Mass Listeria: The Meaning of Health Scares [Hardcover]

Theodore Dalrymple (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1998

Life expectancy has increased dramatically i n the last fifty years, but concern about health remains hig h. This book examines why we are so obsessed with health mat ters, and dispels some of the popular myths that surround he alth concerns. '

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Andre Deutsch Ltd (February 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0233991379
• ISBN-13: 978-0233991375
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,866,339 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why we love health scares, June 6, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mass Listeria: The Meaning of Health Scares (Hardcover)

In Mass Listeria, Theodore Dalrymple, NHS doctor and contributor to the London Spectator, discusses the possible causes for our fascination with health scares. It goes far beyond just medicine (which Mr. Dalrymple gives little credit for our progress in longevity) and tries to explain why, despite the fact that the human race have never lived healthier and longer lives, we are in a constant state of panic about our health. An excellent and thought-provoking read.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read it, March 2, 2001

By 

Seamus Sweeney "reader" (Dublin Ireland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mass Listeria: The Meaning of Health Scares (Hardcover)

"Mass Listeria", despite the awful title, is a wonderful book I devoured in one sitting. In the tradition of Petr Skrabanek, it is a sceptical view of the Brave New World of public health; it examines the paradox whereby the human race is healthier than any other time in history and yet anxiety about health has never been so prevalent. Even if you violently disagree with Dalrymple, you should engage his arguments. Recommended for all with an interest in health and society, and all those without such interests. And should be mandatory reading for all public health workers and WHO bureaucrats.

11 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars good points, petulant narrative, September 8, 2001

By A Customer

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This review is from: Mass Listeria: The Meaning of Health Scares (Hardcover)

The author generally writes well and has much to say that is worth our attention. Sloppy and over-emotional thinking, he claims, is ugly in any arena, but it is especially ugly at universities, government agencies, and in the press. Good science, accompanied by well reasoned and tempered pronouncements should be the norm. (Of course, under-responsiveness at the bidding of big business or as a characterological flaw - or lab fatigue - is no bargain either.) But the author does not suggest that it is. Still, his axe grinding forces him to lean heavily in one direction and at times, I wished that he had paid more attention to balance. Certainly, this is true of his tone. I understand that he must be frustrated with the relentless hysteria, but becoming too sour is no solution ("the mealy mouthed expression of health educationists;" "obviously, further research is called for - funded, of course by the taxpayer"). If his goal is to win converts to the cause of reason and temperance, he must model that as well as champion it.