Medicine and Health Books

This book was recieved quickly. I founds the book to be very informative and useful. I found the answers to several of my questions I had. I will keep the book close to use for a reference and I am sure I will use it a lot. Thanks.

I have the 4th edition (at this time is the most recent edition in print) and as a psych home care nurse, this little, portable wealth of knowledge has helped me validate to management, as well as to public health and other surveyors, the range in situations that qualify "homebound status" for psychiatric patients. Throughout the book there are samples provided to support a variety of situations that help the nurse better understand, and therefore more accurately report, on each sector of the OASIS forms. Medicare regulations are explained in detail, and I learned information that I had not known in the 14 years I have been doing mental health home care nursing. The manual provides a history and background of homecare, its evolution, provides an overview of documentaion, including the importance of coding, and its significance in home care. Also, valuable tips on improving the nursing visit, setting achievable goals, managing the case, and the guidelines for care for all the home care disciplines, are provided, so the nurse can be knowledgable regarding the roles of the other disciplines. There is a great resource section at the end of the book, and home care definitions, roles, and abbreviations are delineated in this manual as well. All home care codes are listed.

With the often-confusing regulations and data gathering tools out there, at least we on the front lines have this portable manual to help us sort out our assessments and evaluations into the accurate coding and leveling criteria that supports what we do, what we observe, and allows for the appropriate revenue to support the levels of care our patients require. As OASIS data-gathering evolves, newer editions will be needed to keep up with the miriad of changes that will ensue, but at least here is a standard we can all make good use of, and I am willing to bet every nurse, from novice to manager, will find something in this manual that was not known or delineated as well to them in the past.

This manual would also make a wonderful teaching tool for nursing students. They may as well learn early on how intricate the data-gathering tools are in the real working world. Accurate notations on the OASIS forms can either make or break a case, not only regarding reimbursement, but as to whether the levels of care, and variety of disciplines, that you feel are needed, are allowed to provide services to your patient. Hasty and inaccurate translation of evaluations and assessments onto the OASIS forms results in inability to justify to Medicare that the levels of intervention you are requesting are appropriate.

I love this book because, being in the home health industry you have to know what you're charting. If charting is lacking then you will not get the full reimbursement that you are entitled to. Thanks alot.

i had the early verison and used it for making my care plan. the content is now updated and still valuable.

A MUST resource guide for all nurses who work in the Home Health industry.

Have you ever read a book that felt like you were having a conversation with a good friend? Jeff Kane's new book, The Healing Companion makes me feel comforted, entertained, encouraged and enlightened; just as if I'd spent time talking with a good friend.

The book could be considered as a guide toward offering sick loved ones our healing presence. This guidance is valid for anyone relating to someone who is sick and is just as helpful to doctors, nurses and counselors as it is to family members and anyone who has a loved one who is sick.

A quote from page three says "This book will guide you toward offering sick loved ones your healing presence. By learning to ask them exactly how they're suffering and help them express their feelings thoroughly, you'll encourage an atmosphere of honesty. You'll move toward a perspective in which whatever happens physically, the emotional turmoil surrounding it will settle. All involved will benefit from increasing serenity."

I found especially helpful Jeff's discussion of how sick people suffer. He talks about really listening to their suffering and hearing their fears, anxieties, confusion, depression and rages. He says "I learned that people get emotional when they're sick and that fear and anger and despair aren't abnormal; they're a natural feature of sickness. In fact, I'd worry about the mental health of sick people who weren't affected by their consequent feelings. Hearing many hundreds of stories, I gradually learned that people don't generally suffer from their disease as much as from their emotions, the reactions their disease ignites in them." (page seven)

The rest of the chapters in the book are just as juicy and relevant as the above examples. In "Speaking With TLC", Jeff encourages speaking (only after much listening) with truth, leanness and compassion. He gives examples and practical questions to ask ourselves to pass the "TLC" test.

My two favorite chapters are "Welcoming Mystery" and "Healing Yourself". The first deals with the existential questions that illness can stir and the second with "continual" self care. What profound encouragement both offer for living in this world.

I truly enjoyed reading this book (and have read several sections more than once). The wonderful stories of courage and healing inspired me to be a better listener, a better friend and even a better person. Thank you Jeff.

Caregivers who live with a severely ill family member or friend receive a guide on how they can handle life-threatening and life-changing illness. From how to help others heal using one's presence and support to understanding differences between healing and curing, this is packed with advice from the author's own work with cancer support groups, and provides a solid foundation for understanding and growth.

I picked this book up off the shelf because I have been grappling with my husband's recent diagnosis. As his caregiver, I have often felt frantic trying to organize his medications, supplements, and doctors' appointments while searching the internet for some sort of "cure." Jeff Kane very gently brought me back to earth...and to my husband's immediate need for my compassion and calmness. Since reading this wonderful book and putting Dr. Kane's suggestions to use, I have seen a change in my husband's demeanor; a rise in his hopefulness and an abatement of his pain. All I have done is become a more patient, loving and affirming wife. I let him talk about his illness, when and if he wants to. I listen, without judgement or solutions. And I pray for a healing of his body and spirit. Thank you, Dr. Kane, for sharing your wisdom with caregivers- professional and amateur. We can all learn from this book.

