Medical Books

Into the Blue: A Father's Flight and a Daughter's Return
this was a great book. It's really scary from the perspective that it reinforces what we hear that we must take charge (or someone must do so on our behalf) of our healthcare options.

Into the Blue is a funny, touching, inspiring and educational ride that we all need to take to deal with what this life may hand us. Edsall and her sister did amazing work with their dad in a situation many of us have or will have to deal with. Buy multiple copies and send them to everyone you love.

This book is the fascinating story of two sisters and their dad who was suffering from a stroke. The sisters are determined to get him back to his airplane. In this book the author underlines the support a patient needs from his doctor for a fast and safe recovery. This book will definitely be a welcome read to any one suffered from a stroke.

After eliminating my coffee habit with the help of a wonderful coffee substitute made from soya beans called "Soyffee", I'm feeling so much better. My doctor recommended it to help lower my cholesterol and promote strong bones. It's available online at www.S o y c o f f e e.com.

I loved this book! The writing was so sharp and funny, and the story is heartwarming and hilarious, without being overly sentimental.

Susan Edsall does suggest you go off coffee slowly before you start the plan. This would minimize headaches during detox. I couldn't wait to get started so, of course, did it all at once and had the most horrible awful headache for 4 straight days. I finally broke down and had a 1/2 cup coffee one day instead of taking aspirin and that did the trick...for the moment.

You feel as if you've known the author and her family all your life after reading this book, and you really care about them.

OK, I'm humble enough to admit I was wrong. When one of my best friends, a Volvo-driving soccer mom if there ever was one, suggested that I read and PURCHASE "Into The Blue", I was skeptical at best. Scenario: author and sister rehabilitate stroke-afflicted father so he can - *gag* - fly again. Yet another "chick" book. Ho-hum.

So untrue. It's been a long, long while since I've been so entertained, overwhelmed, affected, whatever, by a memoir. Susan Edsall has a great gift for writing, and for viewing the world by crushing the rose colored glasses. If this were simply a novel about how our heroine pulls her dad back from the abyss, it'd probably sell a bazillion copies in the romance section. "Into The Blue" is not simple - not by a long shot.

First off, it should be required reading for every med student, neurology resident, or anyone who has contact with stroke victims. The start of Edsall's tale is pretty grim; not for what happened to her father, but for the reaction of the medical community to his plight - indifference, condescension, and that "oh well, that's what happens, nothing we can do" type of nonsense that we've all seen too well from supposed professionals who you'd think would have more insight and creativity to go with all that specialized education.

Love of a parent pushes the Edsall family into a series of tough decisions, but the neat part of this book is the places that they come to as a result of these mileposts. The author seems as surprised as the reader at times by the way in which her father's stroke and her family's actions cause her (and all of them) to reconnect in new and very meaningful fashion. Susan's descriptions of her relationships past and present with her mother, her husband and above all her sister Sharon are hysterical - and very moving. I could relate 80 percent of her patter to my own family, which was an experience both interesting and disturbing!

This is a tremendous piece of writing, worthy of wide distribution and discussion.

The material was presented in a clear manner. should be easy to understand and implement. It is strange that people have not come to an agreement to the real cause of errors in your eyesight with all the advances in medicine - they can clone you if they want to but cant tell you why u cant see far off objects. i guess the bottomline is like the food industry oil, pharmaceutical industry,health industry- money is the driving force, they dont care if you go blind,get fatter, get weaker, unhealthier as long as they can give you temporary fixes without solving the problem so they can keep making money.

I bought this book and read through it over about four weeks and put together the main points. I then followed these main points and within only ONE week i had improved my vision from around 20/100 to 20/30. Thats in just one week, imagine one month. Very good book well worth the money.

This book has a ton of information in it. The most thorough I've ever seen. It may be a little too technical for some, but it is a great book!

