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Simon Singh
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Trick or Treatment?: Alternative Medicine on Trial Hardcover – 21 April 2008

by Simon Singh (Author), Edzard Ernst (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 605 ratings
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on any 2 Qualifying items | Terms
Welcome to the world of alternative medicine. Prince Charles is a staunch defender and millions of people swear by it; most UK doctors consider it to be little more than superstition and a waste of money. But how do you know which treatments really heal and which are potentially harmful? Now at last you can find out, thanks to the formidable partnership of Professor Edzard Ernst and Simon Singh. Edzard Ernst is the world’s first professor of complementary medicine, based at Exeter University, where he has spent over a decade analysing meticulously the evidence for and against alternative therapies.He is supported in his findings by Simon Singh, the well-known and highly respected science writer of several international bestsellers. Together they have written the definitive book on the subject. It is honest, impartial but hard-hitting, and provides a thorough examination and judgement of more than thirty of the most popular treatments, such as acupuncture, homeopathy, aromatherapy, reflexology, chiropractic and herbal medicine.In Trick or Treatment? the ultimate verdict on alternative medicine is delivered for the first time with clarity, scientific rigour and absolute authority.
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  1. Print length
    352 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Bantam Press
  4. Publication date
    21 April 2008
  5. Dimensions
    16.3 x 3.2 x 24 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    0593061292
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0593061299
  8. See all details
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Product description

Review

Fearless, intelligent and remorselessly rational. -- Sunday Times, April 20th 2008

"a definitive - if controversial - guide to what works, and what doesn't. It makes indispensable, if sometimes alarming, reading"
-- Daily Mail, April 8, 2008

Book Description

The ultimate verdict on alternative medicine.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bantam Press (21 April 2008)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593061292
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593061299
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16.3 x 3.2 x 24 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 605 ratings

About the author

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Simon Singh

Simon Singh

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Simon Singh is a science journalist and TV producer. Having completed his PhD at Cambridge he worked from 1991 to 1997 at the BBC producing Tomorrow's World and co-directing the BAFTA award-winning documentary Fermat's Last Theorem for the Horizon series. He is the author of Fermat's Last Theorem, which was a no 1 bestseller in Britain and translated into 22 languages. In 1999, he wrote The Code Book which was also an international bestseller and the basis for the Channel 4 series The Science of Secrecy.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
605 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book informative and useful for critical thinking courses. They describe it as a brilliant, easy read with clear explanations. Many praise the writing style as well-written and easy to understand. However, opinions differ on the wit - some find it entertaining and witty, while others feel it's repetitive and goes too easy on nonsense practices.

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Evidence based approachReadabilityWriting styleSuspensefulWit
43 customers mention ‘Evidence based approach’38 positive5 negative

Customers find the book's evidence-based approach interesting and informative. They appreciate how it explains modern medicine and how evidence is gathered. The book provides an insightful look into medical science's efforts to validate treatments. It also provides an expose of the alternative medicine industry.

"...This book and Goldacre's explain with admirable clarity the placebo effect and the way a double blind trial works and why they're important...." Read more

"...This book does not simply play to your prejudices but it leaves you feeling informed and awed by the depth and width of research on which it is based." Read more

"...This books clearly explains the history of medicine before the evidence-based approach. One word : scary...." Read more

"...They describe clearly how modern medicine works, how evidence for and against treatments is gathered and subjected to the closest scrutiny before a..." Read more

26 customers mention ‘Readability’26 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and engaging. They appreciate the clear analysis of each field and the useful examples provided. The book is described as a valuable reference work, though some readers mention that the author can be repetitive at times.

"...An excellent book...." Read more

"...with interesting anecdotes, then Trick or Treatment is definitely worth a read...." Read more

"...All in all, a really important book which wasn't given the coverage it deserved when it came out, and what’s more it’s very readable too...." Read more

"...If you are after an entertaining and interesting read then this book fits the bill...." Read more

22 customers mention ‘Writing style’19 positive3 negative

Customers find the writing style easy to read and accessible. They appreciate the clear layout and concise explanations of what works and what doesn't.

"...Not difficult notions to understand in any case, but, just in case, here they are explained clearly, so all can grasp them...." Read more

"..."alternative" practitioner to read this book beforehand - it's amazingly easy to read and there are quite a few witty asides which made me laugh out..." Read more

"...This book is so full of suspense and so extraordinarily well written. I understand what you mean now...." Read more

"...By combining Ernst’s expertise on the subject and Singh’s superb science writing we have a book that is as entertaining as it is informative, and..." Read more

4 customers mention ‘Suspenseful’4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book interesting and well-written. They appreciate the suspenseful plot and the exciting conclusion.

