Bad Science by Ben Goldacre – “Ben Goldacre’s wise and witty bestseller, shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize, lifts the lid on quack doctors, flaky statistics, scaremongering journalists and evil pharmaceutical corporations.”
Ben was a junior doctor and academic working for the NHS but since 2003 Dr Ben Goldacre has been exposing dodgy medical data in his popular Guardian column. In this eye-opening book, he takes on the MMR hoax and misleading cosmetics ads, acupuncture and homoeopathy, vitamins and mankind’s vexed relationship with all manner of ‘toxins’. Along the way, the self-confessed ‘Johnny Ball cum Witchfinder General’ performs a successful detox on a Barbie doll, sees his dead cat become a certified nutritionist and probes the supposed medical qualifications of ‘Dr’ Gillian McKeith.
Full spleen and satire, Ben Goldacre takes us on a hilarious, invigorating and ultimately alarming journey through the bad science we are fed daily by hacks and quacks.
Although this is not a new book out I picked it up and couldn’t put it down. His humour is contagious and it does certainly ‘make you think‘ on some of his points in particular misleading cosmetic ads. I don’t think it will stop me from taking the odd vitamin and trying acupuncture again but it did make me laugh out loud at some points. Enjoy …