Anyone confronted with the serious sickness of a family member of friend will find this sensitive but unsentimental book invaluable. Jeff Kane not only shows how the emotional support and participation of one's friends and family help the sick person in his or her illness (that is, the social and spiritual disclocation and emotional and psychological suffering caused by the disease), but also gives very concrete, practical suggestions on listening, responding, respecting, and feeling and showing compassion. Dr. Kane's insights about the experience of suffering, the devastation it causes and the opportunities it offers both the sick person and the care-giver for self-knowledge and personal transfromation make this a book to be read and reread time and again.

I LOVE this book. I'm a hospice nurse, and fairly comfortable talking with people who are facing their own death, but this is by far the best thing I've read on the topic. Besides being a wonderful, accessible writer, Jeff Kane is funny, wise, and practical. He's obviously done his own spiritual work, and his book shows that. I looked forward to every chapter, each of which seemed to answer a question I'd barely known to ask, and to answer it in a way that has helped me immensely in my practice, as well as in dealing with people in my own life who are dealing with things we wish weren't happening. Get it. Read it. Read it again. I'm on my second copy.

This book is truly an educational tool is written in such a practical and professional manner that you will know you will benefit from its knowledge even if you decide to keep one tiny bit of insight; be patient do as is so pack with info one may get overwhelmed this is grounbreaking info and in general most are new to it and it takes some time to digest. i had an emotional experience in one of the chapters i am sure it will be different for others since we all have different needs and healing want. i highly recommend this book.

Barbara Martin's other book, "Change Your Aura, Change Your Life" is a favorite of mine. In that book, Martin clearly explained the aura and gave a variety of meditations to help draw positive energy to cleanse your aura as well as help you to attract positive spiritual energy.

Here, she expands on her work with a followup book focused on health issues. Martin provides her theory on what causes illness and what we can do to attract healing energy. Pictures of 'sick' auras are featured in the book, giving the reader insight into what Martin is able to see. This is fascinating to me - although I have never been one who sees auras clearly, I certainly am sensitive to what people's energies feel like. Most of us have had an experience at one time or another where someone or something just didn't "feel right". It's the energy field or aura.

There are specific meditations for a variety of health conditions: diabetes, fibromyalgia, high blood pressure, cancer and more. The book lays out the routine for preparing for the meditation as well as closing the chakras afterwards. I especially like the exercises to "soothe and strengthen the body" - this is helpful to those of us who are relatively healthy and want to remain that way. None of this is difficult to do - it just requires a little discipline.

Whether you are a meditator or not, this is an easy to use book and I highly recommend it. No matter what your current health condition, this book may give you a tool to aid in healing or prevent future issues.

"The Healing Power of Your Aura: How to Use Spiritual Energy for Physical Health and Well-Being" is a masterful resource and tool to explain the art of self healing through auric visualization with specific meditation exercises. Theory and practice are outlined simply but completely, with over 16 pages of colored illustrations to aid the reader in visualizations and meditation. Perhaps one of the most significant factors evident in "The Healing Power of Your Aura" is the need for each individual's assumption of self responsibility for physical, emotional and astral health. The how to sets of meditations are specifically categorized by the area or disease of concern. Highly recommended as an addition to personal or community library Self-Help and Metaphysical Studies collections, "The Healing Power of Your Aura" is a most viable and valuable tool to assist all who seek to take full responsibility for their own lives and well-being.

Martin uses a healing technique that includes prayer, meditation, and envisioning certain healing colors such as the blue white fire of eternal life, the orange red flame of purification, and the pure white light with the spirit substance. She claims to have had some success with healing people this way as long as the illness is not due to a karmic debt that must be paid. She was raised as a Greek Orthodox, but was a clairvoyant from an early age with the ability to see people's auras. She didn't always like what she saw, such as the black of hatred, the dull green of envy, the dull red of anger, the grey of illness, the mustard yellow of lethargy, and the cocoa brown of stubbornness and cruelty. All these colors and emotions cause illness and must be released from the aura by envisioning the good colors such as the golden light of wisdom, the silver ray of intelligence, the red ray of vitality, the orange of motivation, the lemon yellow of concentration, purple of peace, the rose pink of love, and the emerald green of harmony. A meditator should imagine these rays of color coming down from the higher self point above the head down to the spiritual centers in the head, throat, heart, and belly, to the mental body that surrounds the body, to the astral body, down to the specific body parts that the meditator wants to focus on.

I never liked meditating that much, but my pain has inspired me to do it daily and at least I have a mental task to do while meditating so I won't get bored. I think that the meditation may have helped relieve my pain and has given me a boost of energy sometimes. Sometimes I do the meditation with the tumbled stones in the The Crystal Healing Kit by Judy Hall. The prayer is simply asking out loud for the rays to come down to each part so your mind won't wander. I have yet to memorize the prayers; I just simplify them into a single sentence.

The philosophy behind the healing technique is that disease starts in the spiritual parts of one's being before it reaches the physical part. It is important to get the spiritual parts cleared out before disease reaches the physical parts because it is harder to remove disease once it has reached the physical. The spiritual part protects the physical by taking on disease before it reaches the physical, although if nothing is done, it will eventually reach the physical. One must watch what thoughts and emotions you are having and make sure that they are not negative and destructive to your being. I suppose with the daily news coming out with the latest outrage against truth, peace, justice, common sense, and civilization and the continual bitter disagreements about what those terms mean, it is hard not to think and feel negatively, but this healing technique helps you deal with the feeling that the world is falling apart underneath your feet.

