A heavy-handed infomercial.
Vilification of critics of the pharmaceutical industry from the vice president of a market-oriented think tank.
Goldberg, co-founder of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, which waged a strong campaign against health-care reform, charges that “instant experts” are deliberately using scare tactics to manipulate health information on the Internet in order to influence public policy and corporate behavior. Emphasizing that nothing in life is risk-free, the author alleges that unrealistic concerns about the safety of drugs is impeding pharmaceutical companies from bringing new drugs to market. Examples of challenged therapies abound. In his discussion of the removal of Vioxx from the market, he describes cardiologist Steven Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic as a “self-appointed drug regulator” who has made a career out of attacking drugs, and David Graham of the FDA’s Office of Drug Safety as doing “everything possible to scare the public and further his personal grudges, at the expense of scientific truth.” In Goldberg’s view, there is a new movement afoot—tabloid medicine—which is trying to convince the public that pharmaceutical companies have made blatant attempts to buy doctors and scientists and that medical research receiving industry support cannot be trusted. He charges that tabloid medicine, driven by advocacy organizations and retailers of alternative medicine, is using the Internet to spread frightening stories about the risks of drugs that do not give a true picture of their benefits. To neutralize this movement, Goldberg proposes adoption of personalized medicine—i.e., the use of scientific advances such as genetic testing to match patients to treatment and thereby maximize benefits and reduce risks. He also strongly urges the medical community, including drug companies, physicians and government agencies, to use the Internet to fight back against the messages of tabloid medicine. Further, he offers Internet users in search of information about health matters some sound advice about becoming more skeptical: Investigate who created the content and who funds the website.
A heavy-handed infomercial.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-60714-727-5
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Kaplan Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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
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