Books by Simon Singh: Trick or Treatment, Big Bang, the Code Book, Fermat's Last Theorem

by Books LLC

This is nonfiction commentary. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Trick or Treatment, Big Bang, the Code Book, Fermat's Last Theorem. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial (North American title: Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine) is a 2008 book about alternative medicine by Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst. Singh is a physicist and the writer of several popular science books. Ernst is a professor of complementary medicine. The book evaluates the scientific evidence for acupuncture, homeopathy, herbal medicine, and chiropractic, and briefly covers 36 other treatments. It finds that the scientific evidence for these alternative treatments is generally lacking. Homeopathy is concluded to be completely ineffective: "It's nothing but a placebo, despite what homeopaths say." Although the book presents evidence that acupuncture, chiropractic and herbal remedies have limited efficacy for certain ailments, the authors conclude that the dangers of these treatments outweigh any potential benefits. Such potential risks outlined by the authors are contamination or unexpected interactions between components in the case of herbal medicine, risk of infection in the case of acupuncture and the potential for chiropractic manipulation of the neck to cause delayed stroke. The book is very critical of Prince Charles' advocacy of alternative medicine and the actions of his now-defunct Foundation for Integrated Health. The book is dedicated, in an ironic fashion, to the Prince. The book received generally good reviews. The New England Journal of Medicine reviewed the book and said this about the authors: "Simon Singh is a physicist and science journalist, and his coauthor, Edzard Ernst, is a physician and professor of complement...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=2119303

20 pages, Paperback

First published June 20, 2010

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Reviews

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Fermat's Last Theorem, and the build up as well as the mathematical explanation was both intriguing and understandable for a non-mathematician. Great book!