"...She called me last weekend and said: "This book is so full of suspense and so extraordinarily well written...." Read more

"...The outcome is electrifying to everyone who thinks and has used or considered using anything like homeopathy or acupuncture...." Read more

"Although written a few years ago, this book is interesting and well written, recommended." Read more

"Interesting and useful, but by no means unbiased..." Read more

6 customers mention ‘Wit’3 positive3 negative

Customers have different views on the book's wit. Some find it entertaining and informative, with witty asides that make them laugh out loud. Others feel it's repetitive and boring, with too many anecdotal examples and easygoing practices.

"...beforehand - it's amazingly easy to read and there are quite a few witty asides which made me laugh out loud several times...." Read more

"...It goes too easy on these nonsense practices...." Read more

"...Singh’s superb science writing we have a book that is as entertaining as it is informative, and the emphasis on real testing will be a delight to..." Read more

"OK from an info perspective. A little repetitive for my liking." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • Phil Cheshire
    5.0 out of 5 stars Essential read but Kindle edition is lazily adapted (5 stars for content; 1 star for Kindle edition quality)
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 May 2011
    Verified Purchase
    This should be essential reading alongside Ben Goldacre's Bad Science. Both books serve a vitally important role. Where Goldacre's book is a little more chatty, it's author being the 'David Brent' of the popular science writers world (I'm cool, you'd love to have a drink with me, and yeah, I can drink loads, while leading two double-blind trials, writing newspaper columns, participating in amateur dramatics (yes, really!) and being the funniest guy you've ever met... I'm cool, I swear, particularly if it impresses the kids and ...), Ernst and Singh's book is a little more sober, the authors being less desperate to impress. The books compliment each other well. If you come away, as some readers have, unconvinced,claiming the authors to be part of some conspiracy, or accusing them of blind prejudice against CAM then you have simply failed to understand the basic points they're making, and those points are not difficult to understand. This book and Goldacre's explain with admirable clarity the placebo effect and the way a double blind trial works and why they're important. Not difficult notions to understand in any case, but, just in case, here they are explained clearly, so all can grasp them. All treatments should undergo rigorous testing, much of the stuff on your health food shops' shelves hasn't, and when it has it has been shown (with very very few exceptions)to have all the healing qualities of a sugar pill, which in the case of homeopathy isn't surprising since that's what they generally are.
    Now, to the KINDLE edition. 1 month into my Kindle ownership and I'm now getting pretty irritated by the shoddy quality of many of the Kindle editions. This one leaves block quotes (long quotes that are set out separate from the text in the print edition) in the same font, without quotation marks and with the same paragraph indentation as the main text; so often you find yourself half way through a quotation before realising that you are reading a quotation, and then you have to workout where it ends and the main text recommences. In addition, some special symbols just come out peculiar, as do some of the lists. Is it too difficult to make the Kindle editions the same quality as the print editions? This should not even be a question. This is really poor and shows disrespect for those who have bought Kindles. C'mon Amazon!
    66 people found this helpful
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  • M. Hillmann
    5.0 out of 5 stars Skeptic and complementary medicine professor's evidence
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 May 2010
    Verified Purchase
    Simon Singh is the arch skeptic and now famous for his libel challenge to chiropracters that will reshape British libel laws. I did not expect him to give alternative medicine an easy ride. But Professor Edzard Ernst is the world's first professor of complementary medicine and has practiced homeopathy and other alternative medicines. Surely he has intellectual capital invested in these treatments?

    Well if he ever did he certainly does not now. The pair systematically and thoroughly review the evidence on the effects of acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic therapy and herbal medicine. They are blunt and outspoken and offer no apologies for presenting "the truth."

    They begin by discussing how science determines the truth. Evidence based medicine has revolutionised medical practices transforming it from an industry of charlatans and incompetents into a system of healthcare that can deliver such miracles as transplanting kidneys, removing cataracts, eradicating smallpox and saving millions of lives each year. This has been achieved by randomised double blinded clinical trials. If conventional medicine requires such objective assessment then so should alternative medicine.

    As with all Simon Singh's work, the scientific issues are brought to life by fascinating human stories, for example about George Washington dying at the hands of bloodletting doctors or about how Florence Nightingale managed to win a bitter argument against the medical establishment by arming herself with solid irrefutable evidence about the importance of hygiene. She was the first female member of the Royal Statistical Society in 1858 and was an honorary member of the American Statistical society.

    Their skeptiscm of homeopathy and even chiropractice does not surprise me. But the lack of conclusive evidence supporting acupuncture even in its less controversial applications is surprising. Where there are high quality trials supporting the use of acupuncture for some types of pain and nausea, there are high quality trials that contradict it. In short the evidence is neither consistent nor convincing.

    The Placebo Effect can be a very strong and positive influence in healthcare, but can alternative medical practictioners justify their existence by practicing placebo medicine and helping their patients with essentially fake medicine?

    Of course plant extracts are used in the treatment of a whole range of diseases and the authors list the efficacy of a range of the more popular herbal medicines describing them as Good , Medium or Poor and then describing their risks. Unlike conventional pharmaceuticals , herbal remedies have not been properly tested or monitored for safety.

