What I like about this book is that it is not extreme. It does not damn the alternative/complementary approach to medicine and it doesn't refuse to acknowledge medical science. The author, a GP from 1970-81 has taught at various schools of complementary medicine and the book evolved from discussions with homoeopaths, osteopaths, herbalists, acupuncturists and others.
Despite what it says in the foreword it is not really holistic and it does lean towards a traditional view that emotions, mind and body are treated as separate. Specialists are to be consulted whose role is to examine, diagnose and treat the parts, but as another reviewer says that's what's needed. The way in which complementary medicine aids conventional medicine will depend on the therapist. It provides guidance by acknowledging the great insights of science with its store of observation and accumulated evidence from centuries of recording and correlating data. As such Dr Ball's book is a good reference source for the main symptoms of common diseases explained without jargon.
It describes likely effects and disease progression in a concise manner, illustrated with simple diagrams and charts. It is easy to look up conditions with bold paragraph headings within each chapter and there is also a glossary of medical and homeopathic terms.