When I bought this book in November 2007, my right eye was 20/100, and my left eye was 20/50. Both had additional corrections for astigmatism. I also had double vision, requiring a 2D prism (1D in each lens). In January 2008, I passed the drivers' exam with 20/40 on the right and 20/50 on the left. Three months later, I reached 20/20 on the right and 20/30 on the left, with no double vision. If you are stuck on the path to increasingly bad eyesight, get off. This book will show you how.

People with vision problems MUST purchase this book because IT WORKS. I was skeptical, at first, after reading all the tribute and praises for this book. I thought it just sounded too good to be true. Can a book really improve my myopic vision? But after trying out for a month what the book was preaching, I was surprised to find out my vision slowly improving. There seems to be less tension in my eye muscles too.

There are no exercises in this book, only HABITS to follow 24 hours/day and that, to me is the reason why your eyes will improve. You are practicing good vision habits, not just for 20 minutes a day which other vision books will tell you to perform as eye exercises, but 24 hours/day good vision habits for the rest of your life.

People who are considering having laser surgery done on their eyes should buy this book first because, not only are they saving money, they are also ensuring that their eyes will never have to deal with the various dangerous side effects of laser surgery.

The past few years I've been practicing various types of meditation and decided I wanted to combine meditating with movement, so I turned to the internal martial arts (Qigong, Tai Chi, Xiang Yi, Ba Gua). After speaking to several internal arts teachers from sound linneages, they all recommended starting with Qigong, and to spend at least half a year only mastering several postures before moving on to the other forms of the internal arts. I bought this book because Master Lam's method seemed in tune with this belief, and I was pleasantly shocked at the results of this book:

--The book says to expect changes over a span of weeks; after the first day alone my back felt more loose, stress free and relaxed then it had in years.
--I no longer have the need to drink caffeine in the morning to keep me up throughout the day.
--I've slowly started to be able to detect an actual physical presence of chi throughout my body (this is coming from a fairly rational/logical, non new-agey type of guy).
--My overall mood and energy has improved.
--I have a much more peaceful state of mind.
--My hypertention has been completely erased; I can calm anxiety driven behavior down much more easily, and have learned to control and regulate my breathing.
--It has helped my cardio activities, long distance running & basketball, immensely. I feel I have more endurance, more balance, and more confident in both sports.

I owe a huge thank you to Master Lam for publishing a book that is simply written and easy to understand, while containing a wealth of information about the forms, postures, breathing, visualizations, anecdotes, meridians, and other information about Qigong, and Lam's specialty of Zhang Zhuang in particular. I'm still shocked at how much learning these postures has improved my life and brought me both physical relief as well as inner peace. Highly recommended.

This system of movement has assisted me to release old tensions that I was unable to access or release in any other way. Truely a way to rejuvenation.

This book really does a good job of explaining standing (Zhan Zhuang) and Qigong to the beginner. My sifu had recommended that I do standing practice, and had taught me a qigong set, and I found that reading this book helped me along. Some of the things (such as the Ba Duan Jin qigong set) differ slightly from the way I was taught, but basically the book is right on the money, and does a good job of helping you understand what everything is for. I also like the warm up exercises before standing that he shows, they really do help. The book is very well illustrated also, which is a plus. Highly recommended, especially for anyone into internal martial arts.

This book is arguably the very finest introduction currently available to the practice of QiGong, especially for those who do not have access to a trustworthy living teacher. QiGong's burgeoning popularity has generated a plethora of both violently skeptical and credulously New-Agey essays. Rather than taking either on faith, you can actually experience internal Qi for yourself and make up your own mind as to its value, using this volume as a guide. Lam Kam-Chuen is one of a tiny handful of QiGong teachers who are fully qualified to write a practical instruction manual geared to the average Western person. For those who want to actually experience the truth about Qi for themselves rather than chew an academic cud of pre-digested dogma, this book is worth its weight in gold!

The Way of Energy provides a step-by-step, almost month-to-month introduction to the practice of Qigong.

Many Qigong books are too "Eastern" for Westerners to read, or are too technical/textbook like, spending many pages going over the meridians, cavities, times of day and orientation. This is required knowledge for advanced practicioners, but gets in the way and is intimidating for introductory students.

