Medicine Books

An enjoyable meditation, helping me to reconcile my ambivalence towards certain people while appreciating both the differences and the similarities between them, myself and others that I admire. Helpful for changing attitudes...

This CD has really helped me to develop a more positive attitude towards life. I try and do this practice every morning, as it sets me up for the day in that I feel more connected with people and more sympathetic towards them. I am an experienced meditator and can really recommend this CD to both those who are new to meditation as well as those who are more experienced. Highly recommended!

I'd been practising the Metta Bhavana (Development of Kindness) in it's traditional form for about 25 years when I came across Vidyamala and Sona's adaptation of it. I think both ways of doing it are very good, but Vidyamala and Sona have adapted the practice specifically for people suffering from chronic pain and/or other chronic conditions, and I think it works very well. It helps you to empathise first with your own suffering, but then to expand outwards to use your pain as a point of empathy with all beings. Fantastic!

I would like to recommend the Breathworks Kindly Awareness meditation CD to anyone. I received it soon after being diagnosed with breast cancer and I found the CD very helpful, as it was hard at times to feel love and compassion for myself. I am sure this benefited my immune system, along with the other Breathworks Cds, which helped my recovery.

I particularly enjoyed the quality of Vidyamala's voice on the CDs - gentle, balanced and authoritative.

KINDLY AWARENESS
I have always loved this meditation for the feeling of love and intimacy to my friends strangers and the whole world that it gives but recently I had even greater reason to be thankful for it.

I was sent away from home for 6 weeks when my brother was born when I was 1year old. Then I was sexually abused by my father from when I was 5 to about 9. This is the first time I have written about these experiences but I am writing to show how much the Kindly Awareness and mindful moment practice can help even someone who has been deeply disturbed. These experiences have left me depressed and very scared of being alone. I have had lots of Counselling and lots of medication, some of it helpful and insightful(for a long time I didn't know why I was scared) some of it not.

Recently my eldest son went to live abroad for 2 years after living in Bristol and this induced the most terrible panic attacks in me. Then my younger son decided to leave home. I also got a terrible virus which relapsed my M.E. It was back on the merry-go-round of drugs and anti-depressants so that I just slept all day. Then when I managed to drag myself to a Retreat day and we were practicing the Kindly Awareness meditation (which I had been avoiding because I was scared to think about my feelings). Especially I have always been scared to have my father as the person I have difficulty with in case it brought on flash backs, overwhelming anger or fear. I cleared my mind to think how I was feeling emotionally, physically and mentally in THIS moment and it came to me that in this moment I am safe and in the next moment and the next moment. In other words when I cleared all the worries, fears, hang ups from the past out of my head for a moment I learned that I can be safe in each moment. Now every time I feel the fear coming back and I have accepted that it will come back instead of trying to avoid it (and avoiding issues takes such a lot of energy) I think to myself am I safe in this moment? If I am safe in this moment I can continue to be in each moment in spite of all that has happened. Of course there will be times in everyone's life occasionally that we are not safe, accidents and crimes do happen but they come from the real world and not in my fears and fantasies from the past which have dominated my life to now. Kindly Awareness and mindfulness is turning my life around.

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This textbook is great! Although I am not taking the class, I am enjoying the book. I am already in the field and the class size was limited, so they gave me the name of textbood they will be using an I purchased the book. I can see myself and colleages buying additional books in our field in the future. Thank you.

I was very pleased!! fast delivery & a cheaper price
than the college bookstore!!

The course that I will be taking this semester is language development and disorder from birth through adolescence and this book is a required text. I have already read through the book just to make sure I can keep up with the pace of the class. I am really impressed with the organization and readability. There are wonderful charts and visuals that really helped to solidify concepts. IEP sample pages are just general so be sure to look at what your state offers. There are great sample forms for you to tweak and use and the tables a color coded. So much less highlighting. I will definitely be using this book often well beyond the parameters of this course!

This has to be one of the top 5 books in the field. Dr. Paul is the most devoted of scholars, and you can tell this from the careful way in which the text is composed. Her editorial style is highly readable, and her vast knowledge and wisdom do not come across in the horrible erudite manner that so many texts do. This is a wonderful treasure for every single SLP's library.

The revised version proven to be another paramount work by Professor Rhea Paul. It contains more updated contents written in a search-easy format. The updated knowledge captures the latest development in speech-language pathology for children. The author inspires the readers to be up-front with newest evidence-based practice.

