A great amount of medical information and advice, despite some flaws.
Managed medical care is vehemently scrutinized by a board-certified general surgeon with an axe to grind.
The unorthodox introduction to Taha’s medical guidebook is comprised of a wish list of governmental laws he’d like to see enacted in order to curb the rising fatalities from smoking, strokes, diabetes, osteoporosis, medical misinformation, unmonitored hypertension and obesity. Readers will instantly know that the author means business and is serious about educating with pages of key information and medical advice drawn from his years as a medical professional. Taha begins by discussing heart-attack treatments, which he advises can come in the form of the polypill–a combination of six lifesaving medications currently in clinical trials in the United Kingdom. After citing the benefits and availability of such low-cost pharmaceuticals, the author counters with his aggravation about the dominance of profit-hungry Health Maintenance Organizations “controlling the market” with confusing co-pay arrangements, exorbitant CEO salaries and nonsensical requirements. Taha’s narrative gains momentum when he gets personal and details, to a dizzying extent, his health issues. The author assesses the damaging results of laser surgery on his retina which resulted in permanently diminished vision. A barrage of optometrists, medical appointments and court dates ensued for several years, yet Taha’s vision remains troubled to this day. He discusses his additional medical maladies, including diabetes (which may or may not have complicated a botched dental procedure) and high blood pressure. Here the book’s message becomes jumbled, hindered by the author’s personal frustrations. Still, the concluding sections of the book zero in on constructive advice–extending life expectancy, avoiding debilitating chronic disease, and the importance of screening for cancer, hypertension and general arterial health. Taha advocates the use of herbal remedies like ginkgo biloba and touts the antioxidant properties of beans and berries before sharing thoughts on President Obama’s proposed health care reform structure.
A great amount of medical information and advice, despite some flaws.Pub Date: July 27, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4392-4530-9
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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