13 used & new from £3.90
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
Bad Science
 
See larger image 

See 1 customer image
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

Bad Science (Paperback)

by Ben Goldacre (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (203 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


5 new from £4.50 8 used from £3.90
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Paperback £8.99 £3.58 36 used & new from £2.20

Watch a Related Video
11:24

Special Offers and Product Promotions

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Irrationality

Irrationality

by Stuart Sutherland
4.3 out of 5 stars (33)  £5.98
Quirkology: The Curious Science Of Everyday Lives

Quirkology: The Curious Science Of Everyday Lives

by Prof. Richard Wiseman
4.2 out of 5 stars (37)  £4.77
Professor Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities

Professor Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities

by Ian Stewart
4.0 out of 5 stars (15)  £5.49
The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution

The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution

by Richard Dawkins
4.5 out of 5 stars (87)  £9.97
13 Things That Don't Make Sense: The Most Intriguing Scientific Mysteries of Our Time

13 Things That Don't Make Sense: The Most Intriguing Scientific Mysteries of Our Time

by Michael Brooks
4.1 out of 5 stars (21)  £6.47
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Fourth Estate Ltd; 4th Printing edition (1 Sep 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0007240198
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007240197
  • Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 13.4 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (203 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 11,116 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Review

'If you pick up one non-fiction book this year, you'd do well to make it this one.'
--Daily Mail


Review

`It is an important book and if you were to pick up just one non-fiction book this year you'd do well to make it this one.'
See all Product Description

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(43)
(40)
(29)
(29)
(26)
(18)
(18)
(17)
(6)
(5)
(5)
See all 51 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

203 Reviews
5 star:
 (149)
4 star:
 (26)
3 star:
 (9)
2 star:
 (9)
1 star:
 (10)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (203 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
348 of 368 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly excellent, 7 Oct 2008
A thoroughly excellent book from a practising doctor and medical researcher, who is also one of the few science journalists to actually understand scientific method. He is nearly a lone voice in the media, exposing the astonishing journey of 'health news' from the pages of academic journals to the tabloids and broadsheets, without passing through a critical brain in between. Thus, on a daily basis, the papers produce "X CAUSES/CURES CANCER" stories, based on very shaky understanding of experiments done in a petri dish. Whilst these stories may give false hope or fear to thousands of people, which is bad enough, in the case of MMR, they actually caused harm. He also explains how and why science fails to explain itself clearly and loudly in the face of emotionally charged 'my son has autism due to MMR' stories.

Goldacre also lays bare the facts about such 'complementary' therapies such as Homeopathy and Nutritionism, which when stripped of the accolades given them in the media, are revealed to be little more than eccentric ideas which somehow have gained unquestioning credence in the popular mind, and even, perversely, created a deep-rooted suspicion of maninstream medicine which is now taken at face value.

I thoroughly recommend this book, especially for journalists, but it is also essential reading for scientists, doctors and anyone who finds their mouth flapping when trying to put their friends / family straight on why spending 100 quid on dipping their feet in water and watching it go brown is a spectacular waste of money.

Final thoughts - if this book demonstrates how bad science reporting is, what else is being reported badly that we should know about? Finance? Politics? Help!! Also, why is there no organisation with teeth that can bring people to account for irresponsible reporting? A free press is central to our world of course, but not a wild press, trampling all over everyone and everything without so much as a backward glance.
Comment Comments (18) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
150 of 165 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Invaluable, 15 Sep 2008
By R. de Vries "half_arsed" (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Like the very best popular science, this book is patient but fascinating in building up your knowledge of the subject area - in this case medical (and 'alternative' medical) research. However, it goes beyond this in building up to a damning indictment of the media's handling of the MRSA and MMR scares, as part of their wider crimes against the public understanding of science.

In the hands of a polemecist such as Micheal Moore, these frauds perpetrated against the public would be described at a pitch of white hot rage (lkely with almost EVERY WORD IN CAPS). However Dr Goldacre describes the frankly horrifying details of these scares in patient and methodical detail, and is all the more compelling for it.

This book is compulsory reading. It should be forcefully inserted onto every reading list prepared by anyone, for anything.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, 29 Aug 2009
By A. Kay - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Bad Science (Paperback)
The bright red book caught my eye and before I knew it the purchase was complete. The debunking appealed to me as did the witty style of writing. There are periods of technical jargon and sometimes long winded explanations of trials which can be a touch boring. If, however the explaination of these trials wasn't complete the writer would be guilty of the same dumbing-down he is fighting against.

This is without doubt eye-opening and increases your scepticism of big pharma, alternative therapy and wonder drugs alike. Worth a read but not for people with a short attention span.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading
This was a really great, unputdownable read without being great literature in any way. As a scientist myself, I was aware of the arguments, but had never realised how they needed... Read more
Published 1 day ago by PJD Lloyd

4.0 out of 5 stars Bad Media = Bad Science
Great book, once you get past the first chapter, it really grips you and it is a real page-turner.

It can't be stressed enough that the majority of the science you... Read more
Published 5 days ago by Cork Boi

4.0 out of 5 stars Bad Science
This book is an absolute MUST READ!!

You may not (and probably won't) agree with a lot of the issues the author brings up, but it will definitely provoke some... Read more
Published 10 days ago by Jerusha Black

1.0 out of 5 stars problem
my book bad science was deliever on time despite the postal strike my only problem is the cover of the book is inside out! someone must of noticed that when packing the book. Read more
Published 13 days ago by annon

3.0 out of 5 stars Don't mind the hypocrisy
As an overweight, diabetic with Hashimoto's disease, chronic pain and bronchiectasis - who has grasped at more straws than you can shake a stick at - I regard this book as one... Read more
Published 15 days ago by Mr. M. R. MOORE

4.0 out of 5 stars The truth hurts sometimes
It was brave of Mr Goldacre not only to expose the charlatans that flog potions pills and miracle cures but also show the tactics used by mainstream pharmaceutical companies to... Read more
Published 16 days ago by C. Marshall

5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone who reads the daily mail should be forced to read this book
...and everyone else too while i'm at it.

I've had nagging doubts about media reporting of science for some time but ben goldacre has now opened my eyes to this... Read more
Published 19 days ago by Jason M. Webber

4.0 out of 5 stars 80% of people reading this review will like this book
An accurate description of how the wool can be pulled over our eyes by a combination of misunderstandings in the media, and from the "interesting" approach to science used by... Read more
Published 22 days ago by Russell G. Pottinger

2.0 out of 5 stars Laborious
This book has some good ideas and is, overall, quite interesting; the chapter about the placebo effect was particularly enlightening. Read more
Published 24 days ago by Annerose Watts

3.0 out of 5 stars Am I missing something here?
Nothing winds me up more than science and statistics being twisted in the media so I'm in full agreement with Ben Goldacre in almost everything he says. Read more
Published 24 days ago by K. Gale

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
Finally! Who are your favorites in a similar style? 8 15 days ago
64 less pages? 1 April 2009
› See all 2 discussions...  
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 

   

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject







i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.