The Body Electric: Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life (Paperback)

~ Robert Becker (Author), Gary Selden (Author) "There is only one health, but diseases are many..." (more)
Key Phrases: neuroepidermal junction, salamander legs, periosteal cells, New York, World War, Andy Marino (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In this landmark book, Robert O. Becker, M.D., a pioneer in the field of bioelectric science, presents a fascinating look at the role electricity plays in healing, challenging the traditional mechanistic model of the body. Colorful and controversial, this is a tale of engrossing research, scientific and medical politics, and breakthrough discoveries that offer new possibilities for fighting disease and harnessing the body's healing powers.

About the Author

Robert O. Becker, M.D., lives in upstate New York.

Gary Selden is a writer who specializes in scientific topics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; 1 edition (July 22, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688069711
• ISBN-13: 978-0688069711
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,326 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

127 of 130 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth, November 28, 2003

By	June Milligan "june_milligan2" (South Korea) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Body Electric: Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life (Hardcover)

Here is a dedicated surgeon who spent three decades doing the step-by-step research necessary to determine what causes limb regeneration. During those years he and his colleagues had to run interferance against the most hideously uninformed, petty, self-serving agencies and beaurocracies, which are often made up of other scientists. Dr. Becker was studying something very important, and his conclusions flew in the face of the conventional views of science at that time, and also of today. He was way ahead of his time.

One of the most important parts of the book was the information on how we are bombarded every day by electromagnetic radiation which has proven to be harmful, but which is DENIED harmful because of economic interests. Studies showing it is harmful are delayed or buried. As a result of this radiation across America, people suffer from all sorts of ailments that doctors are unable to diagnose.

This man is one of the true pioneers of energy medicine. At the time he was doing his research, he had no idea that the electrical signals he was detecting in the bodies of both animals and humans, were part of the body's energy system, one of which is the Meridian system (along which acupoints are located). Against professional backbiting and the loss of all funds for further research, he persevered with his honor intact. This work was important because he was questioning why, if newts and salamanders can re-grow a limb, why can't we? If we continue to have a few scientists who buck the beaurocracy, and go public with their findings, and are able to withstand the ferocious attacks of peers and intrenched institutions, then we will have scientific progress. If not, we will continue to have most of our research projects done by mediocre follow-the-leader researchers on increasingly obscure projects which are far removed from the wholistic view of the human body that needs to be taken. I say "Bravo" to this man.

62 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Killer Cronology of Medicine, Healing and Regeneration, January 20, 2004

By	"colloid" (Cape Coral, FL USA) - See all my reviews

If you have not read Robert O. Becker yet you must, if you have any interest in health processes or the healing process. He was a very thorough medical researcher with a keen interest in regeneration and lays the basis of his work on a rich history of medical evolution from 2,000 BC forward. While he touches only lightly on silver, he was the first to certify that electro generated silver ions not only kill most pathogens but are also the only metallic ions to cause dedifferentiation of cells and thus rapid local regeneration. His primary application was as bimetallic (battery) implants to speed bone and other tissue healing but he opened the world to the electrical nature of cellular life processes.

Another interest I have always had was TENS or zapper units but after reading his works find 99% of applications are very risky due to mans constant desire to "make it stronger" - he found as little as a few billionths of an ampere and less then 1 volt triggered healing or regeneration and more was not only counterproductive but usually dangerous.

He gets bitter in the end, having been forced to close his lab, essentially banned from research by his peers because he moved forward too far too fast plus eventually got involved in attacking the electropollution man has introduced into our environment in the last 60 years. Our universe and thus evolutionary development are based on a low level electromagnetic environment with the dominant 10 hertz frequency of both our brains and gravity waves but man has increased the electropollution by 1,000 times,with the advent of 50/60 Hz electric lines blanketing the earth and pervase pulsed microwaves to the point we are effecting the Van Allen belt and thus weather, if not the general decline of many of mans bio-functions!

His followup book Cross Currents is slightly repetative but adds a great deal more, especially to his electropollution comcerns.

69 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The rebirth of electrobiology, June 14, 2004

By	Carl Slim (the factory) - See all my reviews

This is not an extremely technical book. You would have some trouble trying to reproduce the good doctor's experiments with nothing but this. But it is very influential, and very interesting. A collection of the Biological works of Robert Becker would not only get 5 stars from me, but would be the greatest scientific work of the 20th century, with the POSSIBLE exception of Einstein's "Collected Works on Relativity". Yes, Becker is that good.

My first exposure to Becker was a relatively unimpressive interview on 60 minutes when I was a boy. In college I watched this man's work almost singlehandedly bring back electrobiology, which (so said the books printed in the 80's) was dead. There is still much to do in this field. It's rare for an MD (no, he is not a PhD) to be able to figure these things out without having someone else tell it to him. That's a compliment, by the way. Hell, MD's keep saying the Atkins diet won't work, when bodybuilders and wrestlers have been using the same principles very successfully for decades. They just aren't progressive thinkers for the most part, but this guy has more to say (that you need to hear) than any PhD around today.

His early article in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery(an early inspiration for my thesis) is cited here, as are several of his later articles, so it gives you leads to follow. If you are a scientist or are studying to be one, I recomend this as something very important to read between semesters. If you are a laymen that is either interested in science or just worried about the potential hazards of electromagnetic pollution, I recomend it as a starting point.