Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health
About this product
An Instant New York Times Bestseller Choice 2025 Outstanding Academic Title
From Johns Hopkins medical expert Dr. Marty Makary, the New York Times- bestselling author of The Price We Pa y - an eye-opening look at the medical groupthink that has led to public harm, and what you need to know about your health.
More Americans have peanut allergies today than at any point in history. Why? In 2000, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a strict recommendation that parents avoid giving their children peanut products until they're three years old. Getting the science perfectly backward, triggering intolerance with lack of early exposure, the US now leads the world in peanut allergies-and this misinformation is still rearing its head today.
How could the experts have gotten it so wrong? Dr. Marty Makary asks, Could it be that many modern-day health crises have been caused by the hubris of the medical establishment? Experts said for decades that opioids were not addictive, igniting the opioid crisis. They refused menopausal women hormone replacement therapy, causing unnecessary suffering. They demonized natural fat in foods, driving Americans to processed carbohydrates as obesity rates soared. They told citizens that there are no downsides to antibiotics and prescribed them liberally, causing a drug-resistant bacteria crisis.
When modern medicine issues recommendations based on good scientific studies, it shines. Conversely, when modern medicine is interpreted through the harsh lens of opinion and edict, it can mold beliefs that harm patients and stunt research for decades. In Blind Spots, Dr. Makary explores the latest research on critical topics ranging from the microbiome to childbirth to nutrition and longevity and more, revealing the biggest blind spots of modern medicine and tackling the most urgent yet unsung issues in our $4.5 trillion health care ecosystem. The path to medical mishaps can be absurd, entertaining, and jaw-dropping-but the truth is essential to our health. Read more
Editor's Take
Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health is generally described as very informative, thought-provoking, and eye-opening by Amazon reviewers. Readers say it is highly readable, well-researched, and full of insights about where modern medicine and public health have gone wrong.
On Reddit, discussion appears limited, but the available thread shows real interest in the book and its subject matter. A review blog from the Washington Independent Review of Books also covers the title, indicating it has drawn attention from outside Amazon.
Overall, the strongest pattern across customer feedback is that the book is engaging and provocative, especially for readers interested in healthcare, evidence-based medicine, and public health policy.
- Amazon reviewers say it is informative, fascinating, and easy to read.
- Amazon customers also describe it as well-researched, engaging, and eye-opening.
- Reddit mentions the book title, suggesting discussion among readers.
- Review sites describe it as a critical look at medicine’s failures.
Price History
Specifications
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
| Publication date | September 17, 2024 |
| Language | English |
| Print length | 288 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1639735313 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1639735310 |
| Item Weight | 2.31 pounds |
| Dimensions | 6.5 x 0.95 x 9.55 inches |
| Best Sellers Rank | #22,597 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #3 in Children & Adolescent's Allergies #21 in Food Allergies (Books) #29 in Sociological Study of Medicine |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,585) |
