An important book that may save lives
584454
This short, well-written book uses vivid stories from hurricanes, earthquakes, fires and floods to show the mental biases that keep us from preparing for disasters, even disasters we know are coming. The authors apply Kahneman and Tversky psychology to improve our behavior.

While most of the examples in this book come from natural disasters, these mental errors contribute to many low probability but high consequence catastrophes. I couldn't help but think about errors investors make in the stock market. Myopia: focusing on too short a time horizon; Amnesia: forgetting lessons of past disasters; Herding!

The second half of the book offers strategies to overcome these biases, but this area needs more work. The authors present a framework for a behavioral risk audit and describe preparedness plans that take our natural biases into account. I wish they had more examples of successful preparation to share. If planners read this book, maybe those will come.
4728527
This is a most valuable resource for those in medical missions. It assumes some background knowledge of medicine, but its disease overviews and treatment protocols will replace volumes of other resources. Most importantly, it will save lives!
3351401
A book that needs to be read by everyone that works with the dying.  It is helpful for preparing ourselves and others for the end of this physical life. It make one think and ponder how we want to finish our life on earth.  I believe every pastor, doctor and health professional would profit by reading this book. It deals with the subject of death from a biblical perspective and looks at the value of life as we approach physical death.  This book has been thought provoking, enlightening and very educational.
3641632
If you haven't read this book yet, you should!  No home should be without it.  It could save your life!
1423953
Great book which should be read by everybody, especially by terminal patients. Long time ago, I read Dr. Lawrence LeShan's book on Cancer therapy "You can fight for your life" and I introduced this content to my students, showing importance of choosing life of own. In this Dr. Siegel's book, I found same spirit working. And when I read his another great book "Love, Medicine & Miracles", I found this Dr. LeShan's book was quoted in great respect.
This book "A book of miracles" is a collection of miracle encounters with Doctor's comments added. "Love, Medicine & Miracles" is his own writing showing importance of having Will to live and fight back on disease. Family and friends' encouragement, and meaning of Prayer in addition to following treatment by doctors.
Both books must be on read list for every human being. I was surprised to learn that even terminal patients could be completely cured by Will, Faith, Prayer and Beliefs.
It looks like important to be humble and ask help without prejudice when we are in trouble and then maybe some miracles might happen. It is encouraging to read this book before it becomes too late. Great!
4438148
A must-read for anybody who cares about their health.
4768806
I was so impressed by reading the first single copy of Caldwell B. Esselstyn's book that I bought 4 more copies to give away. It is a book that should be read by the general population for in this country (Australia)for over 48,000 people die each year from heart attacks that could largely be avoided.
1602937
Thank Heaven!  Somebody has finally written a book in keeping with my views on the medical system.  I have long believed that each individual should be 100% in charge of his own body at all times, especially when medical personnel are involved.  I believe every health care provider should be a humble servant of his patient and that his only function is to inform and to obey that patient.  A doctor's value is inversely proportional to his ego.

Dr. Veatch, a pharmacist with a doctorate in ethics, believes that every medical decision must be based on the values of the individual patient, and no doctor can ever make a decision because he doesn't know that patient's values or how that person would apply them to a given situation.  Therefore, only the patient is qualified to make a medical decision.  No treatment is ever "medically indicated" or "medically necessary" because those terms involve choices made by doctors or groups of doctors who can never know what is best for an individual patient, whose values and goals may be very different from those of the doctors.  Dr. Veatch rejects the idea of informed consent because the term indicates that the doctor makes the choice and the patient agrees to go along with it.  This, of course, is backwards.  The patient must make all the choices and then the doctor may consent to do it.

The author also includes chapters on health insurance, the ethics of medical experiments, and alternatives to prescriptions.  He notes that morbidity-reducing lifestyles are not always the most reasonable for all individuals, and that what we call obesity may be a sensible choice for some people because it is more in keeping with their values than weight loss.  I especially liked his view that hospice care should be removed from the medical system and covered under Social Security because preparing for death is not primarily a medical issue.  Generally, the legal, practical, spiritual, social, and other concerns are much more important than the medical aspects, and he believes the health care system is not the right one to deal with the dying process.