Should be titled, "Lessons from someone who attends to the Dying."

Mr. Smith is up to something important. I was expecting, and left hoping for more reportage style writing. Most of the writing is editorial which makes its value to the reader dependent on how the reader likes the authors style. It is too preachy for my taste, however others may like it.

I am hoping Mr. Smith writes a sequel and focuses on the stories and insights of his clients. With his background and his exposure to hospice clients, it is enough simple to report back from the field.

-this book is written with the heart. Every word is necessary and chapter by chapter it all falls into place. Each sentence can be the subject of hours of meditation. Read it and practice it every day.

Rodney has articulated a way for all of us to live. Through the lives of the dying we gain insight into our own fears. Are we willing to learn these lessons or continue to fear every ending we face?

This book is a compelling and inspiring read for anyone willing to be introspective about the way they live their lives. Rodney Smith writes a very readable book that guides us into appreciating the very profound yet simple concept of being alive. Once we truly face the fact that our lives will come to an end and we will die - then we become free to experience the joy of life.
And he gives us some case studies of people facing imminent death in hospices. In the final days and moments of life many of those people come to recognize what life is really about - and it's not about the stuff they've accumulated, nor about the power and prestige they used to enjoy. It's about the quality of life itself and the love they've shared with people, animals and nature.
He shows us that life is a journey, not a series of destinations. Reading this book has made a profound impact on my life.

Rodney Smith has such a calming voice, there is a peaceful reflective tone contained within it. He spent a total of 8 years in monastic life, both at the Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts and several years as a monk in Asia. He was ordained a monk in Burma, then practiced for 3 more years in Thailand. In 1983 he left life as a monk to come back to the world and, after coming back to the West, started working in hospice and teaching vipassana meditation. He is currently the head teacher of The Seattle Insight Meditation Society, whom you can find on the web and listen to a plethora of online dharma talks he has given. Truly magnificent site.

Rodney has dedicated much of his life to helping those who are dying, a point made clear considering his work in hospice management for the last 16 years. This book is wonderful in it's presentation. As another reviewer points out, this is a book about living above all else. Rodney has pulled together here several eye opening accounts about the diverse ways folks have handled their last moments. Here Smith relates us all to death with reflection on becoming unguarded and vulnerable. On learning from our experiences while living so that we can overcome this fear of the unknown. So that we can listen to others more clearly, more succinctly and perceive their suffering as well as our own. Purchase this book, it's a Dharma Gem.

my husband has parkinsons with dementia and i have been reading it to him. he has related to most of the things the Dr. has told of his experienced. i feel it has made him feel better about himself. i must say i feel the same because i am his caretaker and i see this everyday. anyone with parkinsons or anyone that has someone with parkinsons should pick up this book and read it. sincerly. L. Holt

THis is a very factual and intense book. It was well written and will most definitely hold your attention.

Being a medical professional, I was very engaged the moment I saw Dr. Grabys and his wife on the news media.

I was moved to buy his story of this debilitating disease that has stolen his life and career. It is very much worth reading, and i applause Dr. Grabys for his honesty and willingness to share with everyone how this devastating disease has affected his life.

My husband has both Lewy Body dementia and Parkinsons. It was so helpful to me, and to my husband to learn more about these diseases from someone who has them also. First hand information and experiences are far above all the doctors input and other books. Thanks to Dr.Graboys for taking the time to help others while in the midst of his own debilitation.
We are truly grateful.
Dolores Schroeder

This story parallels my own experience with Parkinson's Disease in several ways. My journey with PD began about the same time as the author's. In addition, we are the same age. I appreciated his candor and honesty in expressing his thoughts and feelings about the disease. I intend to use several portions he wrote to communicate my feelings to my own family. Often it is difficult to express myself in ways that they can understand. I feel fortunate not to have Lewy Body Disease as well as PD. His life is much more challenging than mine because of that factor.I am also thankful that my faith in God assures me of my final destination in heaven where there will be no more disease or pain. Darlene Palermo

The author is a top cardiologist, famed in the medical field. Suddenly he finds himself displaying symptoms of an unknown disease. Like many of us, his first step is denial. When he starts exhibiting a worsening of his symptoms, he can no longer ignore the disease. For those not in the profession, this is an eye-opener. Somehow, we feel that doctors are super-humans. This story shows us the opposite. Parkinson's is progressive and unrelenting; knowing how it will end us heartbreaking. Having this man write about it reveals the depths of his personality and soul. I recommend this book to all; none of us is immune to death!