This book has some beautiful illustrations of what the author talks about, some of which are in color. It has quick start guide to help you start immediately using the meditation techniques to attempt to heal yourself. It lists certain conditions and what may be the spiritual root that is causing the disease such as STD's being caused by paying too much attention to the sexual part of yourself or fibromyalgia being linked to destructive thinking. It has other meditation techniques at the end of the book such as the one in which you meditate next to a tree, using the energies of the auras of the earth and the tree. I like to use that one when I go for a walk in nature. It is a good book for those interested in this form of alternative healing which examines the spiritual nature of disease first, rather than the usual way of looking at only the physical.

I highly recommend "The Healing Power of Your Aura" by Barbara Y.Martin, especially for people who are sincere on finding the path back to good health.
I was part of an epidemic in Incline Village in Lake Tahoe, NV. on a skiing trip in 1984 when I was 30. To go from a high energy surfer/ skiier/ female who did 2 hours of aerobics 5 x a week to spending most of 20 years in bed was well, very hard. A very good lesson though. Guess the lead in the Stained Glass windows I built for 15 years in business wasn't good for me? Duh? Well, did I listen? Obviously not. But I kept my head up and struggled horribly, found a great man who I married but was still ill with the forever over diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Immune Disorder.
As a child I was blessed with being able to see spirits. (until I asked not to see because it's hard when your sick) So I always understood that we are not just our body, that there's much more to our true reality. I started to meditate daily and somewhere during that the white light turned into beautiful rays of sparkling colors of light. Then I picked up Barbara's book and it rang so true to me. She explains what the colors mean, and now I know how to use them for healing my aura and body. I always thought I was a healer, but couldn't heal myself. Now I can. Best book ever. Take your time and don't be impatient or you'll lose the lesson. It's truely amazing. And for those who are really very sick, stop talking and thinking about it and ask your family/supporters to do the same. We don't realize how much power we give to our illness. My first time talking the illness in 2 years but worth it if it helps you. This book surely will!

This book is so easy to use and understand. It presents each item individually and also has a section that covers most problems that people face from upset stomachs to headaches to Cancer. Obviosly some remedies seem far fetched but the vitamin section makes good sense and gives you much more information then the vitamin bottles at the store!

This book incorporates everything from homeopathy, vitamins & minerals, food, acupuncture, dosage, everything. There is really no need for any other book. I refer to it regularly. The index makes it very easy to locate exactly what you're looking for quickly. Highly recommend if you are interested in natural remedies.

An excellent natural healing reference book. Tons of cross references. So easy to follow. Beautiful clear layout. Covers just about everything. Tells how to do it yourself in many cases. Includes Ayurveda, chinese medicine, flower remedies, herbs, home remedies, aromatherapy, vitamin therapy and homeopathy.

I thoroughly enjoy using this book. It is not only full of information, but visually appealing and easy to read--unlike many medical reference books. Full of color photos of the plants and herbs used so you can find what you need in your own backgarden or if you live in a foreign country and don't know the local name for the plant/herb in question (like me)... full of remedies from many different natural healing methods (ie, 10+ different remedies for diahrea depending on the very specific accompanying symptoms). Clear instructions with photos on how to make tinctures, infusions, etc. I cannot endorse this book enough.

Not only does this book cover a vast array of ailments and treatments, it also does this with chronology, great structure and an inviting style.
The photography is clear and the people don't all look like super models or over actors!
All the major alternate diciplines are here and the sections are inviting and easy to follow.
This would be a valuable student tool, a great book for the interested and should (in an ideal world) be in every Doctor's Surgery.

