. I have some of her other books, too, and they are all in heavy rotation in my weekly workout routines. Some of the best books out there for all levels of weight trainers, in my opinion. But this particular one is still the best!

A great quick guide on drug information, perhaps, the best one. Full monographs of almost all of the drugs, including interactions. Much necessary to the pharmacists and other health professionals.

Excellent, concise, just the facts, ma'am, and easy to look up just what you need. Why wade through the Physicians Desk Reference when this handy gem has all that you really desire in drug information, presented efficiently by pharmacists. Boils it down to the facts. 2-3 pages per medication, in table form often. Once you buy this book, you'll ditch the PDR. Guaranteed.

this is a great resource. as a pharmacist, I use this quite often for basic questions.

The charts in the back are very comprehensive and useful; the drug monographs are very up-to-date and accurate.

While other people in my class waited for their DIHs to arrive, I had mine in no time! Thanks!

I think this is the best book (easy to read no-nonsense, authoritative) on hysterectomy. This doctor had good, sane advice. I underlined lots of it.

After you read this, for the "sister to sister" book about what REALLY goes down once you decide to have a hysterectomy, get the Hyster Sisters book or visit their website: www.hystersisters.com

The combo platter of these two books should help you like it's helped me.

I'm in the process of planning for a hysterectomy. I read this book BEFORE I interviewed surgeons. It was an extremely helpful resource for me to understand the various procedures to perform a hysterectomy, to learn about the decisions I need to make, and to fully understand the pros/cons and risks. As a result, my time in the doctors' offices has been much more valuable because I was better prepared. I highly recommend this book!

I thought this was an Awesome book on the subject. It is a Must for anyone needing or planning to have a Hysterectomy. Info for both before and after. Would also be a good idea for partners to read as well.

Being scheduled for a hysterectomy can be very scary. In my effort to become an informed patient, I scoured the available books for help. After buying several, I found this one. So very helpful. It included all the information I needed. Both physically and mentally. So well written and easy for the lay woman to understand. This is the only book you really need.

this is the book to read if you are having (or have had) a hysterectomy and don't want to be preached at or told that you are making a mistake, as so many books out there do.
clear and understandable writing, very informative without too much jargon. covers all the angles, from diagnosis to recovery and beyond.
even if you think you know everything or close to it, this is an invaluable resource.

This is a fascinating medical 'thriller', only it's real! it was nearly impossible to stop listening to it and i think anyone who likes medical thrillers or anything related to the medical field, would love this.
The book focuses on prions and their role in disease, especially 'mad cow disease'.

This is a very scary book. The Family that Couldn't Sleep by D. T. Maxd was a very thought provoking study of some of the neurodegenerative diseases that have eluded our understanding. Most of those that the author mentions are truly horrific to the individual who suffers them and to their families. I started my nursing practice on a neurology ward where I encountered many of the maladies the author describes. What was particularly disturbing to me was that years later many of these insidious diseases are as little understood as they were when I first encountered them. The sufferer of ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis--often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease" after the baseball player who died from it--still finds medical science unable to offer much more than they did when it was first described. Huntington's Disease still devastates families that carry the genetic misprint. While the treatment of myasthenia gravis has progressed to some degree, that of Alzheimer's disease (the old organic brain syndrome or pre-senile dementia) and Creutzfeld-Jacab Disease (formerly referred to as Jacob-Creutzfeld's) are still in their infancy. The similarity between the latter disorder and Kuru has been known for years, but understanding and treatment elude us. According to the author, even the prion concept has its detractors. If nothing else the author was certainly able to capture the devastation that such disorders cause their sufferers and their families. In my early practice I met a man who came in with mild neurological symptoms; he received a diagnosis of Huntington's, and within months he became a changed person because of the unrelenting course of his disease. He ultimately ended up in a nursing home, more or less "insane." Worse yet was the fact that both of his children had a 50-50 chance of having the disorder or of passing the disposition on to their own children. The heartbreak of his wife in witnessing his decline and than recognizing the symptoms anew in her son was awful.

