James Harvey YoungA collection of essays covering everything from 19th century patent medicines to Laetrile. The historical chapters are entertaining and well-written, with a wealth of interesting photographs. They contain tales of diet pills, cough syrups, and `vigor-restoring formulas' filled with ingredients ranging from cocaine to radium. Anybody who thinks that health care fraud is rampant today should definitely read this book to see how much things have actually improved in this century. The later essays argue that the best way to curtail current forms of quackery is through stronger governmental regulation of the food, drug, and medical industries. Whether you agree with this conclusion or not, this book is an excellent introduction to the study of fraud in the health industry.
1992, Princeton University Press; 299p.
#quackery#, #quackery:history#
Stephen Barrett and William T. Jarvis, eds.36 essays from a number of authors, on quackery, "alternative" and fringe medical treatments, nutrition claims, and related subjects. Besides covering the evidence for and against various types of treatments, the essays cover related legal issues, as well as discussing the ways that unproven medical treatments are covered by the media. About half of the essays were written or cowritten by Barrett, so that his opinions tend to dominate the book. Some of the topics discussed include chiropractic care, megadoses of vitamins, organic food, herbal remedies, acupuncture, holistic medicine, mental health care, and dental and optometric pseudoscience. Tips are given for judging the appropriateness of various treatments when visiting a physician, and there is an extensive ten-page listing of names and addresses of organizations from which reliable information can be obtained regarding every health-related issue imaginable.
1993, Prometheus Books; 526p.
#quackery#, #faith-healing#, #pseudoscience#, #fraud#
Reader's Guide to "Alternative" Health Methods
Stephen Barrett and William T. Jarvis, eds.Cites and analyzes more than 1000 reports on "unproven, disproven, controversial, fraudulent, quack and/or otherwise questionable approaches to solving health problems." Each major topic includes the editors' overview.
1993, American Medical Association; 370p.
#quackery#
Health Schemes, Scams And Frauds
Stephen Barrett and the Editors of Consumer Reports
1991, Consumer Reports Books; 256p.
#quackery#
George Magner; ed. Stephen BarrettBy the founder of Victims of Chiropractic, this is a severely critical look at a popular alternative medical practice. Magner makes a convincing case that chiropractic is and always has been a pseudoscience, and that it is worthless and even dangerous as treatment for all except a very narrow range of musculoskeletal disorders. Very informative, but still quite readable by the reasonably educated medical consumer.
1995, Prometheus; 240p.
#quackery#
Robert Buckman and Karl SabbaghExamines the nature of the relationship between patients and the people who treat them. Drawing on some of the earliest written medical sources as well as their own investigations into current alternative therapies, the authors argue that healing has always been partly the science of clinical treatment (the medicine) and partly an art (the magic). Medicine may make the patient get well, but it is often the magic that makes the patient feel well. With all the pressures under which they work, modern medical doctors often neglect the magic in their dealings with patients. And all too often, alternative therapists offer nothing but magic. Buckman and Sabbagh look closely at the claims made for both medical science and alternative therapies: between the promise and the reality of both, they have uncovered a chasm. Magic or Medicine? is a fascinating exploration of healing in the late 20th century, and vital reading for anyone concerned about the effective delivery of health care.
1993, Macmillan London (1995 Prometheus); 286p.
#quackery#
Norman Gevitz, ed.Provides an invaluable social and historical background for alternative medical approaches in America. How both orthodox and unorthodox medicine ties into popular ideologies and social movements is interesting. Along with some dead-and-gone 19th century alternative ideas, it covers homeopathy, chiropractic, Christian Science and Pentecostal-style faith healing. Knowing the relevant historical background would help in constructing more sympathetic and perhaps more effective critiques.
1988, The Johns Hopkins University Press; 302p.
#quackery:history#
Jack Raso
?, Prometheus Books; 291p.
#quackery#, #occult#, #newage#
Kurt Butler; edited by Stephen BarrettA survey of hundreds of health scams, along with more detailed information on major sources of quackery such as chiropractic and diets. The intent is not to present detailed scientific arguments, but show how many so-called therapies are useless or even dangerous, for the benefit of the casual consumer. Even so, there is likely to be information here for observers of the alternative medicine scene as well. It is amazing how many myths even many skeptics casually accept where health is concerned, just because they're part of common beliefs.
1992, Prometheus Books; 299p.
#quackery#
W.J. van der Steen and P.J. ThungThis book puts medicine in a wider cultural context, uncovers limitations of medicine (not least the failure adequately to deal with the mind-body problem), and critically analyzes alternative medicine, especially homeopathy.