I'm having a problem. I'm in a dilemma and I'd like to know what you think. I hope you'll let me know. Here's the problem. I kinda take it for granted that we have free will. It seems like some kind of defining characteristic of the human soul. Although we may breathe the same air, and although the same Spirit runs through us, it's our free will that defines our individuality. The Biblical tradition seems to point to our free will. The concept of sin sure requires it. In the Edgar Cayce readings there is the idea there is nothing more powerful than our individual will. On TV it says, "The power of one!" There you have it.
On the other hand, I've been reading a book on prayer and healing. It's the almost classic and often referred to book by Larry Dossey, M.D., Healing Words: The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine, (HarperCollins). He writes about how over one hundred experiments, exhibiting good scientific methodology, indicate that "prayer brings about significant changes in a variety of living beings." This includes fungus, bacteria, animals and humans. Moreover, the healing effects did not depend upon whether the person praying was in the presence of the organism being prayed for or at a great distance. Healing occurred whether the healing object was in a lead-lined room or a cage shielded from electromagnetic energy. It didn't seem to matter if the person (if it was a person and not a medical sample) knew about the prayer or believed in prayer.
"The fact that prayer works (at least some of the time) says something important about our nature, and how we may be connected to the Absolute," he says. It also shows that we are connected to each other. It shows that our thoughts matter. Dossey is smart and brave enough to discuss the flip side of this revelation. Call it "toxic prayer," where our negative thoughts have a negative effect on others. I'm not talking just about curses or swearing (as in asking the Absolute to squash you or condemn you to an eternity in the fires), but even those so-called "harmless" black thoughts we have about people from time to time. If we can be helped by prayers, we can be harmed by the mental negativity of others, even when we do not know they are being negative toward us, even when we are safely in our own homes, even when we are minding our own business. Sounds to me like an invasion of free will, a bruise to my autonomy, an assault on my integrity.
Now I have often heard that we are not supposed to pray for people without their permission. If Dossey is right, it is possible to pray for people without their knowledge and they still get well. We can hope that they wanted to heal! Seems like we shouldn't say to someone, "Good morning," but rather, "Good morning, by your leave, unless you have other plans!"
But I'm not joking, I'm serious and seriously confused here. I have read of experiments begun in Russia and duplicated here, where one person can mentally affect the physical functioning of another person, making that person tired, sleepy, even putting the person to sleep. It is possible to telepathically affect a person's heart rate. I guess that means that it is possible to stop a person's heart, especially if some writings on Voodoo are to be believed.
Now if it is true that we can mentally, telepathically, energetically--however you want to envision it--affect another person, even when they are in the privacy and safety of their lead lined home, then what does that mean about free will. Do we have free will if someone else can, from a distance, without our knowledge or consent, make us do their bidding, think the thoughts they want us to think, make the moves they want us to make? It is even possible to hypnotize a person at a distance, telepathically. The Russians called it "mental suggestion." Now we've all heard the soothing reminder, "you can't hypnotize a person to do something against their will." So does that mean you can't telepathically induce a person to think, feel, or do something against their will? If the telepathic influence was effective, then at some level the affected person was willing to allow it to happen? Is that how we get out of the quandry? Or is there really a hole in the protective shield of our free will?
I've met many people who complain that someone is sending them bad energy, invading their thoughts. Do we take the complaint seriously? Is the person "psychotic"? Since mental influence exists, maybe the person is right. If so, then is the real problem is that the person is willing to have it happen? The person objects to the invasion but feels helpless to stop it. Where's the free will, the willingness? Maybe not all of our free will is available for our freedom of choice. Maybe some of it is hidden in the dark depths of the soul. What do you think? Let me know. www.henryreed.com/publications/bookreviews

Dr. Dossey explains in HEALING WORDS how prayer-based healing works. It has been scientifically proven in hundreds of experiments to be a balanced part of health care that can significantly decrease health problems and significantly improve our quality and quantity of life. Dossey shares some of his own real-life stories of caring for patients... including an American Indian shaman, who requested Dr. Dossey's medical help for his aching neck! This book contains a wealth of information about prayer experiments written in Dossey's characteristically down-to-Earth style. I love the way Dossey raises questions about whether some prayer experiments are ethical, and why some scientists continue to resist the mounting body of evidence that so clearly shows how prayer has a powerful effect on healing.

This book reaffirmed my belief in prayer, and helped me to better understand its healing powers.

While conducting research on the power of prayer and healing, I was encouraged to get this book and I am so glad I did! I could not but this book down once I began to read it. This is a must read if you are interested in the subject. It is well written and it is based on true experiences in Dr. Dossey's practice.

It's probably tempting to dismiss this book as "New Age" claptrap. That would be a mistake.

In fact Dossey is highly critical of the "New Age" movement. And despite some overblown cover blurbs, he doesn't claim to have "proven" anything about the power of prayer in healing; he's making suggestions and exploring possibilities, not laying down law.

Nor, for the most part, is his speculation wild or unfounded. His suggestions are founded on two things: empirical research that seems to show prayer is effective in promoting the biological growth of certain forms of life under controlled laboratory conditions, and the theological/philosophical view that reality is ultimately a single, universal, "nonlocal" Absolute Mind.

However controversial these foundations might be, he presents his suggestions with proper caution. And he is especially careful to avoid falling into the New Age blame-the-patient trap; he is well aware that prayer doesn't always achieve the results we might like and that this isn't because somebody has done something to "choose" or "deserve" ill health.

On the contrary, he has a healthy sense that prayer is really (though this language isn't quite his) for the purpose of adjusting us to the Divine Will rather than vice-versa. (Anthony de Mello tells a story somewhere about a man who said, "In your country it is regarded as a miracle when God does the will of a human being. In my country it is regarded as a miracle when a human being does the will of God.") On his view, the "power" of prayer is shown as much in our acceptance of our health limitations as in their elimination.

There are a couple of places where Dossey threatens to wander off the deep end (e.g. his suggestion that prayer can change the past), and there's a little bit of language (e.g. "Era I, Era II, and Era III") that recalls bad 1970s self-help books. But I really have only one bone to pick with Dossey: he tends at times to overstate the difference between his views and those of traditional, "classical" theism.

There is a tendency among those (of whom I am one, which is in part how I know this) who left their childhood religions in their early teens to assume, more or less unconsciously, that our understanding of such religion was complete at that time and none of its adherents understood any of the cool things we went on to discover for ourselves. It's hard to shake one's implicit belief that those hidebound "fundamentalists" couldn't _possibly_ have known any of this nifty "spirituality" stuff; "dogmatic" religion is, of course, the arch-enemy of "true" spirituality -- isn't it?

Dossey has a very mild tendency in this direction. In consequence I suspect he will occasionally leave more traditional religious believers with the sense that they are being misunderstood, patronized, or both.

But it doesn't happen very often, and it hardly happens at all in this book. On the whole, Dossey's approach tends to confirm rather than undermine the great theistic religions' view of prayer.

