Whole

Not what you think it is

Any additional comments?

I was disappointed with this book. I eat a plant based diet for the most part. I was hoping for a book about rethinking nutrition and the science behind the need for change in the American diet. I wanted facts about why we need to change the way we think about food and the kind of foods we choose to eat. What I found instead was angry finger pointing. Much of the book was spent discussing how drug companies and the food industry and the allopathic health care world are wrong, terrible, and out to get us all. This point was dragged out in such a repetitive manner that it was beyond tiresome. I agree with the author that much is wrong with the system--but simply repeating that message doesn't fix the problem. This book felt like a missed opportunity to get an important message out there. To get people thinking and learning about how to improve their health by changing the way they eat. If that is the information you are looking for I'd try another book.

151 of 174 people found this review helpful

Debunking the Science of Nutrition

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

If you go into this book thinking it's about the whole food diet and its benefits, you're going to be disappointed. On the other hand, if you read this to learn about the dysfunctionality in the field of nutrition as well as the evils of Big Pharma, you'll be more inclined to enjoy it.

What could T. Colin Campbell and Howard Jacobson have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

It would have been great to have included more (much more!) on the benefits of a whole food diet. More case studies. Some concrete data would be great. There's a lot they could have done here to create a positive light on a whole food diet that might be motivating and I'm certain highly interesting.

What does Don Hagen bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Don Hagen did a fine job with narration. Nothing about the narration distracted from the content, and I don't think his intonation conveyed any bias that wasn't actually present in the context of the story.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Whole?

I would condense the anti-pharma, anti-medicine content of the book (which was the majority of it) into a single chapter, and emphasized the necessity to maintain reasonable skepticism when dealing with medical or pharmaceutical issues.

Any additional comments?

The premise of the book is interesting. Perhaps just re-titling the book "Rethinking the Science of Nutrition" would have been sufficient by subtly adjusting the reader's expectations. I would have loved more pro-whole diet information, examples, case studies, and that sort of thing, even if it is anecdotal.

However, as it stands, the tone of the book is overwhelmingly negative and ends up coming across as mostly conspiratorial, which is sad given the potential of the topic.

86 of 102 people found this review helpful

A frontal assault on nutritional 'science'

This book reiterates the findings of Campbell's The China Study that concludes a whole food, plant based (WFPB) diet significantly reduces illnesses caused by the standard Western diet. However, Campbell directly attacks the Medical-Agricultural-Academic complex as committing fraud on the American people by seeking maximum profits through largely ineffective and harmful medical solutions.

This book supports the premise that US medicine is purely a profit driven industry that will not acknowledge nutrition as the single most effective cure for most of the illnesses that prevail in America today. Campbell supports his conclusions that many doctors and medical researchers are in the pockets of Big Pharma and other ancillary industries that benefit from the status quo. With personal anecdotes and other studies, including The China Study, he questions industry-funded research projects which are skewed to reach the most profitable conclusions. Alarmingly, the medical industry itself is the third leading cause of death, behind heart disease and cancer, but this statistic is ignored by US government authorities.

He also attacks the dietary supplement industry and genetic researchers as largely favoring a "reductionist" versus a "holistic" view of health and nutrition. It is profitable to sell a drug. It is not profitable to sell a lifestyle based on eating plants.

This book is an excellent sequel to The China Study and expands on an increasingly popular theme that rightly contests the validity of what we're being told and sold. Books such as Wrong by David Freedman and Bad Pharma by Ben Goldacre are also excellent Audible selections in this genre.

43 of 51 people found this review helpful

IM INCREDIBLY IMPRESSED !!!!

I am so excited by this book that I can't wait to finish it before I spill out my excitement on paper. This is a great read whether you think you're interested in the topic or not. In the same way Steven kings "on writing" is a great read, regardless of your interest in writing.( If you haven't read that one- get it now it will completely alter your impression of the guy)

First off let me tell you where I'm coming from- Though ive been about 50lbs overweight for the last 10 yrs ( due to chronic pain and being bedridden etc. ), I've never "dieted". I've never believed in "dieting" I've always known dieting is a suckers game. Nutrition on the other hand is something that I have some interest in- but the constant circling, conflicting battles of good for you- not good puts me off. so When questions of nutrition arise I just use common sense to guide my decisions, that is- unless I find a book like this one, or china study.

2 years ago I came across the china study book by the same author and after looking that one up on the net, I was very impressed, so I bought a copy for my wife who is borderline diabetic and struggles with her diet and so is in particular need of concrete nutritional info. This I thought was a ray of light and truth in the diet-nutrition Disneyland..Then by chance I came across this book in the 3 for 2 credit sale. After listening to the sample I was captivated. I bought it and started listening to it right away. I was enthralled not just by the research or his credentials,or- the message but the writing itself ,its a very enjoyable listen. Its written as a grounded narrative and the narration itself is a perfect fit to the material which added a lot to thoroughly enjoying a book that is far from my usual reading fare.

Im not going to get into the specifics of the book- what I will say is that it is all VERY compelling and certainly worth looking into on a deeper level. Considering how far our culture's overall diet has fallen, it would take a GIANT leap of change for most if not all of us to embrace and to fully implement the changes to our diet proposed by Colin Campbell. Personally I am SO-SO far from anything like this diet that the change for me would be as radical as well.....anything I can think of, but if he is right -and I think he is, it would not just mean living longer or disease free, it would mean a quality of living change that I suspect many of us have never known- physically AND mentally. It would certainly be interesting to look up the statistics and the experiences of those that have completely embraced this diet ( "diet" in this context naturally inferring ... you know what im saying)

I rarely give 5 stars-or I at least try to save that status for something truly deserving. In this case I think the info is so important it merits a 5 star rating.Very persuasive- Very important-Very well written and Very enjoyable.

