Under the Influence of Modern Medicine

"The old addage; "consider the source..." has never been truer. It rankles me, a chiropractor, to see this trash in print. Especially from this author. Since he published his own work, I suppose we could also blame the publisher for an amazing lack of editorial judgment. Rondberg has been convicted of election campaign fraud. He's also a known adulterer, has committed perjury, and is a known scam artist. Amongst his chiropractic "brethren" he has become a joke. The outrageous behavior of this classic narcissist would actually MAKE an excellent book, though non-fiction this odious would likely not be believed by most readers. I would not believe the opinion of this very flawed human being if he told me the sun were shining at mid-day. As to issues raised in the book, they are unoriginal, uninteresting, and explained at a 1st grade level. Which, coincidentally, is the intelligence level of the author.

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~ Written on 2008-08-24

"I have read many books criticizing Western medicine. All related authors convey the same information. The ethics and efficacy of Western medicine are bankrupt. Unless you broke a leg, don't go to your doctor. Don't submit yourself to inaccurate cancer screening with painful follow up procedures. Don't take prescription drugs that hurt you. Don't get flu vaccines. They don't work that well.

Terry Rondberg is the most ineffective messenger because of his lack of credibility. The book starts with a set of definitions related to chiropractic. This creates a confusion on whether this book is a criticism of Western medicine or an advocacy pamphlet for chiropractic. This impression is reinforced by the reviewers on the back cover who are mainly chiropractors or spinal health doctors.

Besides the author's lack of credibility, the book suffers from structural flaws. There is no index at the end for easy reference. The topics covered are inconsistent with the chapter classification. The case against Aspirin is covered several times at random. Other topics are also duplicated. The repetitions make the author more of a pre-blog screamer than a serious medical analyst.

There are far better books covering the exact same topic. I recommend the following ones. Lynne McTaggart, a medical journalist wrote "What Doctors Don't Tell You" in 1996. Her research is so thorough that it is still current a decade later. Nortin Hadler M.D. wrote "The Last Well Person" in 2004. Both these books include indexes for easy reference. They also have extensive references sections with far more support for any of their arguments vs Rondberg.

The difference in the three books is captured by the quality of the publishers. Lynne McTaggart book was published by Avon Books a division of Harper Collins. Hadler's book was published by McGill-Quenn's University Press. Rondberg book was published by The Chiropractic Journal founded by Rondberg himself. While two authors had to submit their work to the high standards of world class publishers and editors, Rondberg wrote his own book on a rampage with no editorial input. "
~ Written on 2006-08-12

"This is a great book! I love the way the author takes the Medical Profession's OWN RESEARCH and shares it with the reader. It's right there in black and white. The lies that have been put out by the MD's is horrendous. Now you can see for yourself what "their" research shows. Drugs kill (pushed or prescribed)"
~ Written on 2005-12-21

"What struck me about this book is that it showed how medical scientists themselves have studied problems within the health care system. That is, it doesn't take investigative reporters or govt commissions to find problems in the delivery of medical care to Americans because the doctors themselves are very much concerned about and actively engaged in the study of and efforts to address the problems. You sure don't see "alternative medicine" promoters worried about the fraud that goes on in their business. Of course, if the "CAM" people got rid of the fraud in their line of work they would all be *out* of work!"
~ Written on 2003-02-03

"This book is a tremendous resource for those who are looking to build a case against medicine. Each "attack" on medicine is followed by a "source". What this means is that the book is laid out as a series of short (one page or so) "attacks" on medicine; each followed by a footnote detailing the source of the information presented. As I said before, this book is a fantastic source of information. It contains chapters on many aspects of medicine, from infant care to elderly care, from drug marketing to surgery. The problem with the book is the delivery. I suppose that it would be difficult to approach this subject without feeling somewhat cynical, particularly after reading so much negative research on modern medicine. However, I feel that Dr. Rondberg's "voice" is cynical and sarcastic. It reminded me of Dr. Stephen Barrett (the self proclaimed "quack-buster"). Dr. Rondberg would have held more credibility with me if he had approached this difficult subject with more care in his use of language."
~ Written on 2001-11-02