The Way of Energy starts of with a simple, straightforward standing meditation. After a brief introduction to Qigong, Part One introduces two standing positions, discusses how to start with a few minutes then work your way up to many, a good section on breathing and has an excellent section describing the sensations most people experience when starting Qigong practice (this section is worth the price of the book for most beginners).

Part Two (which the text recommends proceeding to after a few months) introduces the Eight Pieces of the Brocade Qigong exercies (called Ba Duan Jin in this text) and introduces three additional and advanced standing positions. The reader is instructed on how to integrate these two new pieces into their practice. While the Eight Pieces of Brocade positions vary slightly from other texts, their descriptions are excellent and their purpose briefly but clearly explained.

Part Three describes four advanced standing positions and imagery exercises for the practicioner to begin managing their Chi. The last part of the book describes how to integrate these disciplines into everyday life.

In summary, an excellent introductory step-by-step guide. For more technical works, I would recommend the Qigong Meditation series by Dr. Yang, Jwing Ming (Embryonic Breathing, Small Circulation and the forthcoming book on Grand Circulation).

I have read many medical memoir books and this tops them all! I also recommend "Another Day in the Frontal Lobe" by Dr. Katrina Firlik.

This book is phenomenal. The author's recount of his neurosurgery training is both gripping and funny. Some of the patients he treated and what happened to them will be forever engraved in my mind. Highly recommended.

I enjoyed reading this book a lot. This is not a type of book I am used to reading but it is very well written. The subject is very intersting and Mr. Vertosick makes it very easy to understand for people like me, who does not know a lot about subject.

I highly recommend this book. I am an R.N. and my husband is an electrical engineer and neither of us could put the book down. I've read it twice already. It's very well-written and shows a side of surgeons you never see in the hospital.

Originally published in 1996, "When the Air Hits Your Brain," by Dr. Frank Vertosick, is a mesmerizing insider's look at "an arrogant occupation" whose practitioners operate on the spinal cord and the human brain ("a trillion nerve cells storing electrical patterns more numerous than the water molecules of the world's oceans"). A neurosurgeon must be supremely confident in his ability to get the job done; if he were to dwell on everything that could possibly go wrong during a procedure, he would be too terrified to operate. Because of the high potential for missteps, neurosurgical training is an arduous seven years of hell. Before he starts treating "brain cancers, spinal cord injuries, head trauma, [and] lethal hemorrhages," a trainee must endure a grueling regimen of study which includes repeated humiliation at the hands of verbally abusive mentors. This is not a profession for the faint-hearted, for when neurosurgery is unsuccessful, the results can be catastrophic. Even if the patient survives, his cognition, speech, movement, and vision may be forever compromised. In the words of Gary Stancik, a sardonic chief resident, the brain is like a '66 Cadillac: "It was built for performance, not for easy servicing."

Vertosick fell into neurosurgery by happenstance. He spent some time as a steelworker, majored in theoretical physics, and wound up choosing medicine by default. In the years to come, he would have to adjust to impossibly long hours, inadequate sleep, and hit-or-miss meals. He would become adept at performing quickly and efficiently under pressure. However, none of his earlier experiences would fully prepare him for the emotional roller-coaster that lay ahead. He was destined to endure a trial by fire when faced with such cases as a six-week old infant born with a malignant tumor, a twenty-two year old woman with devastating multiple injuries resulting from an auto accident, a Vietnam veteran with an intracranial aneurysm, and a twenty-eight year old pregnant woman with a lump of cancerous cells in her brain. Fortunately, Dr. Vertosick enjoyed some notable successes; he was instrumental in helping a number of gravely ill patients resume normal lives.

Although it is vital to care about and communicate with each patient, Vertosick argues that it is a mistake to become too personally invested in each outcome. Hardest of all, one must accept the unpleasant fact that even brain surgeons can commit colossal blunders. On one occasion, Vertosick sank into despair when one of his patients died because of what he perceived to be his incompetence. He could have given in to his torment and self-loathing and abandoned his career, but he ultimately decided to "stop moping over one postoperative death." In the words of the aforementioned Gary, "Yeah, it's a nightmare, but that's neurosurgery. Land of nightmares."