By bringing these disorders and the agonies of the sufferers to public attention Max may well spur more intensive research into these many disorders. And it's about time.

The author's lively and even-handed treatment of Stanley Prusiner's research into prions, and Carleton Gajdusek's (Docta America's) field research into a New Guinea tribe's fatal brain ailment is compelling reading. Dr. Prusiner was accused of inflating his own research into neurodegenerative diseases and not giving credit to the scientists, such as Gajdusek, who came before him. An anonymous limerick starts out:

"There was a young turk named Stan/ Who embarked on a devious plan./ `If I simply rename it, I'm sure I can claim it,'/ Said Stan as he pondered his scam..."

Of course the thing he was accused of renaming rather than discovering is the prion (pronounced `pree-on' by Prusiner and `pry-on' by many British scientists). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), prions "are proteinaceous infectious particles that lack nucleic acids." The neurodegenerative conditions they cause include Kuru (a fatal condition found in the Fore tribe of Papua New Guinea, that was Gajdusek's area of specialty), Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI), and Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease (GSS) in humans, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or `mad cow disease') in cattle, chronic wasting disease (CWD) in American deer and elk, and scrapie in sheep.

All of these diseases have long incubation periods but progress rapidly once clinical symptoms begin. They are uniformly fatal. According to the author, two of the reasons that the cause for these diseases was so difficult to discover were (1) their long incubation period; (2) the prion's lack of nucleic acid, i.e. DNA or RNA.

How can something reproduce in our bodies and cause disease if it has no RNA or DNA?

D. T. Max attempts to answer this question with a gripping medical detective story, where the history of prion research is entwined with the fate of an Italian family infected with Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI).

"The Family That Couldn't Sleep" deserves a place on your bookshelf right next to Paul de Kruif's "Microbe Hunters" and Berton Rouche's "Medical Detectives."

This book does a lot to clear up the story of prions, what they are, what they do, how their threat is real. The Italian family who gives the story its title is but one instance of prions affecting human and animal life. The research is impeccable, and particularly interesting is the process by which medical and veterinary sciences came together to begin unraveling the prion mystery. Because, to be accurate, documentation on how livestock has been affected by prion disease had been, until recently, far more complete and detailed than human prion disease.

The author tells the story unemotionally, which is good, but the reading is far from arid or too technical. The human factor -- how scientists competed for the credit, sometimes damaging other professionals' reputations and careers -- makes it even more interesting. All this makes "The Family That Couldn't Sleep" a fundamental work for anyone who wants to understand these proteins better, and also for people curious about the inner workings of scientific research.

You may find yourself staying up all night to finish this fascinating book. Just be glad you don't share the wrong genes with the family of the title.

This account of prion-based spongiform encephelopathic diseases covers a lot of ground: the Italian family of the title suffering from FFI (fatal familial insomnia), the mysterious epidemic of kuru among the Fore tribe of New Guinea, eventually linked to the practice of eating their dead ancestors' brains, the rare genetically transmitted Creuzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD), various animal spongiform encephelopathies, from scrapie in sheep to mad cow disease to chronic wasting disease in deer. All of these diseases share a common feature - they are transmitted by an infectious agent of a kind thought until recently by scientists to be impossible, and the incubation time from infection to manifestation of disease symptoms is remarkably long. The culprits are *prions*, which are a type of rogue protein. The idea that a protein could act as an infectious agent flew completely in the face of scientific received wisdom to date when first introduced and the science underlying this class of degenerative brain diseases is both complex and controversial.

The author's exposition is clear, but ultimately I think he does not do complete justice to the material (which is really fascinating). It may be that his scope is too ambitious - with so much ground to cover, the exposition occasionally lapses into sketchiness. To be fair, there can be no single "right" level of detail that would suit all readers, and D.T. Max generally shows good judgement about what to include to keep the exposition intelligible while moving his story along.

That said, the material related to kuru, cannibalism among the Fore, and the linkage to scrapie, CJD, and mad cow disease has already been presented in the 1998 book by Richard Rhodes, "Deadly Feasts: Tracking The Secrets Of A Terrifying New Plague". I preferred the Rhodes account - his exposition of the science was clearer, and I thought he told a better, tighter story.

