LoveReading Says
Shortlisted for the 2009 Royal Society Prize for Science Books.
Ben Goldacre targets medical charlatans, quacks, frauds and cons with great relish. His medical expertise allowing him to dissect each one proving the case against them, pulling no punches, his often witheringly funny comments make this an exhilarating read. Funny he can be but his serious purpose is to show how we are being deceived, with any luck giving readers the ammunition to spot future deceptions for themselves.
Comparison: Trick or Treatment: Alternative Medicine on Trial by Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst, Suckers: How Alternative Medicine Makes Fools of Us All by Rose Shapiro
July 2009 Guest Editor Louise Wener on Bad Science by BEN GOLDACRE
A
simple, witty debunking of the junk science that has taken root in our
culture; from the myth of detoxing and homeopathic cure alls, to our
fear of the MMR vaccine. Goldacre skillfully examines how the media
whips us into a frenzy about non-existent bogeymen and makes us all the
poorer as a consequence. At a time when we seem to be rejecting
scientific fact and seeking solace in instant, gobbledygook solutions,
it feels like vital stuff.
Reviewed by Sue BakerSue Baker has for many years been a regular non-fiction reviewer to the book trade and is one of Lovereading's founder book experts.
More reviews by Sue Baker About Bad Science
Guardian columnist Dr Ben Goldacre takes us on a hilarious, invigorating and informative journey through the bad science we're fed by the worst of the hacks and the quacks...When Dr Ben Goldacre saw someone on daytime TV dipping her feet in an 'Aqua Detox' footbath, releasing her toxins into the water and turning it brown, he thought he'd try the same at home. 'Like some kind of Johnny Ball cum Witchfinder General', using his girlfriend's Barbie doll, he gently passed an electrical current through the warm salt water.
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Bad Science Synopsis
Guardian columnist Dr Ben Goldacre takes us on a hilarious, invigorating and informative journey through the bad science we're fed by the worst of the hacks and the quacks...When Dr Ben Goldacre saw someone on daytime TV dipping her feet in an 'Aqua Detox' footbath, releasing her toxins into the water and turning it brown, he thought he'd try the same at home. 'Like some kind of Johnny Ball cum Witchfinder General', using his girlfriend's Barbie doll, he gently passed an electrical current through the warm salt water.
It turned brown. In his words: 'before my very eyes, the world's first Detox Barbie was sat, with her feet in a pool of brown sludge, purged of a weekend's immorality.'Dr Ben Goldacre is the author of the 'Bad Science' column in the Guardian and his book is about all the 'bad science' we are constantly bombarded with in the media and in advertising. At a time when science is used to prove everything and nothing, everyone has their own 'bad science' moments - from the useless pie-chart on the back of cereal packets to the use of the word 'visibly' in cosmetics ads.
This book will help people to quantify their instincts - that a lot of the so-called 'science' which appears in the media and in advertising is just wrong or misleading. Satirical and amusing - and unafraid to expose the ridiculous - it provides the reader with the facts they need to differentiate the good from the bad.Full of spleen, this is a hilarious, invigorating and informative journey through the world of 'bad science'.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780007326761 |
| Publication date: |
2nd April 2009 |
| Author: |
Ben Goldacre |
| Publisher: |
Harper Perennial an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
288 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Popular Science
|
| Recommendations: |
|
Ben Goldacre Press Reviews
‘From an expert with a mail-order PhD to debunking the myths of homeopathy, Ben Goldacre talking the reader through some notable cases and shows how to you don’t need a science degree to spot “bad science” yourself.’ Independent (Book of the Year)
‘His book aims to teach us better, in the hope that one day we write less nonsense.’ Daily Telegraph (Book of the Year)
‘For sheer savagery, the illusion-destroying, joyous attack on the self-regarding, know-nothing orthodoxies of the modern middle classes, “Bad Science” can not be beaten. You’ll laugh your head off, then throw all those expensive health foods in the bin.’ Trevor Philips, Observer (Book of the Year)
‘Unmissable…laying about himself in a froth of entirely justified indignation, Goldacre slams the mountebanks and bullshitters who misuse science. Few escape: drug companies, self-styled nutritionists, deluded researchers and journalists all get thoroughly duffed up. It is enormously enjoyable.’ The Times (Book of the Year)
About Ben Goldacre
Dr Ben Goldacre is the author of the 'Bad Science' column in the 'Guardian' ? one of the most popular columns in the newspaper. During the past three years it has become one of the most popular columns in the paper, receiving hundreds of emails every week with tip-offs for stories. He studied Medicine at Oxford. He is 34 and now works full time for the NHS as an academic and hospital doctor, seeing patients and explaining difficult ideas to difficult people. Ben also appears regularly on TV and radio commenting on cosmetics, adverts, scares and alternative therapies.
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