"When the Air Hits Your Brain" is impeccably and stylishly written, with fascinating asides about the complexities of medicine and the human body. Vertosick's wry and irreverent black humor serves as a welcome respite from the book's often grim subject matter. In his postscript, which was written in 2007, the author provides updates on the changes that have occurred in the last decade: by law, residents are not allowed to work more than eighty hours a week, aneurysms may now be treated without resorting to invasive surgery, and new technologies such as deep brain stimulation and "frameless stereotaxis (a kind of GPS system for navigating the brain)" are revolutionizing the field. This is an intelligent, moving, and enlightening book and one of the most powerful and intimate accounts that I have ever read on the making of a surgeon.

This atlas has real cadaver photos for all areas of the body. The fact that the pictures are real will help when studying for a practical exam in anatomy. The only negative aspect is there are around 50 pins per page which could be annoying when searching for a part you want to find.

The Color Atlas of Anatomy was recommended to me as a reference for designing implantables and surgical instruments.

As a non-anatomist, I found the illustrations and cadaveric photographs to accurately reflect my cadaveric surgical trials in the wet-lab.

I often referred to this atlas while designing an Achilles Tendon repair instrument and other orthopedic surgical instruments.

There are not very many books of this type of presentation to begin with so I must be careful here as to how I may sway your opinion of high priced books. Color Atlas of Anatomy has been a staggering companion to my study of Human Anatomy. After careful study of Grey's Anatomy for Students along with Clinically Oriented Anatomy I don't believe I was ready for what was presented in the fifth edition of Color Atlas of Anatomy. Astounding revelation. I don't know there may be a few of you that have actual access to Anatomy Laboratories but I must say everything is in the right place as far as what I was told in the books mentioned above but this book is something else as far as what you see is what you get. Color photographs make short work of any pedantic ravings of the layman's terminology. I never did get to go to any medical school in North America but I'm sure that any student there would agree there is no trick photography here.

There are 1158 figures with 1035 in Color and CTs and MRIs as well. All in 8 chapters and over 400 pages. This is not a book to leave out for the hackers to scoff and judge so keep it under your bed or better still in your locker at your Medical School.

Most of the Medial Schools that I want into have this required or recommended as a text and unless you can say something's changed in the last hundred days since 2007 all is as it should be.

I consider this book to be a must for any anatomy student. The pictures are exactly what you will see when you enter the lab.

In case it isn't clear from the description or title, this is an anatomy atlas made up of photos of actual human bodies. I don't know why we didn't have this in A&P. Fascinating, and a nicely produced book as well.

While I have never directly gone through caring for a patient with alzheimer's disease, as a nurse I have cared for many such patients and had contact with their families. This account by the daughter of writer Mary Durant strips bare not only what the disease can do to a vibrant, intelligent person, but the effect it has on the psche of all family involved in the care of the alzheimer's victim. The journey begins with selfless determination and bravery, and soon has the caregivers directly involved reduced in a crazy-making world of desperation and guilt.
While this book can be devastating in its honesty it is not without humor, and the writing is nothing short of wondrous. Very few books have me reduced to tears at last turning of the page; this one did. These people will live on in your heart long after reading Death in Slow Motion.

but unlike the passage from 1 Corinthians, Eleanor Cooney's perception and view of Alzheimer's disease is clear, unmuddied and unlike any that I've ever read. As the disease clouds the memory and behavior of her mother, the range of emotions that I felt as a reader and witness were sometimes too much to bear.

This is a book that I first read when a condensed version appeared in a Harper's magazine article in 2001. I purchased the book shortly thereafter since my own mother had been diagnosed with the disease a year earlier at the age of 58.

I still pick up Death, in Slow Motion every few weeks. I can't tell you what a comfort it has been to me as I journey through the dark and twisted tunnel of care for my own mother. Although our circumstances are different, and the case of every Alzheimer's patient is truly unique, I felt and still feel as if I have met someone who is willing to hold up that mirror and tell me what I am in store for - but in a comforting, compassionate and very honest manner.

Eleanor Cooney has written the most eye-opening and honest account of Alzheimer's that I have ever read! I was a caretaker to my Mother who also had Alzheimer's and much of this mirrored our experience. It felt like someone was finally telling my story: I'm broke, I'm exhausted, I can't take it, I'm abusing substances, I love her, I sometimes wish she'd die, I miss her....I hate myself!

I don't always find authors or experts that have her down to earth way of relaying the real nitty-gritty experience of caring for someone with Alzheimer's. She's an intellegent, strong woman who jumped head-first into the role of caretaker of her Mother, Mary who was beginning the long decline of Alzheimer's. This is a task many children take on and barely survive. Eleanor Cooney is definately a survivor and a brilliant, funny, brutally honest author.

But Eleanor Cooney is also a wonderful storyteller. I feel like I have been in these Connecticut neighborhoods and homes, and have met this cast of characters that tell the exciting story of Mary Durant's life. I especially feel like I've met someone special, Mary. It's hard to remember the person that's inside that Alzheimer's shell. Eleanor has done her Mother proud and left a loving memory of a very beautiful, creative and unusual person.

As the author remarks of Alzheimer's: "you will never be the same once it's paid you a visit." I have not been the same since I've read this book! Do yourself a favor and take this journey!

I bought this book because I had to for a Psycology class report. I read this in 1 day and was pulled in by the true, raw emotion described in this real story about the author and her mother. It is the kind of book you want to read about a subject you want to look away from. I recommend this for anyone who has a loved one suffering with Alzheimers, in the medical feild, or just someone who wants a gripping, powerful read.

p.s. I bought this book used.....wonderful condition...used is the way to go for any college student! low $$$$

This superbly interesting book reads like a story. She has done something major for anyone taking care of a person with Alzheimer's Disease. Her amazing honesty is like a breath of fresh air, and the book helped me more than any other book or support group.

I got this book for a graduate class I am taking in immunology; although, I didn't really need it, it was helpful.

I am a 2nd year medical student and I used this book to pre-read before my immunology lectures. This book explains everything with the right amount of detail. The author takes difficult concepts and clarifies them without oversimplifying concepts. This book clarifies difficult concepts that immunology textbooks are horrible at explaining.

I'm a first year vet student and have read this text over the summer to get my feet wet. Excellent. Its just enough to explain the real mechanisms of specific cells and immune functioning. I would highly recommend as this text gives a thorough explanation to very difficult material.

For someone with no immunology background this is a great place to start. I wish I'd known about this book before taking immunology in medical school. It is short enough and such engaging writing that I'd strongly recommend reading it before taking an immunology course. This book isn't going to be one you go to for specifics about this receptor or that cytokine it's all about understanding how all the parts fit together.

This is one of the best books I have read in Medicine, for its ease and information. It stimulates you to go and read more.

After I had hysterectomy 6 months ago, I started HRT as my doctor suggested. Then I started to worry about osteoporosis and began my search. I read another book about osteoporosis written by some M.D. I did not find the answer to my questions but I got very scared and felt I may have a fracture in any day now.

Then I read this book, mainly because of the many good reviews right on this site. Now the other book looks total trash to me. As other reviews states, this is by far the most ground-breaking medical related book I've ever read. I skip the detail because I would just repeat everyone else.

I'm very angry to my doctor who prescribed the HRT to me, knowing about the serious side effect( it's beyond side effect, it's a major effect), and if he didn't know about it, I would be angry all the same. He told me to take this for 9 years. I couldn't believe that this controversial trial happened several years ago and doctors still prescribe it for the same purpose.