However, there's not that much to choose between the two, and Max's book does have the extra material about FFI, which is interesting in its own right. Max does make one misjudgement, in my opinion, which is to include an account of his own illness (he has been diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease which, although it is a neurodegenerative muscular disorder, is neither prion-related nor an amyloid plaque disease). Inclusion of this essentially irrelevant material is a distraction, which just muddies the exposition.

One final criticism is that Max includes an unquestioning discussion of putative geographical "clusters" of CJD cases, based solely on their identification by patients' family members, whom he refers to as "Creutzfeldt Jakobins" (a hideous, tin-ear coinage, which he seems to think is clever). These so-called clusters are almost certainly spurious, based on an incorrect application of the relevant probability models and Max's failure to identify the error detracts from his objectivity as a science writer and contributes to a presentation of disease spread scenarios which are unduly alarmist. The discussion of possible treatment options in the final chapter also struck me as weak, an over-interpretation of what are essentially just anecdotal data. One sees this kind of over-interpretation all the time in the popular press, but I would have expected better from a science writer as experienced as D.T. Max.

However, these are minor criticisms of this well-written account of a fascinating subject.

As an accomplished pianist, teacher and adjudicator I spend most of my time with individuals of all ages. Teaching and adjudicating are perhaps the most challenging of all! Like Brad Cohen, I have Tourette Syndrome and growing up as a "baby boomer", a time when extremely little was known about Tourettes, teasing, being bullied and considered a virtual headache to my teacher's made my life a living hell. All I had to turn to was my God given gift of music!
Brad Cohen grew up with the same horrific challenges that Tourettes brings with it. A teacher is someone every student should be able to turn to for support, a shoulder to lean on, a friend, when you feel your own are not there for you. Growing up in this day and age is a daunting task. Brad Cohen knows this all too well, and shows his understanding of it through his actions as a teacher. He knows what it is like to not have teachers there when he needed them most in his life. He turned having TS, a debilitating disorder into a tool of support and understanding for those lives he touches everyday. New disorders are being discovered at an alarming rate. The future teachers and classrooms are not yet equipped to handle what lies ahead for them. My niece is a teacher and she can hardly cope with the demands of her position as they stand. Teachers will need the support of people like Brad Cohen travelling to various school boards as I do as a Music Therapist to educate new teachers on how to integrate students with disorders and other issues into the classroom. Teachers' Colleges will have to provide the means to offer clinical studies in what lies ahead such as Tourette Syndrome, ADD, ADHD, learning disorders , behavioral problems and so much more. Educating our teachers as Brad Cohen has educated his students and fellow teachers is paramount if the future of our world's children will have a chance to survive what lies ahead of them. Teacher Assistant's will need to become a necessity in every classroom, and trained in specific areas. One teacher per class will no longer be enough, if those students who require extra attention are going to be successfully integrated into the classroom of the public school system.
Brad Cohen has touched the lives of so many students in his life as a teacher! They say that if you can touch the life of one person, you have done your job. Brad Cohen has surpassed this objective time and time again!
I can only hope, that more people like Brad Cohen will give of their talent's as I try to do as a music therapist, to educate and help prepare the schools, teachers' and students' of tomorrow!
I once received a letter from a student I adjudicated in a competition, and it said; "not often enough in life, do we take the time to say "Thank You", thank you sir for your knowledge and encouragement, it means so much!"
Now it is time for me to say "THANK YOU" to Brad Cohen, a teacher who has touched many lives."
To everyone in the profession of teaching, this is a book that will positively "re-charge" your love of being an educator!

Author: Raymond Vacchino M.Mus.(Per) M.Mus.(MT) A.Mus. Licentiate, L.R.S.M. AMTA (professional member)

This book is great for so many reasons. Anyone can read this and walk away with something. If you have Tourettes (or any disability), it is such a positive, supportive, encouraging story. I wish I had boxes of this book to pass to every teacher, doctor, friend, grandparent, parent and child. Tourettes is something almost everyone in the world will encounter in some way. Disability dicrimination, is unfortunately also something everyone will encounter in some way. This book provides a unique, well written perspective of life with an uncontrollable, misunderstood disorder. I reccomend it to you.

