Very interesting

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I really enjoyed this book, it was a fascinating insight into how egos and science collide and the price that is paid. Very well narrated also.

16 people found this helpful

Cautionary Tales and How-to-Think Instructions

First-rate production of a message we all need to follow. I.e., require evidence to support what we think we know. Let’s hear it for double-blind, peer-reviewed, reproducible studies!

16 people found this helpful

trump hater

I was looking for more scientific and less political content in the book, did not like the political bias

8 people found this helpful

Nothing new all low hanging fruit

I was hoping that the book would offer some new insights. But even during the introduction I was able to guess every topic he alluded to.
And some sections were just poorly written. Offit has an ax to grind with supplements, that is good. But he doesn't listen to his own advice. For example, he cites a case where a dozen people were poisoned. As Offit says, "It's all about the data." That case was 20 years ago. It would be more interesting to compare the rates of herbal poisonings each year to other causes of death.
Certain aspects of the book scream for more attention. Why not devote a chapter to IQ testing rather than lobotomies? Or Freudian Psychiatry? The episiotomy and epidural? His targets well known and minimally controversial.

17 people found this helpful

Some People Have Thin Skin...

Any additional comments?

After reading some comments from listeners I was expecting a massive amount of political jargon that was extremely biased. I was happily mistaken. If there are political messages they are rooted in fact (statements made by Donald Trump). Yes, there may be a couple inferences/assumptions or parallels the author makes, but they seem fair.Also, don't let the other reviews fool you into thinking the author is biased or did not do his home work. This text seems quite accurate from what I know, it is informative, and he pulls no punches on anyone - good scientists or bad.

Give it a listen!

17 people found this helpful

This guys politics right from the start

I didn’t even get through the introduction before I was sick of Mr Offit’s political take. Shame, too, as this could be an interesting topic were it purely about science. I don’t, however, need to have science filtered through his particular political lens. For instance, when speaking of eugenics, he immediately cites President Trump (as if theres some relevance there) but doesn’t seem to mention Margret Sanger... This book isn’t worth the proverbial paper it’s printed on.

6 people found this helpful

Here is a Chapter List

I was frustrated by the lack of chapter titles, so I compiled this list:

Chapter 1 - Opiates.
Their history from poppies to opium, laudanum, heroin, methadone, and now oxycontin. Each was supposed to be safer and less addictive, and each resulted in epidemics of addiction and ruined lives.

Chapter 2 - Trans fats.
The discovery of hydrogenation to make margarine, Crisco, and other stable cooking oils with extended shelf life. Turns out that very stability works inside our arteries too, exponentially increasing the nation's heart disease. This chapter was one of the most scientifically detailed, and explains the molecular chemistry of fats; saturated, unsaturated, and trans, and how they behave inside the body.

Chapter 3 - Nitrogen.
The history of extracting nitrogen from the air for fertilizer. It saved the world from hunger as it yielded vastly greater crops. Then it was turned into a weapon of war, for explosives and the lethal gas chambers of the Nazis.

Chapter 4 - Eugenics.
This discredited "science" began in America as an outgrowth of Darwinism, but it linked race with other genetic attributes like intelligence, and behaviors like promiscuity. It was enthusiastically promoted by the Nazis to justify themselves as the master race and excuse the extermination of Jews, Gypsies, and other undesirables. This was a somewhat political chapter, and did not examine whether intelligence or behavior may be genetically based, regardless of race.

Chapter 5 - Lobotomies.
In the era before valium and psychiatric medicines, lobotomies came into vogue to treat a wide range of mental conditions. This is a detailed history and delves into the actual surgeries (there were different kinds with different outcomes). Not for the squeamish.

Chapter 6 - DDT.
To my surprise, rather than seeing Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" as a wake up call to the dangers of DDT, this chapters decries the populist movement that resulted. The author points out that the banning of DDT may have allowed malaria to rage out of control in tropical countries, but I wonder if the widespread use of DDT would have been better? There is no real examination of the environmental damage that would result, just a dismissal of overinflated fears.

Chapter 7 - Vitamin C and HIV.
This chapter is about the mistakes made by Nobel Prize committees, but focuses primarily on Linus Pauling and his support for Vitamin C as a panacea for whatever ails you. He got a Nobel Prize but virtually all his claims have since been debunked. There is also a brief history of AIDS and the race to find the cause (HIV) in order to secure a Prize.

Chapter 8 - Learning from the past.
The author wraps up the book by identifying common roots of disastrous mistakes, which I would sum up as ego and arrogance. He points out the newest miracles of science, warning us to look out for new disasters that could come from E-cigarettes, autism treatments, genetically modified foods, and genome scanning for diseases.

I found the book fascinating and informative, even when I didn't always agree with the author's conclusions.

5 people found this helpful

Needs to listen to his own advice

I'm not certain how much trust I put into the stories presented here. The Author could not even be bothered to verify current events, instead uses the media's view and even spin. If he is unwilling to provide due diligence for current events, how can we believe that events 100 or 1000 years ago are not being bent to match his narrative? He needs to listen to his own advice that he stated about Rachel Carson - "Don't let your own biases blind you."

3 people found this helpful

Too many familiar stories

I knew most of the stories. The author brought little new insight to these stories. The style is like an educational lecture, rather than telling a captivating story.

6 people found this helpful

Close Facebook and read this book!

We live in a world of sound-bite immersion where personality drives opinion. Movie stars influence our thoughts more than data. News anchors do not deliver the facts as much as they are on-air rock stars in their own right. What they say is taken for gospel regardless of how carefully their stories are underpinned with data.

It is a dangerous world.

You and your family are in danger without careful, critical thinking like that described in this book.

Pandora’s Lab should be essential reading for every thinking adult, especially every medical doctor.

Please read this book!

13 people found this helpful