Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure
By:
Paul A. Offit MD
Buy it now at Amazon.com!
Lowest New Price: $15.20
List Price: $24.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5
Description:
A London researcher was the first to assert that the combination measles-mumps-rubella vaccine known as MMR caused autism in children. Following this "discovery," a handful of parents declared that a mercury-containing preservative in several vaccines was responsible for the disease. If mercury caused autism, they reasoned, eliminating it from a child's system should treat the disorder. Consequently, a number of untested alternative therapies arose, and, most tragically, in one such treatment, a doctor injected a five-year-old autistic boy with a chemical in an effort to cleanse him of mercury, which stopped his heart instead. Children with autism have been placed on stringent diets, subjected to high-temperature saunas, bathed in magnetic clay, asked to swallow digestive enzymes and activated charcoal, and injected with various combinations of vitamins, minerals, and acids. Instead of helping, these therapies can hurt those who are most vulnerable, and particularly in the case of autism, they undermine childhood vaccination programs that have saved millions of lives. An overwhelming body of scientific evidence clearly shows that childhood vaccines are safe and does not cause autism. Yet widespread fear of vaccines on the part of parents persists. In this book, Paul A. Offit, a national expert on vaccines, challenges the modern-day false prophets who have so egregiously misled the public and exposes the opportunism of the lawyers, journalists, celebrities, and politicians who support them. Offit recounts the history of autism research and the exploitation of this tragic condition by advocates and zealots. He considers the manipulation of science in the popular media and the courtroom, and he explores why society is susceptible to the bad science and risky therapies put forward by many antivaccination activists.
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Release Date: 2008-09-22
Customer Review: 4 out of 5
An Revealing Perspective on a Dangerous Trend - Dr. Offit provides us with a careful explanation of the facts behind the hysteria that has endangered some of medicine's most beneficial advances - vaccination against communicable disease. It is well written. It only lacks the climax of a novel. Perhaps because there is no climax only the somewhat sad present state of affairs.
Customer Review: 2 out of 5
vaccines - Vaccines are deadly and dangerous!!!! I was a child who has had measles,rubella,diphtheria, whooping cough, chicken pox, mumps and all different kinds of influenza. Today I'm 51 yrs old and I'm still here alive, healthy and immune to most of these deseases. Oh I forgot, and I'm also positive for tuberculosis AND YES, my lungs are in perfect condition!! wuoooo... I was never vaccinated for any of these ,but polio and small pox.
I believe in preventive medicine, building a strong, healthy immune system you can beat just about anything out there. The fact is you don't have to have a doctorate degree to understand how nature works and how to create a barrier of strength to combat most anything, except aging. This country puts too much faith in the medical and pharmaceutical industry!!! I want to see doctors facing the beef and milk industries by uncovering their lies when they help promote all of these highly contaminated, genetically modified, junk saturated with cholesterol and hormones to make our kids have sicknesses for the rest of their lives!!!
When you take your kids to a doctor, they're not interested in finding out the cause of your kids constant earache or throat infections. They just want to prescribe, prescribe somethings to cover up the symptoms and kill your immunities even more with antibiotics!!!! I'm sick of them all!!!! If the medical industry can't explain to me why so many kids are developing Autism at this present day and time, I'd rather go with a mother's instinct in telling me autism is caused by vaccines like Jenny McCarthy has. She makes a lot more sense to me!!!!
Injecting a load of viruses, metals, monkey parts and who knows what else they put in those syringes. A newborn baby with a tiny body who may already have certain vulnerabilities being injected with loads of toxins is a little bit too much!!!!
Customer Review: 1 out of 5
Conflict of Interest of a False Prophet - Dr.Paul Offit, a vaccine scientist, who benefited $23 millions as royalties is advising us that Vaccines don't cause any harm. Absolutely false. Vaccines do cause Autism, not just that Asthma and allergies too. Autism was 1 in 10,000 in 1990 and the childhood vaccines given were less than 15. Now, Autism rate is 1 in 91, thanks to 30+ childhood vaccines. This book is hell of lies and misleading junk science.
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Must read for parents - I won't repeat all the other 5 star reviews, just want to add that this is a PHENOMENAL book and should be read by all parents everywhere - especially those that would prefer to make their decision based on data rather than emotions.
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Truth from a modern-day hero - Dr. Offit thoroughly discredits those medical professionals, journalists, celebrities and parents who continue to blame autism on MMR or thimerosal. Furthermore, he exposes those same people who continue to exploit the children and parents affected by autism with expensive, worthless and often dangerous treatments.
The world is round; we don't accommodate flat-earth believers by "teaching the controversy."
We don't yet know what causes autism. What we do know for certain is that the MMR vaccine and thimerosal play no part in the process. There is no controversy among honest scientists. Every dollar we spend on this false controversy will delay the day we find a real answer to this serious issue.
Thank you Dr. Offit for standing up and telling the truth.
--> Find out more about "Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure" at Amazon.com or Order Now
| 