This was by far the most comprehensive, detailed and informative book on Parkinson's disease I have read.
The author is an Early On Set Parkinson's patient and yet, with support, has been able to continue to raise his family and work full-time at his job as Editor of the Los Angeles Times.

He thoroughly investigates medications and other medical proceedures available and their benefits and disadvantages, which I found extremely helpful- certainly more information than I received from any physician.

Further, the author discusses, with amazing frankness, his own physical and mental challenges, which takes it beyond pure information to a story of courage and personal growth.

Joel Havemann brings the journalist's practiced eye for detail, detachment and clarity of expression to the task of understanding, describing and coping with Parkinson's. He also allows his heart to speak and the result is a work that should be especially valuable to those who have themselves have recently received a Parkinson's diagnosis or who have a close relative or friend thus stationed.
The book offers clear and interestingly presented facts about the various drugs, treatments and hopeful research that become an integral part of having Parkinson's, as well as the historical and public policy context in which those elements have evolved in the centuries since the disease was first identified. There is just the right mix of facts, opinion and sometimes barely concealed disgust in Havemann's treatment of these matters.
As valuable as those chapters are, I think many will find Havemann's account of his personal odyssey and that of his family to be the more valuable aspect of his book. He is unstinting in his descriptions of the physical and mental effects of the disease and frank about his occasional failures to deal with those effects as effectively as he would like. He also spares little in telling of his fears about the disease's potential progress and what it could mean for him and his family.
I can't think of a better preparation for confronting the many challenges and crises that accompany the arrival of Parkinson's in the life of an individual and family. A Life Shaken is strongly recommended.

Other books about PD scared the heck out of me, but Havemann's sense of humor and indomitable spirit have changed my perspective. I'm not afraid anymore. Thank you Joel. The book is honest and straightforward. He describes what happens to a brain with PD so clearly that I finally understand it!

Author Joel Havemann weaves his own story of living with this progressive neurological disease with a clear and carefully researched explanation that ranges from symptoms and drugs to challenges and the outlook for a cure. "For an adventure it is - not one that I would have chosen, but an adventure all the same." Mr. Havemann, an editor with the Washington bureau of the Los Angeles Times, helps us look at the human brain and its intricate yet magnificent operation, and the disastrous consequences of even the simplest misfire. He has created an excellent reference guide for caregiver, family member and patient alike that affirms the paradox of our own frustrations and hopes for the future. We feel Mr. Havemann's determination to keep going for his family, anger at the debilitating symptoms, and belief that the scientific and medical communities will deliver an answer.

Mr. Havemann provides us with an incredibly personal view into Parkinson's disease. His wit, candor, and superb writing style draws the reader into his story to such a degree that it is difficult to disengage. While telling his story he concurrently entertains and educates the reader as to where medicine stands with regard to research and current treatment, and how individuals cope. I'm looking forward to his next work.

This book is an extraordinary account of a deep friendship between a terminal cancer patient and a surgeon - the sort of thing that "is not supposed to happen." The physician allows her empathy for the dying patient to blossom into a full-blown, outside-of-the-hospital friendship including international travel together, and culminating in the writing of this book. The patient, a professor of comparative religion, maintains her zest for life and outgoing personality until the disease gets the best of her. The physician, having an undergraduate degree in comparative religion, is taken in by deep conversations and the importance of living in the present insisted on by the patient. The two form a poignant picture of caring friends, interrupted only by the disease itself. Quite a story! One of those "can't put it down" books.

Spirituality and medicine seems an unlikely combination until you read The Light Within. Finally we have a doctor who addresses the need for doctors to get involved with their patients lives when those patients are faced with a terminal illness. The interweaving of the two stories allows us to understand what the real meaning of spirituality is for both the doctor and the patient. Each helps the other to grow and deepen their own lives in-spite of difficult emotional setbacks. Even though the patient dies the reader is left feeling positive and grateful to have had the chance to get to know these two remarkable women. In this time of difficult medical connections which seem to revolve around paperwork and short visits it is heartening to know that there is a Dr. Ramondetta who is out there fighting for all of us.

This is a fascinating account of the intersection of two lives, one a patient with a fatal ovarian cancer and the other a very caring physician . What makes the book so interesting and startling is the unique dispositions and personalities of the main characters and how this chance association produced a vibrant chemistry that enriched both of their lives as well as others upon whom the 'light within" was reflected. The book is very well written and is a must read for physicans and patients alike.