1988, Dordrecht; 236p.
#quackery#
Arnold Bender
1986, Prometheus Books; ?p.
#quackery#
Meredith McGuire and Debra Cantor
1988, Rutgers University Press; 336p.
#quackery#, #newage#, #faith-healing#
Lawrence E. Jerome
1989, Prometheus Books; 195p.
#quackery#, #newage#
Douglas Stalker and Clark Glymour, eds.
1985, Prometheus Books; ?p.
#quackery#
Irmgard Oepen, ed.About alternative medicine, especially Homeopathy, veterinary homeopathy, iridology, electro-acupuncture, and many other areas. Oepen is the president of the German GWUP or Skeptics Society. There are chapters on "homeopathy and veterinary medicine" by Wolfgang Loescher (pp 273-302) where he demolishes the idea and points out the lack of any kind of valid research; by Oepen on "critical arguments on homeopathy" (pp 260-272), and on "acupuncture in veterinary medicine" (PP 303-312); on "new data and arguments on irisdiagnostik (iridology) by Dern, Mueller & Oepen (pp 136-149); and on "electroacupuncture nach Voll" by Gloerfeld, Himmelmann and Oepen (pp 150-161), on a technique using a computer hookup to a galvanic skin probe for diagnosing ailments and finding the proper remedy.
1993, Gustav Fischer; ?p.
#quackery#
James RandiContains sections on the history of faith healing, and the limitations of medical science, but the strength (and bulk) of the book is the direct examinations and exposes of particular faith healing claims. The Peter Popoff debunking is especially well known, and most of the examples are from the evangelical subculture. Not a comprehensive survey (i.e. not a dry academic text), but a good examination of real-world faith healing.
1987, Prometheus Books; 314p.
#faith-healing#, #quackery#
Richard BrennemanA look at three cases involving healing and faith, from a journalistic perspective that brings out the human drama behind them. The cases illustrate Christian Science (the religion the author used to belong to); Philippine psychic surgery transplanted to the US in a New Age context; and a cultish form of psychotherapy revolving around the personality of a therapist and psychedelic drugs. The focus is on the particular cases with only minimal attempts at broad-brush descriptions. While the sheer human detail presented can become tedious in parts, the books' virtue is its skeptical but sympathetic viewpoint, which reminds the reader that it is not just abstract scientific ideas at stake.
1990, Prometheus Books; 390p.
#faith-healing#, #newage#
William A. NolenThe personal account of a doctor who investigated the alleged supernatural healing powers of Kathryn Kuhlman, Norbu Chen, and the Fillipino psychic surgeons. One chapter on each -- includes a number of case examples. The author shows clearly how both suggestion and outright fraud tend to play a role in supernatural healings.
1974, Fawcett; 272p.
#faith-healing#, #psi#
Mark TwainA classic, attacking Christian science and Mary Baker Eddy. The argument does not focus on the medical claims, as much as the weirdness surrounding the Church doctrine, personal practices of Eddy, and the authoritarian organization.
1907, Harper & Bros. (? Prometheus Books); 362p. (196)
#faith-healing#
Martin GardnerOne of two relatively unlettered women (along with Ellen G. White) to start a major religious movement in the 19th century US, Mary Baker Eddy is depicted by Gardner as a self-serving, power-hungry prophetess who came along at the right time and place in American culture to fill a niche religious market, with a vengeance. The book focuses on material unfavorable to the church, including first edition of Science and Health (suppressed early after publication by church officials), the use of editors to polish the celestial wisdom, revelation-by-plagiarism, and the abuse of MAM ("malicious animal magnetism") to control and intimidate followers, displayed with Gardner's usual wit and wile. Gardner's description of how Mrs. Eddy utilized MAM to set up and maintain her organization is a testament to credulity and a case history well worth the read.
1993, Prometheus Books; 255p.
#faith-healing#, #religion:history#, #psychology#
William CollingeCovers Chinese medicine (including acupuncture), Indian Ayurveda, homeopathy, naturopathy, "mind/body medicine," osteopathy, chiropractic, and "massage therapy and bodywork." Its evenhanded and nontechnical tone makes it a good introduction to the alternative medicine point of view, but this also makes it boring for the non-novice. For scientific support, it refers to many studies of indeterminate quality, and the NIH's Office of Alternative Medicine. Occasionally lapses into nauseating Newage-speak, but generally worth browsing through.
1996, Warner; 361p.
#quackery:defense#