More journalism than science

Started and finished well but lost its way in the middle. The condescending nature of this book has been noted by other reviewers and, in my opinion, is down to the contempt the author has for some of his bad science 'targets'. Contempt clouds one's scientific judgement and means you don't consider both sides of the argument. I have the same issue with Richard Dawkins' God Delusion where his palpable contempt for creationists makes him lose focus and start to make basic scientific errors (a problem he doesn't have with, for example, The Selfish Gene). This book includes chapters on homeopathy and the placebo effect. If you want a scientific, rather than journalistic, treatment of these topics then try 13 Things That Don't Make Sense by Michael Brooks. Pharmaceutical companies come in for a bit of stick because they have a profit motive - just remember that if you don't have a public sector pension then it is the profits from big Pharma that are/will be paying for yours! I don't work for big Pharma but did work in the equally vilified (and poorly understood) oil industry! There is enough in this book worth listening to and I certainly don't regret buying it - it makes you think and, more importantly, it makes you question. The author makes a great point of following the scientific method - see if you can spot where he deviates from his own mantra.

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3 people found this helpful

excellent content. smug delivery

valuable. informative and enlightening book. spoiled by sneering, smug, arrogant reading. this comes partly from the clever author but is amplified by the reader.

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1 person found this helpful

a funny book! about statistics?

brilliant, I enjoy the open discussion posed by Ben here, really inviting the lay person to find for themselves how absurd news can be in a comedic undertone. the audiobook was great, the change in accents especially simulated an entertaining dialogue and made a somewhat serious and superficially complex topic, less daunting

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A must-read, well performed

I found this book incredibly stimulating. Anyone with an interest in science who is dismayed by the quality of scientific public discourse will enjoy.

The book is very well performed too.

My only qualm (and it's not big enough to take away from my five star rating) is that Audible have formatted the book strangely, so that the chapters don't line up with the chapters as they are in the actual book.
e.g. I could be half way through what Audible has grouped as Chapter 8 when the reader announces the beginning of chapter 11 in the book. A minor point, but annoying at times.

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1 person found this helpful

An awakening

As an individual with a science degree, I find it irritating that science stories are so dumbed down for public consumption. What I wasn't aware of though is the amount of abuse of science that is rife in many quarters e.g. newspapers. It is crazy stuff and equally depressing.
This book is very interesting from the outset and provides evidence to back up the claims. It certainly makes you sit up and take note and I am sure after listening to it, you will see the world in a different light!

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1 person found this helpful

Tales of intrigue and skepticism.

There is little to be said about Goldacres book that hasn't been said a thousand times before. Excellent reading for the sceptical thinker, and essential reading for people like me who get foggy headed when too many scientific words are used. Goldacre hits almost all the targets he aims for, and does it in an exceptionally listenable way. An excellent book.

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Underwhelming

Hopefully it will be enlightening to some, but the fact that large corporations are exploiting people's ignorance for their own financial gain wasn't particularly revealing to me. However I support the author for promoting the issue.

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Good book, poor narration

I enjoyed the book when I read it, but this narration is super insufferable and makes me like the book less, which is a shame

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Brilliant. Should be mandatory reading

I happended to stumble across this book and was delighted with what I found. The content was eye opening and has really made me question what I read in the papers. The narration is top quality and adds a sense of humour to the book. This should be mandatory reading for everyone...

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Mostly for UK citizens with babies

If you are interested in the NHS, main stream and MMR vaccinations for your babies then this is your book

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