It was good, but not the best i have read. I did learn a lot so I need to give credit for that.

Weil writes a very comprehensive book that asks the essential question, "What is health if not th absence of sickness?". Very informative and thought provoking!!!

This book is required reading for all students at the Clayton College of Natural Health. It should, in fact, be required reading for anyone entering the field of health, as it convincingly drives home an important point: just because allopathy ("conventional" or "western" medicine) has the most powerful medical lobby in the US, its history is far from flawless, and is often downright embarrassing when compared with that of time-honored systems such as homeopathy or tribal approaches to healing. In an entertaining and lucid manner, Dr Weil introduces the reader to many of the alternative approaches still being practiced the world over, and their advantages and shortcomings. He also points to the need for ALL kinds of medicines, and provides guidelines on which types of dis-eases are best handled by the various specialties. All in all, a thoroughly readable and informative book which will hopefully abolish forever the popular regard of M.D.s as "demigods in white," and the idea that allopathic medicine is the only credible and worthwhile approach to healing our sick.

Pinned on my office wall is an uplifting reminder titled, "Seven Rules Of A Winner". I found it interesting that the author listed health as the first rule. He wrote, "Be proactive and preventative about your health. Your body is your one and only vehicle for your journey to success, so start taking care of your health through exercise and diet." (The Psychology of Winning, by Denis Waitley). I didn't take that statement seriously until after a medical problem sent me to the hospital. Since happiness seems to go hand-in-hand with having a healthy body, I highly recommend this book. If nothing else, it provided me with a positive perspective on illness, and that alone made it worth reading. It also opened my eyes to the down-side of high-tech medicine, or rather, it put American medical practices into perspective and introduced me to alternatives. Herbal remidies are investigated as well as many others. The bottom line: read this book to learn how the body can heal itself and just how much is not known about the process of healing. A must read for anyone wishing to take control of their own health.

Andrew Weil's book was assigned as supplmental reading in a sociology of health and healing systems course at Park College in Southern California. With phrases like, "nothing works all the time and everything works some of the time," Andrew explored health systems worldwide from accupuncture in China to witchdoctors in Latin America. The idea that Western doctors actually gain much of their credibility not because of their own skills, but because they take credit for what the body already does is interesting. Health and medicine previously seemed like a highly scientific study, but viewed from Andrew's perspective, it is, in many ways, philosophically and culturally specific. Andrew brings a whole new world to medicine. Fascinting perspective.

Jeremy's novel is a powerful account of Carolyn's sudden illness and the road to recovery. His description turn the account into a page turner and the terrific outcome with Carolyn full recovery. I found the emotional elements very provoking and reminded me on how much we take for granted good health in life and the fragility of life itself. For someone looking to understand the human element of SCA this is provides a lot of background.

In "A Heart Too Good To Die" by Jeremy Whitehead, one is taken into a first person account of the shock and disbelief experienced by the Australian narrator as he learns of his American bride's potentially fatal sudden cardiac arrest. You feel the pain and fright in this very personal, very poignant true story. Although one knows that Carolyn survives [see Foreword], the opening chapters had my heart racing as the story unfolds, the characters are introduced and the horror and shock of the initial incident resounds throughout her IBM staffers and attendees at the conference and to her new husband on the other side of the world from his home and on the other side of the country from his wife. The author's love and adoration of his wife are evident on every page and on every page you are there with them, hoping and praying for a happy ending. I highly recommend this book for all to read. It is one of the finest demonstrations on how to use the computer as a personal research tool I have ever read and it will educate you and your loved ones to the hidden killer among us.

What a compelling read! This book offers story and learning all in the same package. The story will touch your heart - the vibrant young woman who survives an unthinkable tragedy. She is supported by an adoring husband who, shaken to his core by the near-death events, emerges as her champion and mainstay. The learning comes as insight into the fragility of life, the uncertainty of science and the labyrinth of American healthcare as seen through the eyes of an Aussie. But even more than being just a story or insight into science, this is a book of hope, great love and awareness. It is a call to know more about sudden cardiac arrest because we never know when we might be called to be heros.

As I sat down to read this book, I thought I would spend 15 minutes on it, but instead it captured me and I couldn't put it down! For anyone who knows of someone who has suffered a cardiac arrest, OR anyone who has almost lost a loved one to ANY sudden, unexplained medical occurence or accident. I laughed and I cried...sometimes on the same page!!! A must read.

This book brought tears to my eyes, as I went thru the same things as Carolyn did with her arrest. It gives me a sense of relief and comfort to know someone else out there that had the same experience as myself.
I thank Jeremy for putting it into a story and sharing it with the world. I only wish I would have found this book sooner, as it is helping with my healing process from my arrest 10 years ago.
Jeremy's book has given me comfort to know that I am not alone.

If you are thinking about exploring Homeopathy this is the book to read first. For those that have experienced the wonderful effects of homeopathy and want a refresher course, or a question answered....you'll find it here.

This is one of the most concise and yet thorough and easy to understand explanations of what homeopathic medicine is on the market. I highly recommend anyone considering homeopathic care to read this book before they start. If you are at all curious about this unique form of healthcare called homeopathy, read the book!