31 of 38 people found this review helpful

Must Read

Another must read from Dr. Campbell. It saddens me that his life saving research hasn't been embraced by the medical community, government or the media. Because of his previous book, The China Study, I am a healthy, fit and no longer live in fear of dying of the diseases of my parents. I encourage everyone to listen both of Dr. Campbell's books. Your life will never be the same.

17 of 22 people found this review helpful

Good, but Gaping Holes in the Main Premise

What did you love best about Whole?

I like the thought provoking insight that uncovers hidden agendas within the mainstream organizations and thought processes. It's the mainstream thought process that has led us to all the health and environmental issues that currently exist.

Who was your favorite character and why?

This isn't a novel.

What does Don Hagen bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His cadence is a little slow but methodical and somewhat soothing vocal tonality. If the slow pace doesn't bother you, it seems to work for the content.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Good, but left unanswered questions.

Any additional comments?

While I applaud Mr. Campbell's extensive career and efforts to uncover truth's related to health, medicine, nutrition and disease, it seems to me there are some gaping holes in his conclusions that a plant based diet is the only healthy diet for any human anywhere on the planet. Just from a purely logical point of view this raises some immediate questions in my mind. For example, should I assume that the only way an Eskimo could possibly be healthy is by eating plant based food. That is likely not feasible, and the Eskimo would likey not make it through the winter on that diet. One of the best books I have read on health and Nutrition is by Weston Price and is called Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. It clearly indicates that healthy primitive people living in different locations all over the world eat different foods and this does not always mean that animal products are excluded. In fact in many cases animal based food was integral to the diet and health. I agree that most people should consume more plant based food and less animal based food, but I think that it would be somewhat reductionist thinking to only examine one group of healthy people (e.g. Rural China) and conclude that their diet is the only healthy diet for everyone located anywhere. I think we need to look to nature and our own common sense and rational for guidance. Although, technology makes it possible to consume an extraordinary variety of food that is produced all over the world, this is probably not what nature intended. I think our diet should be more locationally and seasonally based upon native food sources. Unfortunately humans have been extremely effective in disrupting the natural order of life on this planet and natural is becoming a rare commodity. It is a positive sign that more people are becoming aware that the fate of human beings is inherently tied to nature and are becoming alarmed enough to begin taking action. I believe Mr Campbell is one of those individuals.

45 of 61 people found this review helpful

Should have been titled "Reductionism! Grrr!"...

What is reductionism? This book is going to tell you in a long and scathing rebuke. I don't disagree with the author when he talks about reductionism's bountiful and massive shortcomings. I totally agree that there are huge corporate and financial interests that have monetary profit as a primary goal rather than human health. Yes, the system is broken, and there is a need to lay out that broken-ness in a clear and understandable way. But... 97% of this book is taken up with telling me why the current system is BAD. The author had a golden opportunity to explain why a whole foods plant based diet is the answer, why its better than the Standard American Diet, and why it might actually cure cancer. But it felt like every time he might launch into it, he just repeated that that's what he found in his decades long research career. No real evidence to back up his claims. I guess we're just supposed to trust him like he's telling us not to with those he speaks out against.

He also perpetrates many of the same cheats that other vegan authors use when decrying a meat-based diet. The meat industry can't defend the environmental and social justice complaints against it, I totally agree with the author on these. But...

When he's arguing that we could model our diet on that of our closest animal relatives, he says that chimps and gorillas are herbivores. Chimps aren't herbivores. They hunt for, kill and eat other animals. Plus there's a third "vore" in addition to herbivore and carnivore, the omnivore. I think most people would agree that that's what humans are. Maybe he's never heard of them.

Also at one point he implies that we shouldn't consume animal-based protein because of how most of that protein in the US is produced. One could also argue that a lot of the whole plant-based foods in the US are also produced in an equally unhealthy manner. I've never seen a vegan or a carnivore focussed author actually create a level playing field when pitting their chosen diet against its opposition. If it's so clearly better, then stop rigging the deck in your favor!

Overall. I'm pretty disappointed in the book. I feel like it's titled wrong and just feels very negative. I'd be giving it 5 stars if even half of the book was optimistic and really delved into why the whole foods plant based diet was better. But "Whole" didn't and I'm not.

29 of 44 people found this review helpful

Terrible audio quality

Would you try another book from T. Colin Campbell and Howard Jacobson and/or Don Hagen?

Maybe, if there were better audio engineers. Every time the guy said the letter 's' it came out in this really harsh high pitched whistle. I tried many times, but could listen for more than 10 minutes, it gave me a headache. To be fair, I didn't even listen to the story, so could be a very good book, just definitely not something you want to listen to.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

overral information wasn't practical

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

difficult to say, but I thought the book was little monotonic, and difficult to follow at times. Also data was not supported by medical evidence and there has been a lot of conflicting data and information that was just medically not "true" just the opinion of the writer.

What could T. Colin Campbell and Howard Jacobson have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

more evidence based

How did the narrator detract from the book?

?

What character would you cut from Whole?

none

Any additional comments?

too details, no medical evidence

5 of 8 people found this review helpful

Could Have Read The Same from Facebook

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would change a lot of this book. While I agree with much of what is in this book I dislike all the kid like ranting and raving. It's no wonder the people that oppose his views treat him like a kid. I think reception of the ideas presented would be better received if delivered in a more professional manner with more facts and not blanket statements with half truths such as what he accuses others of doing.Overall I feel like it was a waste of my time.

Has Whole turned you off from other books in this genre?

No but I'll probably research the author better.

Could you see Whole being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Not one that I would watch.

Any additional comments?

I thought the reader of the book did a great job. I'll certainly watch for other books with the same reader.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful