A collection of doctor-bashing stories and gripes about medical care compiled by a father-son team in the health care industry. The senior Jacobsen (Hostage, 1991) spent 30 years as a hospital administrator and the son a decade in health-related fields. They interviewed over 100 health care ``insiders''— doctors, nurses, technicians, pharmacists, equipment salesmen, insurance providers, lawyers, hospital administrators and employees, and others—to find out what they consider to be the biggest problems in the industry. After an initial chapter on the evolution of doctor-patient relationships by an unnamed ``expert on medical sociology,'' the interviewees' comments are grouped into chapters on such themes as the arrogance of doctors, the greed of doctors, and the failure of the medical profession to police itself. Other chapters focus on laboratory fraud, quality- of-care problems, the financial woes of hospitals and small pharmacies, malpractice, and the shortcomings of HMOs. Each chapter opens with a minimal introduction by the authors and then offers two or three dozen brief and sometimes not-so-brief comments by the interviewees, which frequently smack of ax grinding. The interviewees' names and qualifications are not given, but their occupations can often be inferred from the context; e.g., pharmacists complain about the cost squeeze that's hurting small pharmacies. At the close, the authors sketch some simplistic solutions, such as, greater federal control, tort reform, and increased awareness by patients of their rights and responsibilities, and they include some cursory advice on how to select a doctor. Compared with the solid research and in-depth analysis found in Marc Rodwin's Medicine, Money and Morals (1993), Harvey Wachsman's Lethal Medicine (1993), and Neil Rolde's Your Money or Your Health (1992), this is superficial stuff, full of horror stories and unsubstantiated claims. One long kvetch that health care reformers can safely ignore.
Pub Date: May 1, 1994
ISBN: 1-56025-070-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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