The Greatest Experiment Ever Performed On Women: Exploding the Estrogen Myth [Paperback]

Barbara Seaman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 16, 2004

Now in paperback, Barbara Seaman's groundbreaking book that blows the lid off the wholesale use of estrogen to treat menopause.

Over the last sixty years, millions women in the United States were prescribed estrogen, but did they know all there is to know about this powerful hormone? In this groundbreaking book, Barbara Seaman traces the history of estrogen use and misuse and investigates the pharmaceutical manufacturers who pushed aside any negative findings on estrogen to insinuate their products into the lives of women, old and young. Seaman turns up essential, often shocking, information that should have been part of public awareness but, only now, is coming to light.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Science journalist Seaman, cofounder of the National Women's Health Network, takes no prisoners in this scathing indictment of hormone replacement therapy in general and estrogen in particular. Her account of pandemic abuse of the trust women place in their doctors cuts a wide swath of guilt that begins at medical practitioners but scores drug manufacturers as well as the Food and Drug Administration. The experiment with hormone replacement--called an experiment because the drugs were manufactured, marketed, and prescribed either without or in defiance of scientific proof of their safety--began in 1938 in England when a biochemist published his formula for synthetic estrogen, diethylstilbestrol (DES). The ensuing story reads like an X-Files conspiracy script as, for the next 65 years, doctors and authorities ignored mounting evidence of the sometimes-fatal consequences of taking these hormones. Seaman has long been an outspoken opponent of what she calls medicalization, which places such normal occurrences as pregnancy and menopause under medical control, and has advocated full drug disclosure so that women may be made aware of drug side effects and health hazards. She has been accused of being an alarmist, but recent evidence of the dangers of such drugs as DES rather validates her alarm. A wake-up call to women about unquestioningly accepting doctors' orders. Donna Chavez
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"A splendid history that exposes how menopause was transformed into a medical problem . . . " -- Ruth Rosen, San Francisco Chronicle

"Lively and impassioned . . . [Seaman] certainly makes her point." -- Gina Kolata, New York Times

"Seaman's story is sometimes astounding." -- Cleveland Plain Dealer

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (June 16, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786887346
• ISBN-13: 978-0786887347
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,675,943 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Book, August 1, 2003

By 

Jean E. Kreiling (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Greatest Experiment Ever Performed On Women: Exploding the Estrogen Myth (Hardcover)

The Greatest Experiment is a fascinating book. It offers a valuable history of estrogen use from World War II to the present. Barbara Seaman, a well known science writer, has been following the estrogen story for years and was able to interview many of the major figures in the field. The story of how menopause came to be viewed as disease, how a dangerous drug was prescribed to women as a tonic for brittle bones, heart disease and Alzheimer's disease on the basis of circumstantial evidence is, indeed, compelling. The struggle to expose the side-effects of estrogen-derived birth control pills is also told. This led to Congressional hearings and forced drug companies to provide information on the side effects and dangers of birth control pills. The Greatest Experiment contains much more including the tragic story of the DES daughters (whose mothers received diethylstilbestrol, an estrogen derivative, to prevent miscarriages and gave birth to daughters who experienced life-long reproductive problems.) Also told is the troubling use of DES by farmers who still use it to fatten livestock. Finally, the book has an excellent Appendix on the options now available to women who seek treatment for symptoms of menopause.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What every woman needs to know, July 20, 2003

By 

Yogini "gurubhai" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Greatest Experiment Ever Performed On Women: Exploding the Estrogen Myth (Hardcover)

The information in this book is crucial to women of all ages. Ms Seaman presents her thorough research in a clear, direct and engaging manner. I found myself outraged by the comments of some 'respected' doctors, researchers and drug companies. I was also amused by some of Ms. Seaman's comments. The spirit of feminism is alive and well, thanks to Barbara's work.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Regain confidence in your intuition, December 28, 2004

By 

Naweko San-Joyz "Noixia-ist" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Greatest Experiment Ever Performed On Women: Exploding the Estrogen Myth (Hardcover)

Barbara Seaman's work is a women's must read because it encourages women to take complete ownership of their health and bodies.

Seaman details story after story of why women should question their doctors and pharmaceutical companies. From taking drugs that destroyed their babies to taking cancer provoking concoctions, women have served as uninformed guinea pigs for years.

Accordingly, Seaman gives women a reason to say "No" to new drugs and new therapies that promise to make our lives easier in the ever popular crusade to ease "woman problems".

The female physique is inundated with mystique. That which is not understood faces constant scrutiny and treacherous attacks. Seaman sends a message loud and clear to all women- Take control of your own health because there are thousands of people out willing and waiting to experiment with your well-being while hailing promises of new found youth and renewed vigor.

I suggest your cross read The Greatest Experiment Ever Performed on Women with Uzzi Reiss' Natural Hormone Balance for Women. Reiss claims that estrogens have a "bad" rap because studies such as those covered by Seaman only address synthetic hormones or those derived from horses. I did not find Reiss' arguments compelling, it just offered another view of the women's hormone scene.