My homeopathist recommended reading this book before my first visit. My experience was so successful that I ordered several more books to lend to family, friends, and acquaintances who show an interest in homeopathy. This book really prepares you to get the most out of the homeopathic interview and cooperate with the healing process.

I was never seriously ill during most of my life, but a stubborn case of no-external-trigger urticaria (hives) has been plaguing me for nearly a year. I've visited one regular doctor, one osteopath, two emergency room docs, three allergists, and three acupuncturists. They were all unable to cure the hives, but the allergists finally brought my symptoms under control with a powerful hellbroth of prescription drugs:

1 Prednisone (steroid, immunosuppressant) 20mg pill in the morning
1 Tagamet (Cimetidine, H2 antihistamine) 300mg pill in the morning
1 Allegra (Fexofenadine, H1 antihistamine) 180mg pill in the morning
1 Zyrtec (Cetirizine HCl, H1 antihistamine) 10mg pill in the afternoon
1 Atarax (Hydroxyzine HCl, H1 antihistamine) 25mg pill at bedtime
3 Doxepin (antidepressant, sedative) 10mg pills at bedtime
1 Tagamet 300mg pill at bedtime
1 Prednisone 20mg pill at bedtime

Plus, I had to carry an emergency epinephrine (adrenaline) syringe everywhere, just in case my precariously-balanced immune system tipped into anaphylactic shock.

One of the allergists provided me with a light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel newsflash: "These cases usually burn themselves out in three to five years."

But if you take Prednisone for a long time, you tend to gain a lot of weight, and your immune response is slowly crippled. The allergists tried to cut down the Prednisone gradually, but my hives always returned with a vengeance. [A minor bout with urticaria is much like being flayed alive... and after experiencing several full-blown major attacks, I wouldn't wish one on my worst enemy.] I was clinically depressed, and marginally suicidal.

My doctors thought I was doing great, considering.

Since the AMA and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) practitioners couldn't really help, I turned to homeopaths as a last resort. Even though I had always viewed homeopathy as a marginal--if not totally quack--science, I was at the end of my rope and desperate enough to try anything.

After a few homeopathic treatments, my drug regimen is now down to:

1 Prednisone 2.5mg pill (1/16 of my previous daily intake) in the afternoon
1 Benadryl 25mg pill (over-the-counter antihistamine) at bedtime

These doctors are determined to wean me off drugs completely, God bless 'em. Needless to say, I now highly recommend homeopaths. And they recommended that I read Homeopathy: Beyond Flat Earth Medicine, for an overview.

I wish I'd read it a year ago.

The author describes what homeopathy is and how it works in a very clear style. This book will help the newcomer understand homeopathy and I highly recommend it.

I admit that I bought this book for its title while in the midst of a book buying frenzy, thinking that it would be a run-of-the-mill, toxins in the home primer of sorts. I spent the first 20 or 30 pages thinking, "This book is not at all what I thought it would be. Why does it have this misleading title? Why did it have that misleading product description?" Even the reviewer's quote on the book cover is misleading: "A superb tool for making our homes, finally, a safe place to raise children." As another Amazon reviewer pointed out, this is just colossally crappy marketing.

When I got past the slight disappointment of owning a very different book than I thought I had purchased, I realized, as other reviewers have, that this book is an incredibly well-researched and well-written history of modern chemical development and its consequences. I couldn't put it down. I would recommend this book to anyone who is not only interested in how chemicals in our environment can make us sick, but also in how some of those chemicals came about and how they ended up in our households despite the fact that they are well-known toxins. Read this book along with Not Just A Pretty Face, In Defense of Food, Exposed, The Secret History of the War on Cancer, The Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives, etc., to usher in full-blown outrage at the fact that our government doesn't do more to regulate the poisons that corporations are happy to pump into us on a daily basis.

Excellent history of how products are made and their affect on the workers that made them. Provides insight into what motivates the production of a product and illustrates how we arrived at a world surrounded by an unhealthy enviroment. Definitely worth reading.

If you are looking for how everyday products make people sick (toxins at home and in the workplace) try a book like What's Toxic, What's Not by Ginsberg & Toal, which does a fine job of covering this topic in a style that makes it easy to find just the toxins or areas of exposure that concern you.

If you are interested in the fascinating history of toxins in the workplace, this is your book. In engaging and clever narrative, Blanc tells the stories of toxins that sicken people, the often slow process of uncovering the source of illness, the eventual phasing out of the product (often because another product rendered it obsolete, not due to health concern), and the frequent return of the underlying toxin in a new product.

Blanc brings history alive with stories of individuals exposed to invisible threats. His narrative is supported by scientific analysis, providing a reassuring direction and momentum to a disturbing, sometimes frustrating, topic.


I am the Director of Education for the Foresight Nanotech Institute and the author of Technology Challenged: Understanding Our Creations & Choosing Our Future.

I bought and read this book together with Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power and I recommend both of them. This one is written from an occupational health perspective, and provides superb history on "the industrial disease" while "Exposed" is more from a public policy perspective.

The author mentions, and I plan to sign up for if I can, the Center for Disease Control (CDC)"Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report."

The author who started out focusing on workplace toxicity, also covers household toxicity, most alarming of which was paint emitting toxic vapors.

The author laments the manner in which the government, think tanks, and corporations are all doing a slow roll on toxicity, ignoring it, covering it up, or delaying action on it. The The Precautionary Principle in the 20th Century: Late Lessons from Early Warnings is nowhere to be found, in part because of The Republican War on Science.