I connected to this book on so many levels...as a breast cancer survivor; a caregiver/support person for many friends and relatives with cancer; and a former MD Anderson employee with a special interest in the complexity of physician-patient communications and relationships. It's quite remarkable that Dr. Ramondetta was able to step beyond the traditional "limitations" of her role as a cancer doctor, in order to develop such a deep and enduring relationship with her patient Deb. Clearly, both their lives were the better for having met each other. How inspiring it must have been for Deb to know that her cancer diagnosis created the opportunity to have such a wonderful relationship.

I hope everyone who has or will encounter Cancer World (that means all of us, eventually) has a chance to read this book. Kudos to Dr. Ramondetta and Deb for taking the time and spending the emotional energy to create this wonderful legacy and testament to the power of love and friendship.

It seems odd to read a memoir by someone you know, describing events to which you were something of a witness, but I found my friend Lois Ramondetta's newly published book, The Light Within, to be a great read and a moving account of her friendship with co-author Deborah Rose Sills that began when Sills was a patient at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and ended with Sills' death from ovarian cancer in 2006. Lois is a Gynecological Oncologist and met Sills in 1998 when Lois was a newbie cancer doctor at M. D. Anderson. The book weaves together a number of threads and discusses cancer and its treatment from the perspective of both patient and physician, alternating passages written by Lois with passages written or dictated by Deb. It's also an account of the personal lives of the two women and describes how their growing relationship enriched both of those lives. Highly recommended.

I received Joseph's book as a gift...a true gift it was. Being a Client of Joseph's and being privileged to experience his Healing Programs and the use of his products, this book was naturally the next experience for me. It's wonderful to have knowledge so vital to our very being, shared, and Living in Beauty shares the knowledge of Marma science with the inspirational power to guide anyone toward their desired state of health, beauty and vitality. This is a beautiful book written by a truly beautiful Master.

I have studied health, meditation and martial arts for 25 years. I have meditated with Saints and been to some of the best Ayur Vedic healers, Network Chriopractors, Reiki masters, in the world. Joseph can quickly and accurately give you all the answers you have been searching for. And explain why it is you have made so little progress with all the help you had recieved. This book is wonderfull in its ablity to explain simply some very complex ideas, and to inspire you to a pure vision of yourself. One you knew was there all along but were not able to quite reach. As the book describes, Joseph was born gifted and then stuided many years with masters of herbology, Indian martial arts etc, and has continued even further to work towards a real vision of "perfect health". I have bought 3 for myself and others. God bless Joseph Kurian.

From dieting, exercise, gyms and spas to plastic surgery, many of us are focused on beauty and happiness from the outside. Joseph Kurian shows us how to use our gifts from God--our bodies, minds and spirits--to become the most beautiful beings that we can be. From the inside out. So eloquently written, I found myself reading and re-reading each word to absorb as much as possible. Not only an interesting and educating read but a practical guide which I know I will use as my health "bible".

A client of Joseph Kurian's for the last few years, I instantly felt and saw the positive and life altering effects of Joseph's creams, herbs and oils and rejuvenation treatments. Now I fully understand the history and methodology of his work and why I now feel better than I can ever remember.

What a wonderful gift God has given us through Joseph Kurian. Please read Living in Beauty and pass it along to your loved ones--I have!

I highly recommend Living in Beauty. Joseph Kurian is a gifted healer and this book helps one have a better understanding of what he does and how it works. I am an educator. The section of the book that I found to be the most profound and validating is his section on children and their well being. I have intuitively felt that children need to be with their mother,who stays at home for at least a few years and ideally for many in order for them to have a good foundation for harmonious living. Joseph talks about how children do best when they are home their mother for at least one year and ideally for 3 years and are breast fed for a year and a half. He also adresses the issue of birth and talks about how placing the child on the mothers chest and not cutting the umbillical cord until after it stops pulsing really helps. My intuition tells me that these practices are more healthy and natural than what typically goes on in many hospitals in the United States. This book is a validation for what I have seen and have felt works best for children in order for them to feel secure and develop loving relationships. Read Live In Beauty! It helps one to understand a different modality of healing.

