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A review by samwescott
Hype: A Doctor's Guide to Medical Myths, Exaggerated Claims, and Bad Advice - How to Tell What's Real and What's Not by Nina Shapiro, Kristin Loberg
4.0
This was a really interesting read. It covered a much wider variety of topics than I expected and the author(s) writing style was very plain spoken and accessible. The book gets into some very well-explained criticism of anti-scientific trends (homeopathy and anti-vaxxers etc), but also gets into some myths about things I hadn't even considered (like water intake and the pros and cons of assorted screenings).
There were also some really useful tips on internet literacy and sussing out your sources in the early chapters. I'll admit that I found that a bit off-putting at the beginning (it seemed a little condescending?) but I have to assume some of the audience for this book maybe didn't grow up on computers and needs a little extra help with information intake.
Ooh, and I really liked the little chapter summaries at the end of each section. It reminded me of my high school textbooks and really drove home the author's main points.
My only real complaint was that I listened to the audiobook and the narration was a little off. I think one of the author's read it and her inflection got a little weird here and there. But that was a minor inconvenience and won't matter if you're reading the physical book.
There were also some really useful tips on internet literacy and sussing out your sources in the early chapters. I'll admit that I found that a bit off-putting at the beginning (it seemed a little condescending?) but I have to assume some of the audience for this book maybe didn't grow up on computers and needs a little extra help with information intake.
Ooh, and I really liked the little chapter summaries at the end of each section. It reminded me of my high school textbooks and really drove home the author's main points.
My only real complaint was that I listened to the audiobook and the narration was a little off. I think one of the author's read it and her inflection got a little weird here and there. But that was a minor inconvenience and won't matter if you're reading the physical book.