Customer Reviews

Medical nemesis: the expropriation of health (Limits to Medicine)

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This highly referenced text, orginially written in the late 70's, outlines a well presented documentation of why medicine has not positively impacted modern life. Illich argues that iatrogenic illness is far more common than we realize. It's a must read for anyone intersted in the evolution of our views on "disease" and what constitutes health!

Ilyich wrote this a generation-plus ago, yet his messages resonate today. We have depersonalized our lives in so many ways, by bringing the industrial model into realms that were meant for emotion, feeling, and art. The influx of industry-thought into medicine has torn the sensitive heart from many care-givers and patients alike. His text is a bit lengthy and is repetitive in spots, and can be challenged on the facts in others. Overall, his concerns about the choices we have made socially and medically remain valid.

In this book, much like Deschooling Society, Illich attacks the issue from all sides. He consistenly provides an excellent argument with examples, statistics, and well-done research. Though this book is not quite as fast-paced as Deschooling Society, it is equally engaging. Illich not only presents the problems in a realistic way, he also presents alternative methods for dealing with the issues he's attacking. This book is well worth the time it takes to read, and although it was written several years ago, the issues addressed in this book are even more prevalent now. Illich is a wonderful writer and this is an incredible book.

Illich is a perceptive man who clearly understands the systemic impact because the medical emperor is not wearing clothes. We all stand in the same awe of "Modern Medicine" as the court collectively appreciated the emperor's new clothes. Illich's thinking is as sharp and precise as a scalpel. When you go to see the doctor, ignore that man behind the curtain.