Tag Archives: Science

Bad Pharma by Ben Goldacre

Synopsis: Subtitled: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients. Review: In Bad Pharma, just as he did in Bad Science, Ben Goldacre proves more than capable of making science accessible to non-science minded people like me. I do some work in the health care field, on a clinical level, but my ability to interpret research for myself isn’t as developed as I’d like it to be. I felt like I learned a lot about critical analysis, and finally I understand Relative Risk and the…

Read More »

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Synopsis: How the cells from the cancerous cervix of an impoverished black woman from Baltimore came to be the foundation for basically all scientific research with cells in the world. Review: I was very excited to learn that my public library was going to begin lending Kindle books. The list was pretty dismal, but I had heard good things about The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks so I decided to give it a try. Henrietta Lacks was born and raised and ultimately died in poverty.…

Read More »

The Panic Virus by Seth Mnookin

Synopsis: A history of the origins and controversies in the debate over vaccine safety. Review: The Panic Virus is well-researched and provocative, and lays out a convincing case that the furor over vaccines was fueled by fear, charlatanism, ignorance, and bad science. However, I don’t think it will convince anyone who is totally opposed to vaccines. But for me, as someone who was persuaded by many of the anti-vaccine arguments even as I believed in the public health good of vaccines, I came away feeling…

Read More »

Microcosmos by Brandon Broll

Synopsis: Subtitled: Discovering The World Through Microscopic Images From 20 X to Over 22 Million X Magnification. Review: I read Microcosmos as part of Eco Libris’s Green Books campaign, which aims to showcase books that are published with eco-friendly methods. The book says that it is from a “product group from well-managed forests and other controlled sources.” I don’t really know what that means, but it looks gorgeous! The photos are really amazing, everything from bones to chocolate ice cream to mushroom spores. It’s great…

Read More »

Bad Science by Ben Goldacre

Synopsis: Subtitled, Quacks, Hacks, and Big Pharma Flacks, it’s an exposé of the way that misunderstanding science allows people to profit off of ignorance and fear. Review: Ben Goldacre’s mission in Bad Science is to expose the way that the unscrupulous exploit the public’s misunderstanding of science in order to make big money. He shines a light on homeopathy, nutritionism, AIDS denialists, and more. Along the way he takes the time to educate the reader on how to understand evidence-based medicine, peer review, and scientific…

Read More »

Why Gender Matters by Leonard Sax MD PhD

Synopsis: An examination of the science of sex differences. Review: Apart from some outdated and irresponsible advice about breastfeeding (says the LLL leader), I got a lot out of Why Gender Matters, which I listened to on audiobook. Dr. Sax talks about how the neurological differences between men and women, and how that influences how we perceive the world and the choices we make. He applies it to teaching and to childrearing. In short, his argument is that gender blind education is harmful because it…

Read More »

Diagnosis: Schizophrenia by Rachel Miller & Susan E. Mason

Synopsis: A look at schizophrenia through first person accounts by 35 people diagnosed with the disease, along with advice and recommendations from several clinicians and doctors. Review: This book is designed primarily to be comforting and encouraging for someone with schizophrenia. The first person accounts in Diagnosis: Schizophrenia demystify the illness and give honest answers to questions like “What if I don’t like my medication?” and “How will my family treat me?” I am writing something about schizophrenia and this book will be incredibly useful.

Read More »