Review by Booklist Review
An estimated 60 million Americans use alternative therapies each year. Cassileth, affiliated with the National Institutes of Health Office of Alternative Medicine, the American Cancer Society, and two medical schools, offers a survey of 54 therapies from a decidedly conservative, mainstream medical point of view. Though claiming that her book "neither promotes nor opposes" any therapy, she clearly has not made the paradigm shift necessary to understand the bases of much of this vast array of approaches, particularly alternative anticancer therapies or those originating in other cultures. The author often steers the reader away from the particular therapy by recommending that he or she first contact a medical doctor or mainstream organization, such as the Arthritis Foundation. Therapies here are organized into such groups as diet and herbs, bodywork, and mind-body. In chapters of 5 to 10 pages, each approach is treated as follows: what it is, what practitioners say it does, beliefs on which it is based, research evidence to date, what it can do for the patient, and where to get it. Factual errors in several entries were noted; missing in this work are considerations of medical politics or economics. Purchase it to balance more favorable views of alternative treatments. --Penny Spokes
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This objective assessment of a wide range of alternative and complementary therapies comes from an advisor to the NIH Office of Alternative Medicine. To help consumers distinguish between "empty promises and solid therapies," Cassileth describes over 50 techniques, from acupuncture and apitherapy to yoga and shamanism. Grouping them alphabetically within seven broad approaches, she describes the claims of each one's practitioners and the theories or beliefs on which it is based, discusses available scientific research on the subject, and notes what the therapy can actually accomplish, any relevant licensing regulations and sources of further information. Explanations are concise and warnings are clear. Cassileth is quick to acknowledge that many of these therapies, while not providing cures, can enhance well-being by reducing stress and anxiety. She is critical, however, of those that overstate their claims, or, as she puts it, "take a grain of fact and bake a loaf of unsupported conclusions." In the case of potentially harmful therapies, such as chelation therapy for heart and circulatory problems, she directs readers to sources of information on standard treatments. This authoritative guidebook will be worthwhile reading for anyone planning to venture outside mainstream medicine. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Cassileth, a founding member of the Advisory Council to the National Institutes of Health Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM), describes 53 of the most popular alternative therapies. Arranged according to the OAM classification, each therapy is discussed in terms of its origins, the reasons practitioners say it works, some reference to scientific evidence, and a listing of resources. Generally objective, Cassileth's evaluations have an air of conservatism; for larger collections where differing views on alternative medicine are valued. (LJ 2/1/98) (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