Among the threats covered:

· Acids
· Arsenic
· Asbestor
· Chlorine
· Dyes
· Fibers (Asthma)
· Fumes from Metal (Lung collapse)
· Glue
· Lead
· Manganese
· Oil
· Plastics (Liver Cancer)
· Solvents (Benzine)
· Toxic Gases

The author is authoritative and not at all over-bearing in laying out the case against an ignorances of toxicity that is assuredly not in the public interest. He addresses neurological impacts as the most subtle and most frightening and most cummulative in nature.

His bottom line is that the pharmaceutical, industrial materials, and household goods industries are not doing enough testing and not getting enogh oversight. From this book one can easily see the varied government agencies nominally responsible for public health being phased out as was the Office of Technology Assessment.

The author notes that emerging toxins are of real concern, but that dollars and attention are being consumed by SARS, West Nile, and other biological threats (diseases are coming together and mutating in animal hosts, then jumping to human hosts, and becoming drug resistant more quickly).

Microwave popcorn lung caught my attention. As convenient as it is to use, the microwave evidently enhances toxicity of some substances, and we literally have no menu to follow in avoiding this.

My one disappointment is the lack of a table of toxic products, a lack of dollar figures, mortality and disability figures. I believe that a second edition of this book could be much improved, and as one reviewer notes, the rich history in the book given a higher profile.

The notes and index are superb and the book overall is of sufficient value to the public to warrant five stars. This is an important work.

See also:
Pandora's Poison: Chlorine, Health, and a New Environmental Strategy
High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden Toxics, and Human Health
Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health
Manufacture of Evil: Ethics, Evolution, and the Industrial System
Fog Facts: Searching for Truth in the Land of Spin
An Enormous Crime: The Definitive Account of American POWs Abandoned in Southeast Asia
Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq

The federal government, at the political level in both Congress and the Executive, cannot be trusted to act in the public interest. Wall Street is beginning to realize that that the "true cost" of corrupting the government has been the hollowing out of America's population, and in my view, it will be the fund managers at Wall Street who must recognize the value of public health, just as the rich in NYC realized in the 1920's that disease is indiscriminate.

Excellent book.

Some imbecile at the publishing company gave this book what they must have thought was a trendy title. By doing that, they missed the market for what turns out to be one of the most interesting history books I've read all year--and I read a lot of history.

What this book really is, is a history of how changes in industrial processes have had unintended health consequences. It also documents the political and social forces that have kept the health consequences of these various chemicals from being known and regulated.

All this sounds dry and dusty, but the author writes with a lively, well-documented, anecdote-rich style that modestly cloaks a depth of research far beyond what I've read in history books written by trained historians. It's a pleasure to read, and in the process of reading it you'll learn a great deal about the history of plastic manufacturing, how artificial textiles are made, the uses of industrial bleaching, and many dozens of other intriguing processes which make our world what it is.

What a pleasure to discover that there still are a few highly educated "renaissance" people in the world who can combine expertise in medicine, history, social thought and engineering to come up with such a delightful, well-written read.

If I had the power, I'd nominate this book for the National Book Award in History!

The author has done extensive research into the effects of immunizations and presents much data that would be lead a person to believe that vaccinations do much harm and provide no benefit.

In the forward by George R. Schwartz, MD, he states that "a voice is seeking dialogue and requiring counterpoint" (page 8). Dr. Schwartz does not provide this counterpoint but only states that he "advocates the standard vaccinations" (page 7). But this is critical for the average reader to make an informed decision. Both sides of the issue should be presented in this book in order to help the reader make the best decision possible. Perhaps a format where the author presents his findings with an opposing view of from the medical establishment and rebuttals would serve the reader best.

The book presents some very convincing statistics, however I was very disappointed in the misleading manner some of the numbers were reported.

Many times the author points out that infection rates were falling before the vaccine was introduced and implies that the continued rate of decline was not due to the vaccine. Although the prior decline is relevant it doesn't prove that the vaccine is not effective. The infection rate might have stabilized at a higher rate without the vaccine. Even if the vaccine were effective this argument could be used to show that it wasn't. The data that needs to be compared to resolve this are infection rates for comparable populations of those vaccinated versus those not vaccinated.

Another example is on page 29 where it states that "In 1989, 89% of all school-aged children in the U.S. who contracted measles were adequately vaccinated". This is a misleading way to present the numbers. It makes it impossible to evaluate the effectiveness of the vaccine. To demonstrate this, suppose that million children were vaccinated and 22 were not. Also suppose that there were 89 cases of measles from the vaccinated group and 11 cases from those not vaccinated. In this scenario 89% of cases are from vaccinated persons. However what needs to be compared is the percent of cases in the vaccinated group versus the percent of cases in the non-vaccinated group. In this example 0.0089% of the vaccinated group became ill versus 50% of the non-vaccinated group. These numbers are fabricated and are only used to demonstrate that some of the statistics reported in this book can be misleading and are not the best data to using in determining the efficacy of the vaccination.