This is a book of common sense that is not afraid to take on a lot of sacred cows, and I think it should be read by everyone.  If any reader finds some chapters hard going, he should at the very least read the epilogue, which summarizes the philosophy expressed in the book.  If all patients shared Dr. Veatch's views and demanded the autonomy to which they are entitled, we would have a much better health care system and probably a cheaper one because no one would ever be pushed into a test or treatment that he did not choose.  It also would cut down on lawsuits because if doctors couldn't make choices, they would have much less liability.  These changes may not come overnight, but step one toward an improved system is for everyone to get this book.
1113332
Wow! So much good information. Very easy read. I felt like I was walking beside the author.  It impressed on me the importance of listening to my body. After reading this I asked two friends to go get checked out as I was alerted to some symptoms spoken about in the book! I'm certain this book will speak to many and save lives.
1783509
This is one of the rare books that should be read but especially by those drawn by the medical profession. Reading this book gives the layperson an idea of the incredible difficulties and challenges that confront the surgeon that must deal with life and death issues while maintaining a mental, physical and spiritual equilibrium. To the physician, this book speaks in ways that lie beyond words and of such I would dare say no more.

Both the writing and aspirations of this work lie far above the average book and require that those, whom hold both life and excellence in writing dear, should make this book a part of their list for books that should be read.
1645066
Mr. Wells lays out a compelling guide that assist the reader in recognizing threat in a way that is easily understood and followed.  This is a book that is both timely, illuminating, and thought provoking.  I'm not one to see a "boogie-man" around every corner, but the fact is that it can be a dangerous world and more than often then not than not there have been prior warnings, that have gone intentionally ignored or honestly missed, that heeded may have helped prevent tragedy.  Observe, Assess, Act, it can't be any easier than that and that is exactly the point of Mr. Wells' book.  Be aware of your situation, recognizing a threat and acting on that recognition could save your life and the lives of others.

Good Read.
825860
A book that is sure to extend some lives, save some lives, and help people live a better life. I'm not a vegitaraian at all but I'm working towards a more plant based diet as latest studies clearly show their benefit and this book showcased tons of studies proving that point. I was clueless about many areas covered, the most dramatic being the negatives against vegetable oils. The book was a tad overboard in the zealot category and sometimes when people are too much of a zealot, they can loose objectivity which can lead to as an example, in this text, not looking deeper into studies that the author listed. He mentions how sometimes studies are incomplete or further studies disprove earlier ones when talking about old wives tales that people still believe, but I suspect this probably happened here as well--not looking into some studies deeper. However, I found the book to be enlightening and for me, life changing. If someone's interested in plant based eating, this book is a must.
128631
This is not a book to buy before going to your doctor or a hospital for care! The cases dramatically told are chilling, but absolutely true. These terrible moments are only the tip of a veritable iceberg of medical errors that happen today in the complicated world of medicine. You should know about the errors Dr Kumar relates so well, but even more, you should know the resources he documents, too. The active participation of patients and families in medical care today is critical to obtaining the best and safest care no matter what the reputation of the provider or the institution. Read this book and learn from it; it could save your life. Besides, it's a good compendium of medical stories.
3214733
Let me get to the point quickly: the subject of suicide is an important one in that the more that it is spoken and written about openly, the better, and the more lives can be saved from tragedy. In this the book performs the essential service. I have lost a close friend to suicide and believe that if this is a topic that had been more openly discussed he would be with us today.