This was the most amazing book I've ever read. My son was recently diagnosed, and I am so encouraged after reading Brad's book. He is reading it himself now. I am an elementary classroom assistant as well, and am grateful for the insight it provided me in working with students with various disabilities. I think reading this book should be a requirment for all teachers, and anyone working in the school setting, regardless of thier position. Thanks so much Brad! I was so sorry when the book ended, because I enjoyed reading it so much. I am purchasing it as a gift for a teacher as well. I will enjoy telling many people about this very special book.

I too am a teacher with Tourette Syndrome (TS) and have experienced many of the same things that author Brad Cohen describes in this fascinating book. All of his life, Cohen has worked to overcome his disability. Even when he became ultimately successful, Cohen has still experienced difficulties. For example, even as an adult, he has been asked to leave restaurants and other public events. A few times, however, this has worked to his advantage. While at the Olympics in Atlanta, for example, a number of patrons complained about his tics. But instead of being expelled, Cohen was reseated in a better seating area.

His parents were divorced and, for most of his early life, his father was distant from him. In elementary school and junior high, Cohen was often ridiculed and mocked by other children. Teachers mistakenly thought that he was doing his tics purposely in order to disrupt the class, and punished him accordingly. Many children with TS also have comorbid ADHD and OCD. Cohen described how hard it is to read and comprehend a book. The average person should imagine trying to comprehend a book while it is jerked around every few seconds.

In time, Cohen was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome (TS). He was taken off stimulants, which, in common with many others with TS, only aggravated his condition. His first experience with a TS support group was not at all positive. Members of the group focused on the negative, not how to overcome it and be successful. This is not what Cohen needed to hear. In time, Cohen learned how to educate others about his disorder. Unfortunately, in junior high, there were too many individuals who refused to be educated. However, he did have a supportive principal who allowed him to speak to a school gathering about his condition.

Cohen developed socially by being involved in Jewish organizations. By high school, things got better. The students increasingly overlooked his tics and accepted him as a person. He began to dream of being a teacher.

When Cohen went to Bradley University, he learned not only educational theory but also got valuable hands-on teaching experience with children. But when he tried to get his first teaching job, the door kept getting slammed in his face. Ultimately, he had to go through some 25 principals before he found one that would hire him. "I just cannot see you as a teacher", one candidly remarked. Things seemed hopeless. It looked as if Tourette Syndrome had won over him. But he refused to give up his dream.

Finally, he was hired, and proved himself to be an excellent teacher. He at first taught second grade, and made every child feel wanted. Cohen made the following observation (p. 160) which should be a challenge and inspiration to all teachers: "If you want to feel secure, do what you already know how to do. If you want to be a true professional and continue to grow...go to the cutting edge of your competence, which means a temporary loss of security. So whenever you don't quite know what you're doing, know you're growing."

Brad Cohen's first hand account of how he became a teacher despite having Tourette's syndrome isn't great writing, but if you've ever known someone with Tourette's you know how amazing his story is. Happily most people today know what this disease is--as I was growing up with a brother who had it, no one did. If you haven't seen it, it's hard to imagine the noises, tics, cursing, and mental agony of living with this incurable problem. Cohen's book gives an intimate look at what it feels like to have your body taken over by urges that can't be controlled. He also sensitively portrays the distress and confusion of parents who try to deal with a problem for which modern medicine is almost useless. Again we see a situation where young children in the classroom can accept behaviors that the wider world can't tolerate, and Cohen's openness about his problem with these children is the secret of his success. One gets the sense Cohen's life will always be a struggle--although he has many friends there's no mention of a woman in his life, and gaining acceptance with new people is always going to be a risky business. But his courage is amazing. This book should be required reading for any child who doubts his worth as a person because of this terrible disease.