What I find more troublesome is that author "is a medical research journalist", has a degree with "an emphasis on statistical analysis", and is a member of Mensa (a society for those with a genius level I.Q.). With this background the author, Neil Miller, must realize that the data mentioned above is misleading and is not the relevant statistic to compare to judge the harm or benefit of the vaccination in question. What is needed is the rate of infection, death, or other complications, such as autism, in similar groups of vaccinated versus non-vaccinated populations. After seeing data presented in a purposely misleading fashion I came to question the author's sincerity when he states that "I merely try to present the facts in a clear and straightforward manner".

In conclusion I would like to point out that the author has done society a great service to gather a tremendous amount of information and raise very important issues regarding vaccinations. His conclusions might very well be correct! However the reader would greatly benefit if the author expanded the book and co-authored it with those of the medical establishment propounding alternate views and then include a series of rebuttals. With the tremendous amount of medical information available and contradicting positions the reader is generally left with doubts and concerns. Having an open dialog, as proposed in the forward of the book by Dr. George Schwartz, might help resolve and clarify many issues in the reader's mind.

You owe it to the health of your child to do the reasearch before allowing him/her to be immunized. I have done alot of reading and talked to several Dr.'s and have decided against any immunizations. The information is out there. Why take a risk? I started seeking info. after I became pregnant because I worked with a man who has a 5 yr. old that is severly damaged by the DPT vaccine. He was a thriving baby, doing everything on time until his 6 month vaccines. That night he started having severe seizures, up to 100 per day. Now he is unable to walk, talk, or function at all. It's sad. I will not take that chance and I have made an informed decision. You can double check Mr. Miller's information. He's not making any of this up. It's based on fact, not opinion.

I just read a report today (February 23, 2006) stating that a panel of pediatricians are recommending that all children, from 6 months to 5 years of age, be REQUIRED an annual vaccination against the flu virus! Whoa, whoa, whoa their boy. Not so fast. Enter Neil Miller's brigade of truth-seekers. Miller's book should be a must-read for any cognizant parent who wants to keep their children out of harms way of Big-Pharma controlled CDC, FDA, HHS, etc. Well documented and brilliantly researched, it answers the questions as to why the Germ Theory and Isopathic theory are flawed, the consequences of the blind "facts" of vaccination success, and how we can empower ourselves against the Pharmaceutical Beast. Compulsory vaccination programs need to be halted at once, and Neil Miller's expose will pave the way for the re-education of a once-enlightened, responsible society.

'Immunizations', a euphemism for forced vaccinations, have outwardly cost 500 million dollars and an impending estimated 1.5 billion dollars from current lawsuits from caused deaths and disabilities. Neil Z. Miller's expose on the likely insanity and dangers of this 'treatment' seems very well documented. Studies show the inefficacy of vaccination but its practice goes on.

Miller points to obvious data showing that the amount of vaccination in a culture is in direct proportion to its disease incidence. Miller ties in the facts of our rampant and zealous childhood vaccination programs with our extremely high infant mortality rate (for a developed country). These vaccinations typically contain mercury, aluminum and formaldehyde. An adverse reaction from a vaccine on a child is not attributed to the vaccine if the reactin occurs more than a few hours later. This and other unsound data collecting techniques protect this possibly lethal practice.

U.S. soldiers from the Gulf War had a high incidence of complications. The British and French troops did not. The difference? The American soldiers received extensive 'immunizations' (including anthrax) before their deployment.

Miller also brings up the quite alarming possibility that the AIDS epidemic was a purposeful event on the peoples of Central Africa. The countries that received our 'help' with extensive immunizations (known live viruses along with plenty unknown viruses found in monkeys) had the highest incidence of this disease.

Hopefully Neil Miller's work will get the attention it deserves from the World Health Organization and others so that if there is healing to be done from this travesty, it can be done now... and a lesson can be learned.

Five Stars

This book was well worth a second read. I first read it in 1996. As a member of the generation that was allowed to get the measles and chicken pox, this book made sense to me. As the parent of a child brain-damaged from pertussis vaccine toxins, I welcomed this well researched work. I wish I had read it when I was pregnant with Bill. I read so much on nutrition and breast-feeding. I did not even know that infants were vaccinated before I took my son to his first well-baby visit at 6 weeks old. I thought it was just that, a well baby visit. The doctor's attempt to fix what was not broken resulted in a developmentally delayed baby and then later a moderately mentally retarded adolescent. Now with a mentally retarded adult child, I can say there is nothing moderate about post-vaccinal encephalopathy. The politics of immunology is well reported in this little book. It is very to the point. Mr. Miller proves his thesis over and over again and vindicates those professionals who have gone against the grain and refused to participate and those parents whose voices are too seldom given a hearing on this issue. I love a good expose' and this is the best of its genre. It's a great murder mystery, a whodunit that Mr. Miller unravels in great style. The truth is always good, sometimes it goes down a little hard. The price of the book is little to pay for a truth I learned the hard way. ie The truth that corporate profits are being served and not public health. I have bought several copies and given them away. The reality of the tragedy and the scale of this tragedy that he reports on has been suppressed. As a Holocaust Studies major, I cannot help but notice the similarities between attrition by vaccination and the systematic nature of the other war against civilians. One of those similarities has been the refusal to believe atrocity stories. As a parent who 22 years ago began telling of the terrible trauma inflicted on my innocent son, I feel vindicated but I don't feel better. Two of the chapters in this book are "Human sacrifices" and "Genocide". Find out what are federal government has been up to while we have been looking the other way. Margaret S. Scheuer