    This book does not simply play to your prejudices but it leaves you feeling informed and awed by the depth and width of research on which it is based.
    8 people found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Presents a strong case for evidence-based medicine
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 July 2012
    Verified Purchase
    This is one of the books in a growing movement that is fighting for all that we gained in the Enlightenment, and which in the late twentieth and early twenty first century appears to be slipping away in a cloud of wishful, hazy thinking.

    The key is evidence-based medicine. In other words, not wanting or hoping or idly believing a treatment will work, but testing if it is so. There is nothing sinister or 'un-holistic' about a trial - it merely tests if something works against a control or placebo. When most complementary therapies are tested this way, the evidence, for them, is devastating.

    This books clearly explains the history of medicine before the evidence-based approach. One word : scary. It explains how trials work and it then tests alternative medicines. It also shows how practitioners try to squirm their way out of begin tested, argued with and ultimately exposed.

    An excellent book. I think, however, Ben Goldacre's Bad Science wins over for prose style and entertainment factor, while also being hugely informative.
    18 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Marcelo
    5.0 out of 5 stars Uma contribuição valiosa sobre medicina e ciência!
    Reviewed in Brazil on 16 October 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Essa é uma obra extraordinária que lança luz sobre o mundo complexo (e muitas vezes nebuloso) da medicina alternativa. Este livro é uma fonte inestimável de conhecimento para qualquer pessoa interessada na área da saúde e na ciência.

    A obra aborda com coragem e clareza a prevalência de terapias não comprovadas e muitas vezes ineficazes que permeiam a indústria da medicina alternativa. Os autores desmantelam mitos e mostram, com base em evidências científicas sólidas, o que realmente funciona e o que não passa de ilusão. E o melhor: isso é feito de maneira acessível, sem jargões técnicos, tornando o livro acessível ao público leigo.

    O livro também destaca a importância de uma abordagem baseada em evidências na medicina, incentivando os leitores a questionar terapias e tratamentos que carecem de apoio científico. A mensagem central é clara: nossa saúde e bem-estar merecem abordagens baseadas em evidências, e este livro oferece as ferramentas necessárias para discernir entre tratamentos eficazes e placebos.

    A leitura é extremamente agradável. Aliás, esse é um dos meus livros favoritos. Já tinha a versão em Português, mas não pude deixar de aproveitar a oportunidade de adquiri-lo também na versão em Inglês. Paguei inacreditáveis R$ 3,95 (menos de 1 dólar) na promoção de 10 de outubro de 2023!
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  • George Kurien
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book. Worth reading
    Reviewed in India on 14 August 2024
    Verified Purchase
    It is an excellent book written in simple language. Very useful and informative. Anybody who is concerned with health should read this book.
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  • Cheerioh
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellente démonstration, une grande claque, dommage qu'il ne soit pas traduit
    Reviewed in France on 11 February 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Si vous lisez l'anglais, tant mieux car vous pourrez lire cet ouvrage majeur sur la médecine alternative. J'avais lu une recommandation pour ce livre dans un autre ouvrage et il était d'occasion alors j'ai sauté dessus.

    L'un des auteurs est un scientifique de haut niveau et l'autre est médecin et a pratiqué l'homépathie. Ils essayent de porter un regard scientifique et sérieux sur la médecine "alternative". La lecture est assez passionnante parce que les auteurs font également le point en parallèle sur la médecine conventionnelle. On découvre en gros mais avec une démonstration très convaincante que la médecine n'est vraiment devenue ce qu'on appelle la médecine qu'en appliquant une certaine rigueur scientifique à ses fonctionnements. Et à partir de là le charlatanisme est devenu la médecine et ce qui reste de charlatanisme est devenu la "médecine alternative".

    Eh oui car le constat est assez effrayant sur l'efficacité des options qu'on nous suggère par rapport à la médecine.

    Les auteurs n'étaient pas a priori contre la médecine alternative et l'un des auteurs l'enseigne même à l'université mais ils ont juste fait preuve de rigueur. Les arguments des uns et des autres sont repris et analysés, les dangers potentiels abordés.

    Bref, je recommande cette lecture à toute personne qui aurait encore un doute car la conclusion est assez radicale.
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  • RJT
    5.0 out of 5 stars esperaba este libro
    Reviewed in Spain on 11 June 2014
    Verified Purchase
    un libro imprescindible para poner en su sitio las distintas medicinas alternativas. Una cosa es el conocimiento cientifico y otra muy distinta la Fe, y su potente eficacia para curar, pero también para engañar y sacar dinero a incautos, privandoles de terapias a menudo necesarias
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  • Laurence D. Duncan
    5.0 out of 5 stars A must read
    Reviewed in Australia on 27 August 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Ever wondered whether any of the wacko medicines/supplements/treatments that are offered these days have any worth at all? This is the book for you.
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