The Pre-Loved edit from Shopbop
To share your reaction on this item, open the Amazon app from the App Store or Google Play on your phone.
$6.40 with 77 percent savings
List Price: $27.99
$3.98 delivery March 7 - 12. Details
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$6.40 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$6.40
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Mesilla Internet
Mesilla Internet
Ships from
Mesilla Internet
Returns
30-day refund/replacement
30-day refund/replacement
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. You may receive a partial or no refund on used, damaged or materially different returns.
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Snowball in a Blizzard: A Physician's Notes on Uncertainty in Medicine Hardcover – February 23, 2016

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 67 ratings

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$6.40","priceAmount":6.40,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"6","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"40","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"LJpGe1B7ec3x3c7ipMpMsNTbisp8s%2BwNN7bC0NMrWyaNTS9yeuYJbxRtgyKf7BsD5BuqDVgow8jRmXAPRza5fW9ym8t9w7SYxJsTh0r3859nxQKHcuZXV6NOx99bHwROB%2BTU%2BFri8D6vBVfntYA4yDKY0l5eBBjOZU7UrkbVXMqNdwphKUJpARsaR%2BudOsNw","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

There's a running joke among radiologists: finding a tumor in a mammogram is akin to finding a snowball in a blizzard. A bit of medical gallows humor, this simile illustrates the difficulties of finding signals (the snowball) against a background of noise (the blizzard). Doctors are faced with similar difficulties every day when sifting through piles of data from blood tests to X-rays to endless lists of patient symptoms.

Diagnoses are often just educated guesses, and prognoses less certain still. There is a significant amount of uncertainty in the daily practice of medicine, resulting in confusion and potentially deadly complications. Dr. Steven Hatch argues that instead of ignoring this uncertainty, we should embrace it. By digging deeply into a number of rancorous controversies, from breast cancer screening to blood pressure management, Hatch shows us how medicine can fail-sometimes spectacularly-when patients and doctors alike place too much faith in modern medical technology. The key to good health might lie in the ability to recognize the hype created by so many medical reports, sense when to push a physician for more testing, or resist a physician's enthusiasm when unnecessary tests or treatments are being offered.

Both humbling and empowering,
Snowball in a Blizzard lays bare the inescapable murkiness that permeates the theory and practice of modern medicine. Essential reading for physicians and patients alike, this book shows how, by recognizing rather than denying that uncertainty, we can all make better health decisions.
The%20Amazon%20Book%20Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Uncertainty lies at the heart of modern medicine in ways that most physicians--not to mention their patients--often fail to recognize. Fundamental imperfections in our understanding of health and disease limit doctors' ability to combat illness. Hatch, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, argues that physicians who ignore this uncertainty often overtreat their patients, resulting in sometimes harmful, even fatal consequences. By the same token, far too many patients assume that more medical care is always better than less, thereby seeking or consenting to toxic treatments that trigger needless suffering. Hatch provides examples from such fields as breast cancer, cardiology and infectious disease. He also offers straightforward rules of thumb to help readers navigate medical advice."―Scientific American

"Informative...
Snowball in a Blizzard adds an important perspective...[The book] rightly sounds the alarm: Better communication between doctors and patients is essential to improve medical decision making."―Wall Street Journal

"A penetrating examination of uncertainty in diagnoses and treatment."―
Nature

"
Snowball in a Blizzard is Hatch's first book, but the clarity and wit of his discussions rank with that of the best science writers."―Shelf Awareness

"This intriguing perspective on the obscurity of medicine...is highly recommended for health-care professionals, health-conscious patients, and well-informed consumer health readers."―
Library Journal, starred review

"A carefully argued, unsettling, and important work."―
Publishers Weekly

"In writing, Hatch strives to find 'that sweet spot where readability and scholarliness overlap'... he succeeds, telling stories that clarify the points he's making, and he even includes a highly personal anecdote that shows him struggling to deal with doctors who were sure they knew the right treatment for his elderly, hospitalized father... Hatch ably reveals the shortcomings of medicine."―
Kirkus Reviews

"I can say with certainty that Steven Hatch's
Snowball astutely deconstructs the uncertainty in the practice of medicine--from diagnosis to treatment to media coverage--as well as this important topic has ever been tackled."―Eric Topol, author of The Patient Will See You Now

"What could be more intuitive: that physicians should be humble, admitting the uncertainty of their medical sciences and treating their patients like equals. Would that it were. Although who knows--if enough doctors and patients read Steve Hatch's masterfully-argued
Snowball--maybe someday it will be."―Larry Tye, Director of the Boston-based Health Coverage Fellowship and author of New York Times bestseller Satchel

"Hatch's
Snowball in a Blizzard is like Carl Sagan's famous 'baloney detection kit' for medical scientific research. How can we figure out which 'discoveries' to trust or to take with a grain of salt? First step: Read this book."―Katrina Firlik, MD, Author of Another Day in the Frontal Lobe: A Brain Surgeon Exposes Life on the Inside

About the Author

Steven Hatch is an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, working in the Division of Infectious Disease and Immunology. He lives in Newton, Massachusetts.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Basic Books; 1st edition (February 23, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 312 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0465050646
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0465050642
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.12 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1 x 9.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 67 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Steven Hatch
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
67 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers

Customers say

Customers find the book informative and interesting, providing great food for thought. They describe it as an easy read for medical and scientific professionals as well as laypersons interested in statistics. The writing is described as clear, entertaining, and well-written.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

19 customers mention "Information value"19 positive0 negative

Customers find the book informative and interesting for medical and scientific professionals as well as lay readers. It provides insight and humor while educating. The author presents the uncertainties of science and statistics in medicine, and how it affects people. They appreciate the excellent presentation of the reliability of information based on source and method.