I found myself reading Joeseph Kurian's book almost non stop. I have read many of the current offerings in this area of Ayur Veda and Indian literature. This book is set apart by the living knowledge it provides for us to use on a daily basis to gain maximum health, beauty, and vitality. He ties together the connection between the individual and the universe we live in most clearly. Living in Beauty is simple and clear in describing the daily self help practices of this Vedic tradition. Marma science is the root and most powerful aspect of any of the Indian healing arts and J. Kurian is a true Master in that pure oral tradition of South India.

I'd wonder how much time and frustration it would take finding out all this in depth information about the country and it's attractions myself. Especially since we didn't know much about Poland in the first place. It was a true blessing having this book around, especially since many Poles at places you need it most often don't speak English or German. Only price information should need some adjustment (which might have something to do with EU membership related inflation?). I used the print which was updated in Jan 2005, but some prices already doubled!

I recently went to Poland for the first time and found this book to be an absoutely wonderful guide to Warsaw, Krakow, and the Auschwitz concentration camps. All too often guide books that cover an entire country lack the kind of detail a traveler needs, but this book did not suffer that problem at all. The section on Warsaw was actually better organized and contained more detailed factual information than the DK book dedicated solely to that city. This was the only book I needed to help me get around Krakow and Auschwitz as well. I can't speak for the hotel and restaurant recommendations in the book because I never used any of them, but as far as information about historical sites and points of interest this is an outstanding book.

Update: In planning for my second trip to Poland, I recently purchased the Rough Guide to Poland, and I have to say it is even better than the Lonely Planet book because it includes quite a lot more detail. If you only buy one book, get the Rough Guide. But if you buy two, the Lonely Planet book is also very good.

My wife's maternal grandparents hail from Poland, so when planing a Eurpoean vacation for this summer, Poland it was. As independent travelers, we have always favored Lonely Planet travel books in the past. Once again Lonely Planet delivered the goods. Detailed descriptions of things to see & do, places to stay, and various methods of transportation. Additional internet rescources for finding more hotels than the ones reviewed. I would recommend this series of travel books to all from young backpackers to mature (myself) travelers.

Lonely Planet has been known for covering EVERYTHING in it's books. Thie one really does have a big flaw. Sites are quite OK and hotels are good too - though sometimes choices may be strange. However shopping is done dreadfully - at least in Warsaw. If your happy with the souvenirs you bought using this book, then you are quite lucky. Many shops with fine hand craft, genuine Polish hand-made are unlisted. Also shops with Jewish memorabilia, getting more popular after turbulent history tend to be missing. And when you come to normal shopping its a complete disaster! You wanna hang out in a mall or buy clothes a lot cheaper then in western Europe? Sure... Tourists and Ex-pats do it. But for sure NOT using Lonely Planet. The ever popular Arkadia Mall (biggest in this part of Europe), a place where English, German, French, Spanish and other languages are often heard as often as Polish is missing. So is the not much smaller and also popular with expats Galeria Mokotów. And what mall do tehy list? The dull out-skirt Sadyba Best Mall with a few stores, the usual fast-food joints and a few crappy stores. And it's lonely planets best tip on shopping? Come on! Almost no one goes there, except primary school trips (it's only attraction is the IMAX cinema).

I am puzzled by teh Warsaw shopping chapter. You can't come to the city and not here of Arkadia or Galeria Mokotów. If you see them, you can't recommend the crappy Sadyba Best Mall. So either someone didn't reaserch shopping at all (and just went to SBM) or Lonely Planets standards are dropping and the choice was made in some different dark ways. I just hope the ownership was not an issue. SBM is the only American mall. Arkadia is European, Galeria Mokotów - Jewish and most others French... What other thing could have provoked such a choice?

As a Pole living abroad (but frequently visiting) I have the dual perspective of "a local" but also that of a tourist. This book is easily the best source of background information on all sites and places in modern Poland, from the well-known tourist attractions to the small villages off the beaten track. I was pleasantly surprised at the depth of historical, ethnographic and cultural information about many of those places.
Thanks to this book I managed to discover some interesting places in Poland that I should have known about, if not visited before. Once I got there, I found that relying on the information in the book (especially on "how to get there" or "where to stay") proved more reliable than the information available to the visitor "on the ground". My short trip to the Jura National Park, north of Cracow, was a perfect example of a trip I would not have done if it was not for this guidebook.
Thoroughly recommended to anybody planning to spend an extensive holiday in Poland, or for repeat trips; if your travel is limited to the main cities like Warsaw, Cracow or Gdansk you may find other guidebooks, specific to those locations, sufficient.

