Review by BettyBooker -- Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks

[BettyBooker]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks" by Morton E Tavel, MD.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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This is a non-fiction book with the theme of educating the general public on matters concerning medical health and well-being. The author tackles the “bro-science,” myths, and prevalent ideas that are not scientifically meritorious or factual. I rate the book 2 out of 4.

Overall, the book reads like a lecture series or a handy quick-reference guide but lacks depth as per the topics covered, with little questioning, lots of assumptions and superficial treatment of matters that are increasingly important, or simply no treatment at all.

For example, there is a discussion on vitamins and supplements which is nicely done however, it's possible that the very same information can be found from a Google search. Moreover, the school of thought is they are usually unnecessary yet they remain a lucrative market, at least for the manufacturers, which is suggestive that on some level they may well be beneficial, hence the persistent consumption.
Moreover, the discussion on vaccinations, describes the hysteria but there is no information as to why this came about, why it persists, or even why it could be erroneous for the general public to be so fearful.

Worst of all, the book is very Western-oriented/Eurocentric. As an example, for all the talk of junk food and weight-loss, the truth is that much of the world's population does not count these as urgent medical concerns. The discussion on naturopathy and alternative forms of medicine is unbalanced as these are termed "quackery" but there is nothing to explain why so many are turning to these practices, and seem to be finding real relief from their ailments.
I realise that the book could be written for a specific audience but for a manual that purports to provide health "tips and tricks," such narrowness becomes a weakness.

One glaring concern is the verbatim, copy-paste chapter 42, pages 174-175, taken entirely from the website http://www.badsciencewatch.ca/projects/ ... in-canada/ but not cited as such. This appears to be plagiarism.
There are some also some odd symbols in chapter headings e.g. the mathematical pi and use of zero at the beginning and end of chapter headings, but nothing impossible to overlook. Other minor errors and typos are to be found on page 37 - "soft green substance" requires a comma between "soft" and "green," page 56 - "blood flood" should be blood fluid, page 50 - the units of sodium (mg) are missing.

On the positive side, the book is divided into “short and sweet” easy-to-read chapters. It reads like commentary from a sensible, old-time country doctor and is nicely divided into 3 clear sections - tips, tricks and myths.
Generally the book is fine, offers some useful information but for the reasons above, may not be appealing to a wide audience.

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Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks
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Like BettyBooker's review? Post a comment saying so!

[kdstrack]

Your comment about the book reading like a lecture is very interesting. The chapters are concise and to the point. I also wondered about the chapter headings??? Great review. Thanks.

[BettyBooker]

Thanks for reading my review, kdstrack. Agreed, the chapters are concise and to-the-point, "short and sweet" as it were, yet "lecture-series style," not because they are long and rambling, but in the sense of a dry, top-level introduction, with little depth or engagement, before moving on to the next item. Sort of the way a bored professor may introduce a topic on a superficial level, have students go off to read the book/notes/do self-directed research, then hold office hours for the few who may wish. Still, I do give merit for the sheer breadth of topics covered, though a little substantive information on each item tackled would make it all the more stronger. Have you written a review on it? If so, I'd be happy to read your thoughts. Thanks.

[kdstrack]

Thanks for reading my review, kdstrack. Agreed, the chapters are concise and to-the-point, "short and sweet" as it were, yet "lecture-series style," not because they are long and rambling, but in the sense of a dry, top-level introduction, with little depth or engagement, before moving on to the next item. Sort of the way a bored professor may introduce a topic on a superficial level, have students go off to read the book/notes/do self-directed research, then hold office hours for the few who may wish. Still, I do give merit for the sheer breadth of topics covered, though a little substantive information on each item tackled would make it all the more stronger. Have you written a review on it? If so, I'd be happy to read your thoughts. Thanks.

Yes, I have read the book and written a review. Here it is!
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=55699

[EvaDar]

I really enjoyed reading your review. This was the first book I reviewed, and my review really reflects a 2 out of 4 rating, though I gave it a 3. (I was so new I didn't know my scale yet.) I like your review because you have pointed out some important and surprising factors. The plagiarism. That's really too bad. My biggest problem with the book was the wholesale condemnation of alternative medicine. He actually reduced the entire field to a conspiracy theory. Very out of touch with contemporary views of medicine, as you pointed out. Great review. Thanks so much.

[BettyBooker]

Thank you so much for reading my review and commenting on it, Eva. I see you've also had a look at the review by kdstrack and have commented on the discussion so thank you for that as well. I too was a little concerned with the dismissive approach to alternative/non-Western medical practices so it's interesting that someone else shares the same view. I'm still getting the hang of the website and couldn't find your review under your profile. Please feel free to share a link. Thanks again.