Customer Reviews

The Complete Manual of Things That Might Kill You: A Guide to Self-Diagnosis for Hypochondriacs

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had this book out when family was over and everyone was checking it out. Basically, you look up your symptom (headache, whatever) and the book tells you what terrible disease you're dying from. I don't understand the reviewer complaining about the medical advice -- um, hello, it's a HUMOR BOOK! And my two sisters are nurses and they thought everything was hilarious. It looks legit to me! (And I watch Grey's Anatomy and House, so I am clearly an expert.) Seriously, this book is probably used by the writers of those TV shows because just like on the show, the most innocent symptoms indicate the most horrible killer disease ever. Just don't give it to your hypochondriac elderly aunt or anything. Also beware: My kids use it as a way to get out of school..hey, maybe I should try it for work..."Oh, my ribs hurt, I have costochondritis!"

Perfect book for anyone who's never satisfied with the common cold. I especially like the "You Eat, You Suffer" section on foodborne illnesses.

I have so many friends who are constantly sending me those crazy emails telling me what might kill me next and I'm going to give each and every one of them this book. I love the Knock Knock style and pace, the amount of irreverence combined with knowledge. I always feel smarter but somewhat humbled as well after I read a Knock Knock piece. Keep 'em coming.

That strange chest pain (which I've been complaining about but doing nothing about for a week)? Yeah, turns out I probably have the cancer ... or atleast the costochondritis. My friend bought me this book because, quote, she "couldn't help it-you have issues." But at least now I have the fancy names to back up my claims ... I just wanted to shout out to others who need a vocab of scientific sounding names, to legitimize their claims of waning mortality of course, that this is the book for you. Way easier than the inter-web!

great book as a gift to the hypochondriac in the family and/or circle of friends. should not be taken too seriously as it is clear the book is meant to make people laugh so if your hypochondriac mom or best friend is a little sensitive, then this may not be the book for her/him.

but for anyone with a sense of humor...it is a fun read.

This is a great gift idea for friends or family with a sense of humor!

There are always days when rain or laziness keeps you inside, whether with friends or by yourself. Some of my favorite memories are from days like those when doing nothing is really the best thing. One of my friends had this sitting on their bookshelf and we wasted at least an hr flipping through it. There were some fascinating facts and I definitely left my "lazy" afternoon a little smarter than I started it! Glad to have a book that can help out when you wonder what a certain pain or feeling could mean- everyone's hoping for something that's at least a little dramatic!

There are some subjects that are so inherently distressing that you have to laugh at them to keep you from crying. That the number of physical ailments is so vast and scary is enough to create a mental ailment -- hypochondria -- is tragically poetic.

Enter "The Complete Manual...." If the title doesn't tip one off to the tone of this tome, the endpapers -- which follow an EKG as it flatlines onto the title page -- leaves no doubt. The humor --dry as a bone -- comes from "worst-case scenario" approach to the subject matter, delivering on the hypochondriac promise.

The thing that I found refreshing about the book is that unlike other satirical offerings that tend to be a little lightweight, this book is truly crammed with information. Granted, I know it's a parody and I would never use it as my only resource in the event that I have some sort of malady, but the information is laid out surprisingly clearly and logically, it's tempting to do so.

My prescription: Provides instant relief to fractured funny bones., apply liberally to affected area.

I gave this book as a funny christmas gift to my friend and she absolutly loves it.

That being said, it may require a dry wit, and first-hand experience with a hypochondriac to appreciate the book to its fullest. The individual entries themselves are written straight. The humor is in that the only diseases that go with a runny nose are Hodgkin's Disease and Relapsing Polychondritis (for example) as well as the silly facts and quotes. My favorite part of the book is at the end, where there are many medical terms, including prefixes and suffixes so that you can make up your own diseases. At a time when there are so many web sites devoted to self-diagnosis, it is nice to see that someone out there is not taking it all too seriously!