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REINVENT THE HEAL

Name: REINVENT THE HEAL
Author: James T. Hansen
ISBN: 978-1477211472

A PHILOSOPHY FOR THE REFORM OF MEDICAL PRACTICE

by James T. Hansen ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 10, 2012

A novel prescription for America’s medical establishment.

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Hansen’s debut looks at America’s health care system, describing its problems and offering solutions.

The author, a physician for 35 years, brings his perspective to what he calls the “witches’ brew” of medicine. Despite the vast sums this country spends on health care, he writes, our society still produces less-than-commendable health outcomes. Many of the system’s woes, Hansen asserts, are caused by “technophysicians...who only see the color of money,” and who are overwhelmed by the lure of expensive procedures. Their influence, he writes, has been abetted by the availability of sophisticated technology. He faults the marketing practices of the pharmaceutical industry, the failure of hospitals and physicians to discipline medical wrongdoing, and the lack of empathy for patients. The author also cites the rise of HMOs and managed care, which he believes are no better than the traditional fee-for-service model. Unlike most recent health-care books, which advocate a single-payer system, Hansen instead argues for a change in medical education. He writes that “spiritualism,” defined as a “higher power” to “help us find answers, serenity, and peace,” should be a tool used by “physician educators.” His own medical education, he says, caused him to be “locked into a textbook,” but he had a crucial experience during his internship—he watched a caring doctor engage directly with a seriously ill woman. Indeed, the most compelling parts of this book are the case histories of actual patients, and the author uses each story to illustrate a particular flaw in the practice of medicine. Overall, although some of the background material in this book might have been better condensed, readers will likely find the patients’ stories consistently engrossing.

A novel prescription for America’s medical establishment.

Pub Date: July 10, 2012

ISBN: 978-1477211472

Page Count: 244

Publisher: AuthorHouse

Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2013

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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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.