very informative!

I enjoyed this. Lots of good content, but perhaps too much, Dr Goldacre certainly has endless examples...

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What a wonderful polemic.

I thought I could get cross on occasions, In Bad Science, Ben Goldacre manages to maintain an entertaining level of fury for over 13 hours of highly informative narrative as he explores just how badly we are let down by people who profess to want to help us. He has a lot to be cross about. If this was in a work of fiction no one would believe it was credible.
Rupert Farley's narration fits the mood of the text wonderfully.

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Amusing in parts

Parts of the book are enjoyable enough, but, particularly towards the end, it succumbs to Guardianista priggishness.

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Love his books

Informative, knowledgeable, educational and a great read to the end. Love his books! He has a way with words that means you understand the medical world a lot better. We should all be more informed.

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Excellent book, great listen

An amazing book which is written in an accessible and entertaining way. Would listen to this again.

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Great content, rather polemical style

This book isn't really about science, but about its misrepresentation. It is particularly topical as the NHS is currently mopping up the damage caused by the MMR scandal and scam of 2002-2005. Was it all done just to sell newspapers? Basically, yes, even though children may (this year) die as a direct result.

I got a bit tired of Ben Goldacre's polemical style, and overuse of adjectives such as exquisite and spectacular. The problem is that Mr Goldacre does not really understand rhetoric. He criticises humanities people for not understanding science (bravo) but he could do with understanding the rules of rhetoric better himself. He actually goes out of his way to alienate his scientific readers (by assuming that his reader knows less about e.g. statistics than himself, which will not always be true) as well as non-scientific readers who are bound to find him unsympathetic. Who did he want to appeal to? The first rule of rhetoric is to get your audience to identify with you, to feel that you are one of them. No one wants to identify with Mr Superior and Mr Outraged. You could blame the narrator for the constant and fatiguing tone of moral outrage, but I think he is genuinely reflecting the tone of Dr Goldacre's writing. Lighten up, laugh, you will communicate better!

So, Mrs Picky Moaner, why did you give the book five stars? It is a cracking tour of a fascinating subject, there is much thoughtful content, I was gripped throughout, and I didn't want to put anyone off audioing this illuminating tome.

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27 people found this helpful

Best (non-fiction?) book I ever read

I had to write a review for this book, it's just brilliant. Follow @bengoldacre on Twitter, or read his blog/Guardian articles at badscience.co.uk, and you'll see how realistic and cutting he can be, while warm and funny at the same time. He's a voice of sanity in a world of media (clich?d but quite frankly apt) 'gone mad' - especially around science, a.k.a., evidence. No, I didn't think that until I read the book, though I did have my suspicions from seeing various tabloid headlines!

It hasn't just been made fascinating reading by the content about warped newspaper stories, the laughable doctrine of homeopathy, and the health scares that needn't have existed and have actually eroded the nation's health. It also teaches some bare-bones science lessons which somehow I never got my head round in school (probably because we were trying to reproduce effects that were already certain!) about conducting fair experiments, allowing for and expecting bias, and considering other factors.

This has applied to so much of my life! I think differently and am much more willing to try new things - it's actually made more sense than the cognitive-behavioural therapy books I've read to combat my depression. And as a computer programmer, I've realised I'm constantly creating mini experiments all the time, finding out if my new addition to the code does what I hoped, what else could have made it go wrong, and so on.

Can't recommend this book enough.

Also recommend The Tiger That Wasn't for a similarly accessible and wildly successful attack on the stupid ways we're given statistics, and how they're more often than not interpreted by journalists entirely wrongly. You don't have to be a statistician to make sense of numbers, you just need a basic grip on the subject if you ever want to learn about the world!

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18 people found this helpful

Shocking

This book really scared me. It opens your eyes to the potential misleading that is inherently baked into the science we believe. Ben goldacre divides opinion - some see him as a anti new age cynic who bangs on about proof and pooh poohs a whole sector of natural health care. I actually found him balanced in his views he is equally sceptical about pharmaceutical industry as he is about alternative health care. Whilst this book is primarily aimed at alternative health care his other book bad pharma really does shine a light on the mistakes through to criminal corruption inherent in the system. His view is proper evidence and transparency with proper regulation is the only way to move forward. I agree and i think Ben would suggest you read the book and make up your own mind.

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10 people found this helpful

The most fun science book I've read

You'll be quoting Ben for weeks after listening to this. It's witty and informative and certainly one of those audio books where you make extra time to just hear a little bit more.

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1 person found this helpful

A+++ Brilliant Explanation of the Biggest Scam

Loved it, fabulous performance, you grasp the author frustration throughout the book of terrible reporting of twisted science by media & prsedo Doctors
I recommend it. Well done. Gilles Guichard

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