This book made me realize that "Ask your doctor" "Talk to your doctor" commercials are just commercials, and that to doctors, I am merely another customer. Arm myself with the right knowledge may win in the end, but it's not at all easy to find the truly trustworthy medical information. So I was very lucky that I found this book, because if not, I'd still have continued that dangerous drug, and in 6 months who knows if I had a complication and died from it, nobody in my family would be suspicious about the drug I've been taking. And no doubt that I would have been depressed till the day I die.

I thank and have a great respect and appreciation to Ms. Sanson as well as to reviewers who took time to write an honest, genuine opinion in order to be beneficial to others.
I don't think I go see a doctor now, after I learned that those tests are not standardized internationally. How ridiculous is that I may be ill at one place and may be totally healthy at another place. (There are other amazing facts throughout the book.)

I'll try to maintain my body well using the suggestions from this book. I don't have to be told if I'm in what stage of illness with some unreliable method. I don't want to worry every day when I will be on a wheelchair. I just try to be careful with doing everything I can to prevent it, and there are plenty of it.

This book is an eye-opener. You'll have a whole new perspective on bone care and a diagnosis of osteoporosis or osteopoenia. Invaluable information for managing your bone health that can make a difference. I am not only confident in my previous decision to stop medication, but am making important dietary change that I wish I had known about 40 years ago. You'll find that milk isn't what your thought it was!

I wish I had read Gillian Sanson's book before I let a doctor talk me into taking one Boniva pill seven months ago. I had a terrible reaction and, because Boniva and all bisphosphonates stay in the body forever, I am still suffering from debilitating bone and joint pain. Ms. Sanson is right when she says not enough research has been done on bisphophonates. Her book provides a valuable public service. Now if only we can get doctors to read it.

This book completely changed my view about osteopenia and osteoporosis. Please, read it, specially if you're diagnosed osteopenia. I'm a very healthy woman and didn't have the habit or the necessity of taking any drugs since I discovered I have osteopenia. The doctor prescribed me Fosamax in order to try to avoid early osteoporosis. For the first time in my life I was taking a "serious" drug. I started to get fatter and fatter in my belly region. And then I read this book! It was my salvation and I'm back to normal healthy life.

When I was told I had osteopenia my (female) doctor handed me a prescription and a tri-fold pamphlet and told me to take calcium. When I went to the pharmacy to fill the prescription I asked the pharmacist to go over the potential side-effects of the drug with me. He looked at me like I had two heads. That was my introduction to becoming a "victim" of "bone disease". I went home and began to surf the Internet - searching for anything I could find on osteopenia and osteoporosis. And then I read this book! I came to the stunned realization that for most of my adult life I blindly followed doctor's orders, living in a sheep-like trance - plodding through life medicated at the whim of people who are bought and sold by Big Pharma. This is a ground-breaking book, filled not only with insight but hard facts. Thank God for Gillian Sanson.

I'm surprised by how many reviewers read this book in high school. I think I read it in 8th grade. I also reread it within the last couple of years (over 40 years later). For me this book still had a great impact; I know I never forgot it. Caldwell was a great story teller and the forces at odds in Luke as he travels the road from angry nonbeliever practicing medicine in the Roman World to a man of faith who eventually writes his own gospel is a wonderful journey for the reader. I was pulled into his struggle like I have been in few other books. So the book stayed with me, but the second time I read it, I thought it would make a great movie directed by Martin Scorcese. I remembered his Last Temptation of Christ from the late 70's. I've tried to find a way to contact Scorcese to encourage him to do the movie, but was unsuccessful. If anyone reading this can get through to him, you might suggest it would be a great opportunity for him... (I think Leonardo Decaprio would make a great Luke). Anyway, the book is currently out of print; if somebody would republish it, I'd give it to everyone I know. The used editions have actually gotten a little pricey. But, I encourage everyone to read the book. On many levels, it's a great read. Finally, one of the best and most moving parts of the book is when Luke interviews the Virgin Mary and the Apostle John for his gospel; coming near the end of the book, these episodes raise the book above conventional historical fiction and make it somehow a spiritual reading experiance.