"Everyone should read this book! It explains and provides examples of uncertainty in medicine and the associated problems with it...." Read more

"Good information. Interesting and helpful for managing your own healthcare decision...." Read more

"...It is loaded with real world examples drawn from Hatch's experience as a physician and as a person, as well as the thorough research he has done for..." Read more

"Some good information but a lot of it repetitive. The number needed to treat in order to get results is the main focus." Read more

4 customers mention "Humor"4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's humor and find it informative and entertaining.

"...Written with passion, humor, and Dawkins-class clarity, "Snowball in a blizzard" is as pleasurable to read as it is instrumental to the..." Read more

"...He provides insight and humor while educating...." Read more

"...Very insightful and well-written, even entertaining." Read more

"this is a great book. i find it informative and entertaining. :)..." Read more

3 customers mention "Writing quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing quality insightful and well-written. They say it's entertaining.

"...Written with passion, humor, and Dawkins-class clarity, "Snowball in a blizzard" is as pleasurable to read as it is instrumental to the..." Read more

"...Very insightful and well-written, even entertaining." Read more

"Very well written." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2025
    Everyone should read this book! It explains and provides examples of uncertainty in medicine and the associated problems with it. There is nothing wrong with uncertainty as long as you proceed accordingly and do not pretend otherwise. In my career, the most powerful three words were "I don't know." Clients respected that, and it was less dangerous for all involved.
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2018
    Good information. Interesting and helpful for managing your own healthcare decision. Gives readers a more realistic expectation of what you can expect from health care professionals.
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2016
    Get two copies: after you finish reading one, you'll want to give the other to your physician.

    Written with passion, humor, and Dawkins-class clarity, "Snowball in a blizzard" is as pleasurable to read as it is instrumental to the understanding of a central topic in every person's life. It is loaded with real world examples drawn from Hatch's experience as a physician and as a person, as well as the thorough research he has done for this book.

    Hatch considers multiple perspectives - of patients, research doctors, practicing physicians, the media, policy makers - and while the picture he paints is sometimes grim, his message is ultimately optimistic and empowering.

    If you liked Siddhartha Mukherjee's Emperor of All Maladies, I think you're going to enjoy Snowball in a blizzard. (OK, even if you didn't).

    This is without doubt one of the best books I've read in a long time!
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2016
    Some good information but a lot of it repetitive. The number needed to treat in order to get results is the main focus.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2016
    Great book! Dr. Hatch illustrates the importance of understanding the level of uncertainty that health care professionals (and patients) face daily. While the content relates specifically to medicine, the lessons can be extrapolated to our approach to the rest of the sciences and even to life in general. In today's world, both professional and lay person alike are bombarded with information. As humans we are predisposed to fit that information into a category of true/untrue. While this mode of thinking has many advantages (speed, simplicity) it also leads to placing too much confidence in some information and not in others which can in turn lead to bad choices.

    More and more we live in a society that deifies the role of the expert. When faced with a question outside of our own particular milieu, we place near 100% faith in the recommendations of one or more selected experts without appreciating the level to which that expert is or should be confident in that recommendation. In this book, Dr. Hatch helps us to identify when this type of mistake is likely to happen and provides us with a framework (the 'spectrum of uncertainty') to place this information in a more rational context. Let's hope we listen.
    13 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2016
    Medicine has protected itself, its providers and its recipients from uncertainty and yet we know so little about health and illness, aetiology, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. We have blurred the lines between normal and abnormal, and medicalised where we don't know whether we should or should not. While this is perhaps hard to accept, given our diet of fads and fantasies, our short term memory and even shorter term attention span, it's certainly the case. The risk however is when we finally set a certainty point that it's an ever moving point. While I like this book, a lot, at times it falls for the very dynamic it seeks to unveil, trying to soothe us with moments of certainty. For instance - yes, vaccines are without a doubt one of medicine's current strongest certainties - but what might tomorrow bring? Is it the same for all vaccines? Will we one day have something more reliable than statistics on which to judge certainty? I think an open mind to uncertainty to the end of the book would have done the topic more justice.
    8 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2016
    This is a person who has both intellect and experience. He provides insight and humor while educating. A worthwhile read for medical and scientific professionals as well as anyone ("lay-persons") who are interested in learning about the process of diagnosis and how doctors make their conclusions. As someone who has had to think for himself about how treatments should be decided, I wish I could have read this book years ago as it would have encouraged me and bolstered my resolve to realize medical professionals are just human and not always blessed with being correct about diagnoses, prognoses, or recommendations. There's still a lot to learn and understand.
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2019
    I really enjoyed this book - and have quoted it often. Very insightful and well-written, even entertaining.

Top reviews from other countries

  • Rana
    5.0 out of 5 stars An absolutely wonderful book which goes into the uncertainty surrounding the practice ...
    Reviewed in India on June 2, 2017
    An absolutely wonderful book which goes into the uncertainty surrounding the practice of modern medicine. We live in the era of Evidence Based Medicine (EBM). The question this book raises (and tries to answer) is whether the evidence behind EBM is always reliable. This is a must read for all practicing physicians but laypeople who are interested in how medicine works should also read this.