BAD SCIENCE. A paperback book written by Ben Goldacre, published by Harper Perennial

Essential Stats

• Pages: 288
• Published: Thursday 2nd April 2009
• Dimensions: 20cm tall, 13cm wide, 3cm thick
• Weight: 300 grams
• ISBN: 000728487X
• RRP: £8.99
• Availability at Amazon UK:
  • 42 new books from £2.99
  • 17 used books from £2.21

Bad Science Cover

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• English
• Paperback
• Regular Size

Reviews

The weekly Bad Science colum in the Gardian newpaper have become my essential read for the week. In this book Ben Goldacre goes further to expand on some his best articles. Taking apart the detox myth,and sticking ear candles where they really belong. Gillian McKeith gets an entire chapter, and I suspect the next edition will have her twitter rant as well. You can learn how the UK MRSA scare started in a garden shed, how it's good that the Drug companies can't advertise direct to the public (as they can in the US), and how Fish oil is not much different from Snake oil. Read it, and then give it to your teenager.

I initially saw the glowing reviews and couldn't wait to buy this book. Yes I did learn a lot about medicine, media and scientific papers, not to mention Gillian McKeith!
But I did find some of the writing dragging on and on a bit which does get boring at times. I already knew like most about the health scares in the tabloids so when he did mention the broadsheets turning a blind eye he should have focused on that more.
What annoyed me though was the fact he mentions "humanities graduates" and the way they somehow believe anything and everything and can't look at things objectively, like only "academics" are unbiased and intelligent enough to possibly understand any science paper/research/story.

This is somehow supposed to explain why we end up with bad science in the first place. Well as a journalist he should know it's not the lack of understanding of science and credentials that gets these stories published, rather a duty to each medias' bias and political view. Instilling fear and bad news pays! Go ask a dumb humanities graduate!

This is without a doubt the best book i read last year! Medicine is becoming more and more an area of public interest, and rightly so! however there is alot of 'flim-flam' out there. Hopefully after reading this masterpiece of both comedy and education you too can be shrewd enough to know when you're being scammed, and laugh at those trying to con you out of your hard earned coin.

I'm a med student and must say this book taught me more about medicine in the "public arena" than any of my lecturers. A thoroughly worth while read whether you are an academic, student or pundit. This book is both completely accessible yet surprisingly in depth.

Five out of Five.

This is an excellent book. Really opens your eyes to how people and the media use science to justify what they want to do.
Media especially to sell papers and create big head lines.
The title should really be how people miss use science to justify anything they want.

If you too despair at the reporting of science & medicine particularly on TV, but even on occasions in broadsheet newspapers, then this is the book for you.

Goldacre systematically takes apart various quacks & nonsense peddlers (including the ludicrous Gillian McKeith - how did she ever get her own TV series?), in a straightforward, no nonsense fashion that even non-science folk like me can understand.

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