This book is to be read and re-read!!! It contains so much wisdom, insight, and all of it written in such a powerful way.
If you are curious about one of history's most fascinating time periods, this book will definetely enthuse you. It is filled with so many visual descriptions capable of transporting you back in time as you read! I could not put it down
Luke's story is inpiring and Caldwell's treatment is sublime.
GET YOUR HANDS ON IT TODAY!

This book is REALLY awesome. I like how Taylor makes St. Luke ( Lucanus) like a real person instead of some holy guy that you can't relate yourself to. It's full of Israelites, Romans, and Lucanus' quest to find who he is and what God calls him to do. It's truely hard to put down and is a beautiful story. I'm 13 and I reccomend this book to kids my age and up. If you want a really good book to read... this book is for you!

Like the previous reviewer, I too read this book in high school and have just re-read it, 30 years later. It has not aged well, to me at least. It is the fictional story of St. Luke, the Greek apostle and author of one of the 4 gospels, whom St. Paul called "my dear physician Luke". Luke's gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, which he is credited with writing, are two of my favorite books of the Bible so I was looking forward to re-reading Caldwell's fictional portrayal of Luke and his times. There are some things about it that are interesting; in particular, Caldwell did a lot of research about ancient medicine and that added quite a bit to the story. However ... I found a rather distressing tendency towards what I call the "Aryanization" of the characters--that is, Christ, Mary, and Luke himself are all blue-eyed blondes, and many of the "good" characters in the book are also blue-eyed and/or blonde. It detracted enormously from any sense of historical authenticity, which I feel good historical novels should have. Also, on a couple of occasions Luke (called Lucanus in the novel) airs his political views and contrasts Rome, with its messy democracy and smelly mobs, to Greece, where things were run by an educated and aristocratic elite who clearly ought to be running the show. I greatly dislike it when writers use characters as a mouthpiece for political or social views that clearly reflect the author's personal opinions. There is also quite a bit of ham-handed foreshadowing, and as I don't want to give anything away I won't go into details. Suffice to say that Caldwell constantly is dropping characters into Lucanus' path who then turn up 200 pages later at key points in the plot. It is quite difficult to write realistic novels about Biblical characters, I know, but I was really surprised, and saddened, at how badly 'Dear and glorious physician' has aged.

Love this book about the physician, Luke, who wrote the Gospel according to Luke. Fiction, yes, but such an accurate depiction of the human struggle for spiritual relevance and the rebellion of the human soul. The detail and depth of characters, the complex and rewarding plot and the historical accuracy make this one of the finest works ever done by any author, in my opinion. Rarely does reading the last page cause such a sigh of satifaction. I am buying another because I've loaned mine out so often.

This Merck home manual is a must have book.. I dont even keep it in the bookcase. i keep it on the table where we can get to it.When ever a test is called for i find itin the book so i know what to expect. when having a few miner aches and pains i have been able to gain information on what is the matter.. This book is jut plain good sense.I plan to get the one for older people. next .since i am a senior citizen i believe it will be even more help to me.. Again you must have this book..hallycatThe Merck Manual of Medical Information: 2nd Home Edition (Merck Manual of Medical Information Home Edition)The Merck Manual of Medical Information: 2nd Home Edition (Merck Manual of Medical Information Home Edition)

This is the best medical book out there unless you are a doctor and even they refer to it!

This book is a great addition to our household. Had the paperback version but now have the updated version for want-to-be doctor wife.

Ray

This book is great for looking up any diagnosis in a patient chart. There has only been 1.. yes ONE that was not in the book.... VERY informative.... gives suggestions as what to do with the diagnosis and what can cause it, etc. I LOVE this book, it quickly became my GO TO book for anything and EVERYTHING!!!

The Merck Manual is a great source of Western medical information. To complement this, I use the Yale doctor's book, AN ELEMENTARY TEXTBOOK OF AYURVEDA by Frank John Ninivaggi, M.D. of Yale University Medical School. Both give practical information about how to stay well and treat medical and psychological problems.