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Killing Us Softly: The Sense And Nonsense Of Alternative Medicine (2013)

by Paul A. Offit(Favorite Author)

4.01 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0007491727 (ISBN13: 9780007491728)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Fourth Estate

review 1: A quick read, it should be read by everyone over the age of 18. This is truly a self-help book that isn’t posing as one.Offit is demonized by the anti-vaccination movement but he’s simply a scientist at heart who’s trying to educate people who are taken in by charlatans, profiteers and celebrity spokespeople (redundant?). It’s frightening how powerful the platforms of Oprah Winfrey, Larry King and others of that ilk are.Every year a new fashionable OTC miracle cure emerges and then quietly disappears as sales decline because the results don’t match the promise, only to be replaced by another miracle cure. This book is a refreshing antidote to all of those new and exciting miracle cures. And unlike those cures the information here is actually good for... more you.
review 2: I resisted this book for a long time because my answer to the title question, "Do You Believe in Magic?..." was "yes," and having been influenced by Paul Offit's detractors, I thought he was quite rude for even asking. I finally gave in and read the book after growing weary of the always-hopeful but never-delivering world of alternative therapies. Since I was unfamiliar with most of the history he discussed, I found it informative and thorough-- enough for a beginner. I beg to differ with those who say Offit is preaching to the choir. Perhaps it is because I am young and many of these alternative therapies have been mainstreamed in my lifetime, it never occurred to me to question the origins of some of the dubious health claims that people around me accept as truth. I know several people who have enjoyed his books who are not part of the usual skeptic crowd.The history was helpful and informative, but my favorite part of the book was Offit's conclusion about the value of the placebo effect-- or as he clarifies, the placebo response. He says we've come to dismiss the placebo as useless, but it's actually very powerful and in the limited number of studies that have been done on alternative therapies-- he uses acupuncture as an example-- it appears that the placebo effect carries the entire weight of the therapy's benefits. It's not a bad thing. In fact, it can be quite useful for people whose conditions don't call for drug therapy or aggressive treatment. The problem emerges with people's attribution of alternative therapies as uniquely capable of delivering this "healing" response, and then they market these therapies and make outrageous profits on their unregulated, unsubstantiated claims. I also thought Paul Offit was quite mild and pleasant in his narration, despite claims that he is arrogant. He is not arrogant, just passionate and informed. less

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