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| Suckers: How Alternative Medicine Makes Fools of Us All | 
 enlarge | Author: Rose Shapiro
Publisher: Random House UK
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $11.75
You Save: $13.20 (53%)
New (11) Used (2) from $11.75
Avg. Customer Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 516685
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.9
ISBN: 1846550289
Dewey Decimal Number: 615.5
EAN: 9781846550287
ASIN: 1846550289
Publication Date: February 7, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Alternative medicine is an increasingly mainstream industry with a predicted worth of five trillion dollars by the year 2050. Its treatments range from reputable methods like homeopathy and acupuncture to such bizarre therapies as nutraceuticals, ear candling, and ergogenics. Alternative approaches are endorsed by celebrities, embraced by the middle class, and have become a lifestyle choice for many based on their spurious claims of rediscovery of ancient wisdom and the supposedly benign quality of nature. As this hard-hitting survey reveals, despite their growing popularity and expanding market share, there is no hard evidence that any of these so-called natural treatments actually work. It reveals how alternative medicine jeopardizes the health of those it claims to treat, leaches resources from treatments of proven efficacy, and is largely unaccountable and unregulated. Bracing and funny, this is a calling to account of a social and intellectual fraud that has produced a global delusion.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Absolutely brilliant and revealing book April 23, 2008
27 out of 32 found this review helpful
Suckers is an easy read and very well researched. I must admit that I rarely read "popular science" books, since I find them brushing over details and ultimately getting facts wrong. This book however, has the facts and backgrounds of a whole host of "alternative" "treatments" down to a T, teaches you how to recognise a quack by the language they use and will ultimately save you money, because you will not fall for their promises. I finished the book on Monday and have already recommended it to two colleagues.
Did you know that "Traditional Chinese Medicine" is barely over 50 years old?
Did you know the origins of chiropractise and osteopathy?
This book is an essential read for the parent who constantly needs to defend their decision not to use a naturopath and for the health professional who has preserved their ethics and is not offering unproven treatments to satisfy the modern trend for supposedly ancient healing methods.
 Don't Waste Your Money April 8, 2008
9 out of 60 found this review helpful
Rose says 1 in 3 people now use "Alternate" Medicine and the numbers are growing. To me this says a lot about how bad Mainstream Medicine is as people look elsewhere after pharmaceuticals have failed and will continue to fail. Rose should have used her time understanding why people choose to change to Alternative Medicine rather than going down the old road of slagging alternative treatments, many of which are rehashed here. Rather look at Alternative Medicines that are working, there are many, and focus on bring these into the light. Rose be positive and open-minded, stop living in a box.
Not for gullible zealots July 28, 2008
7 out of 11 found this review helpful
Rose Shapiro has applied a magnifying glass and blowtorch to the cult of "alternative therapies", in both an intelligent and interesting way. There isn't much new here for anyone who rejects the notions of fairies-in-the-garden healing, maaan, but there is some fascinating historical info. Let's face it, though, Dr Shapiro is pretty well preaching to the choir. Your average "alternative therapies" proponent will have neither the nouse nor discipline to comprehend the science and facts Shapiro presents. And her call for the voodoo industry to be regulated will have its zombie fanatics hitting the (snake-oil) bottle like there's no tomorrow.
yes, mainstream has made us suckers August 29, 2008
5 out of 19 found this review helpful
If people use alternative medicine it is precisely because mainstream medicine has completely failed to cure their problem. Are not mainstream medicines full of chemical substances that are harmful to health? Are there not raging controversies on harmone pills and many more medicines? This book makes excellent (ab)use of statistical data. For example, the author says 20% of Ayurvedic medicines sold in the US have been found to have some harmful substances (such as lead). But she does not say clearly whether it is a problem with the pharma or whether it is a fundamental problem with Ayurveda? At the end of the same Chapter she says that Ayurveda has not proven to be effective without explaining the reasons or showing evidences. Such careless statements abound in the text throughout the book. The book is written in an obscure style with data and conclusions scattered here and there to confuse the reader in the end. There is no medical system that has solved all problems. Until such system arrives it is preposterous to make a judgement with such a strong title "Suckers". I would have appreciated if strenghts and weaknesses of various alternative medicines, the diseases they can/can't cure are explained in detail to make the reader - nay the patient - aware of the issues. Unfortunately the book has none of these.
 Great Read, Well Researched December 7, 2008
This is a great book. Lot's of historical background to explain how some of the wackier alternative medicines originated (homeopathy, chiropractic, TCM, etc.) and some good explanations as to why they are still around. While there is some "preaching to the choir" to be had in this one, the historical context is more than worth the effort.
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