You need this book. It is easy to become so engrossed in Kauffman's easy writing style that you will continue reading and lose track of time. Thumb through and stop at any place and you are guaranteed to find a wealth of information. Detractors to the best toxic-free remedies are provided rebuttals--you can learn a comprehensive approach to what and why. Let's make this required reading in medical schools! The only error I found was a typo misspelling of Antiplatelet in the Fig. 1-2 Treatment Meta-Analysis Table (p. 21). Again, this book is so loaded with useful information you will constantly refer to it. On p. 232 and again on p. 254 we read, correctly, how sunblock contributes to cancer by blocking Vitamin D formation--something that Rodale Press in their vast publishings fail to impart. Rodale Press, whom some may consider a leader in preventive health publishing, recommends sunblock to unsuspecting readers.

The hallmark of clinical observations (p2-3) over random clinical trials [RCT] is a common sense approach often missed in the medical literature and is sometimes used to discredit bonafide treatments that elicit positive results. You will learn of the class-action lawsuit against Pfizer regarding Lipitor [still want to ask you Dr. if it's right for you?](p97) and that statins cause cancer (p98).

The section on fluoridation is a must read. "How Antiflouridationists Have Weakened Their Cause," to only non-English speaking countries having the foresight to reject fluoride, to 60% US public water supplies being fluoridated--we get the good, the bad, and the ugly. As fluorides have been shown to increase cancer risks, adding them to water violated the Delaney Clause of the 1958 Amendment to the Food Drug & Cosmetic Act of 1938. So, the Delaney Clause was repealed in 1996 (p.273). Also, adding fluoride violates the EPA policy on drinking water standards (Safe Drinking Water Act) explaining why the 1990 National Toxicology Program on sodium fluoride was "revised" with findings of "clear evidence of carcinogenicity" to "equivocal" evidence. This was necessary to keep the flouridation program legal (p274).

On mammograms, benefits claim lower breast cancer mortality without providing all-cause mortality. Kauffman reminds that this is also a major fault in "major texts in gynecology and oncology" (p217). However, I was surprised to find thermography cast in such low regard, but then this is coming from the American College of Radiology, who cites a false-positive rate of 25% (p.212). Kauffman clarifies this in Addendum 1, on an entire page devoted to Thermography, in which thermography is better "able to detect breast cancer 5-8 years before mammography with vastly fewer false-positive errors" (p.327).

On anti-oxidents in red wine, Kauffman notes no evidence that moderate drinking offers worthwhile health benefits (p.142). What Kauffman calls "sudden enthusiasm for red wine in the late 1990s," reminds of a medical school course in which the professor remarked his telling the grape juice convention promoters that their product wasn't needed--that wine was preferred. No mention was made by the professor of the far superior anti-oxident capability of 1 gram of Vitamin C--in comparison.

There is absolutely no reason that this book should not sell out and go through several subsquent printings. A valuable edition to your medical library or home book-shelf.

In Joseph Conrad's famous novel, "Heart of Darkness," Marlowe, the narrator of the central tale travels to the Congo in search of the enigmatic and elusive Kurtz, a renowned European ivory trader who went to Africa as an idealistic "emissary of pity, and science, and progress." Marlowe finally encounters Kurtz on his deathbed, in a compound surrounded by a ruined fence, the posts of which are capped with shrunken human heads. Kurtz, having succumbed to primitive, destructive forces-- both external and internal-- utters his last words-a withering realization of truth: "The horror! The horror!"

Readers of Joel Kauffman's book "Malignant Medical Myths" should prepare themselves for an analagous journey of discovery. Not only will they learn of the specifics: that taking an aspirin a day may not make you live longer; that low carbohydrate diets are beneficial, not dangerous; that statin drugs, while effective in reducing cholesterol-an irrelevant endpoint-do little to reduce mortality-and then only in a very select population; that high blood pressure is over-treated; that the benefits of moderate alcohol use, exercise, and mammograms are exaggerated; that chelation therapy is unfairly maligned; that fears of radiation are overdone; that cancer cure rates have not changed much in the last forty years.

More important than these specifics is the totality-the picture of the medical establishment which emerges from them. That establishment, like Kurtz, is often seen as a beacon of pity, and science, and progress, but, when examined more closely, seems corrupted by greed, an aversion to truth, and a kind of tribalistic conformity; it seems to lack the structures which would provide an ethical backbone, and promote a commitment to scientific thinking. The hospital compound, with its white coats and gleaming machines is shadowed and compromised by an ominous fence of grievous errors and unpleasant truths.