In addition, in order to perform this service, the book speaks to us through entertainment, that is, the book is a very enjoyable one to read. The strength of its characters is seen especially in the dark and troubled ones. I enjoy the milieu of Paris which is my home, and the author most clearly understands the City. It is a book very intense and well organized. I give it my highest recommendation.
4531547
I feel for people who don't know about this book! The information is vital. While medicine is saving people from far more diseases/conditions than ever before, a lot more people are dying from brain related conditions, such as: alzheimers, dementia and MS. And there is seemingly no cure! This book has put together all the latest research and come up with very strong and consistent correlations. I believe this book will save my brain health and my life.
4866052
Dr Hennenfent's expos is a watershed in the information available to those who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and to those wishing to improve their knowledge of the problem.  Its content may prove critical to sufferers in deciding what treatment option to adopt, and what quality of life and life expectancy they may realize as a consequence.

The book readily distinguishes from many others published before it because of Dr Hennenfent's standing as a doctor of medicine.  His account is written from inside the medical profession and reflects an intimate knowledge of both good and bad in medical practice.  He is also a Director of the prominent US organization, the Prostatitis Foundation, which actively promotes information about prostate infection and has an ongoing engagement with the US Government in identifying research opportunities that may improve the plight of sufferers in the US.

The book bears an authority that has no parallel in earlier texts on this subject.  Dr Hennenfent's frankness in informing readers without fear or favor of the serious concerns associated with radical prostatectomy is what readers have wanted and needed for decades.  He reveals the absence of adequate peer scrutiny of high-risk and inappropriate treatment which is all-too-often being routinely dispensed to patients by his urological colleagues.  Elsewhere, he highlights the failure of the urology profession to initiate controlled studies utilizing the wealth of raw data that they have at their disposal from operations they have performed and other forms of intervention they have administered or coordinated.  Such studies would offer great potential to advance the knowledge and understanding of the disease, and in turn offer scope for improved treatment outcomes for the current and future generations of patients.

Good science does not always emerge on its own.  In the case of the treatment of prostate cancer, it requires the determination of advocates like Dr Hennenfent and an informed and determined public to force the reform of attitudes and practice within the medical profession in general, and within the urology profession in particular.  In an era of rapid communication technology, it can be expected that the message of this book will quickly spread to the wider global community, and in so doing will take the debate to a new level.  Hopefully, it will also bring about that good science that is desperately needed by so many.

The book is compelling reading not only for those who feel powerless and confused as they face the dilemma of what road to take for treatment, but also for those who know the  ever-looming danger of prostate cancer and believe that being forewarned is to be forearmed.

Mr A S McCaffrey

Brisbane, Australia

26 February 2005
969579
Richard D. Lamm, former three-term governor of Colorado, has written a thought-provoking book, which should be required reading for any American who pays taxes or who will some day get sick. America, some of its citizens often proclaim, has the "best health care system in the world." Not so, Lamm argues:  our medical miracles are parceled out to certain segments of society while forty-plus million Americans lack basic health care. Public health statistics consistently show the US lagging behind other developed countries in terms of life expectancy and infant mortality. Lamm uses the data to support his contention in this book that "The time has come to ask--and answer--some hard questions about how American health care dollars are actually being spent and about what we as a society are getting for that expenditure."

  Lamm should be commended for speaking forcefully and passionately on this subject. He addresses health-care rationing, allocation of public monies, the need for society to accept the inevitability of death, and the need for government to intercede in medical education (directing schools to train more primary care physicians as opposed to the preponderance of specialists we now have). The book is readable even for people unfamiliar with health care policy and economic theories. Numerous sidebars offer encapsulations of important concepts and statistics. He has a gift for explaining the conflict in easily understandable prose. He also leavens his harsh pronouncements with pithy comments, such as when he refers to former President Clinton's avowed goal of fighting all deadly diseases and writes,"What are we going to die of, rust?" His forthright voice makes one wonder how he ever got elected to public office.

 The author concludes with a strategy for addressing our national health care crisis. If enough people read The Brave New World of Health Care, we the people may start to find our way out of what this former governor convincingly paints as an ever-deepening moral and financial morass facing the health of our society and its citizens.