The first subheading in Dr. Kauffman's introductory chapter is: "You Do Not Have To Trust Your Doctor." The reasons gradually become clear: Doctors' recommendations often rely on information which is "outdated, biased, flawed, and sometimes based on outright fraud."
Drug companies manipulate the results of clinical trials by careful selection of volunteers, by elimination of those who show initial adverse side-effects, by publishing only favourable results, by dealing only with surrogate endpoints, by failing to use placebos, and by failing to provide total mortality figures. Relative risk statistics, which are often highly misleading are used to advantage. Abstracts of medical papers, and hence press releases, may contain selective and hence misleading information. Doctors may not only rely on information given by drug company representatives; they are feted, gifted, and even paid by drug companies. Doctors on decision-making committees and panels often have conflicts of interest because of financial ties to drug companies. Doctors have great difficulty in exercising independent judgement, because conformity to current thinking, no matter how mistaken, is the safest course.

"The horror! the horror!"

We should be grateful to Dr. Kauffman for the research he has done to expose these medical myths, and reveal the corruption which initiates and maintains them. I became aware of Dr. Kauffman's work in 2005, in researching the causes of heart disease. Dr. Kauffman is a former professor of Chemistry at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, and (according to biographical information on the back cover) has now "turned his attention to exposing fraud in medicine."

I think everyone should read this book, but there is no doubt that many will find it troubling. At the end of Conrad's novel, Marlowe meets with Kurtz's fiancee. When she asks what Kurtz's last words were, he responds: "The last word he pronounced was - your name."
He lies, because, in the end, the truth is too difficult. (It is the "necessity" of this lie that is the "Darkness" referred to in the title.) Dr. Kauffman is a Marlowe who has the courage to tell us what really happened.

This was exactly what I was looking for, INFORMATION and while it isn't a book for the beach, I will read and refer to it for many days,months and years. Would not part with this book.

One of the most remarkable examples of herd behavior among humans is their tendency to create and believe lore about medicine. Although biomedical researchers consider themselves above all this, as Kauffman shows, they are not. Without engaging in either inflated rhetoric or florid outrage, Kauffman exposes and dissects conventional wisdom in a careful selection of conditions that affect large numbers of people. Despite the occasional misstep, he puts the evidence and argument out on the table for us to see and judge. We cannot ask for more. When you are finished reading it, send it to your doctor.

If you care about your health, or that of those around you, this is a must read book.

This certainly isn't a book you can simply skim read. It took me a while to ponder about the impact this might have (I'm a medical student). The arguments are very well presented; he puts all the studies in front of you and analyzes them in a relevant manner.

What I consider to be a minor flaw in the book: the author sometimes concludes that certain differences in mortality are "negligible" when I don't think they are negligible. Certainly though, improvements in mortality rate are far easily attainable via fish oil, magnesium and other quality supplements.

I would love to see a new version of this book, further exploring and digging through the literature on various drugs and supplements.

I have used this book since 1992, both as a student and as a provider. My past editions have been well thumbed through and open imediately to the charts I used most. It is invaluable in the decision making process of changing pills or starting OCPs. The ability to safely manage side effects and fine tune women's health is found in this book. I highly recommend this to the student and experienced practitioner. Well worth the money, many times over. Not sure I would want it in a PDA format.

I daily use this handbook in my practice and have bought every edition since the 7th. Every question is answered. Allows sense to be made of oral contraceptive choice and adjustment without relying on big pharma's propaganda.

This book has clear guidelines for prescribing oral contraceptive agents. It provides a section on bothersome side effects, causal factors and options. The section on contraceptive activity is good as is the composition and identification section. Very helpful, easy to use and it takes the guesswork out of oral contraception.

Consistent in it's format, easy to use,concise and up to date. Recommended to all medical personnel managing patients on oral contraceptives. I have purchased the last three editions over the last 7 years and have not been disappointed.

An excellent reference guide and teaching text for every clinician who has a personal relationship with patients of reproductive age. The book fits in a lab coat pocket and has a unique design, which enables the user to find critical information quickly and easily. It is strongly recommended to physicians, residents, nurse practitioners and all other medical professionals in an OB/GYN clinic or teaching hospital. The 11th edition includes the new patch, ring and all new pills available 9/02.