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Powell's Staff:
Five Book Friday: In Memoriam
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Every year, the booksellers at Powell’s submit their Top Fives: their five favorite books that were released in 2023. It’s a list that, when put together, shows just how varied and interesting the book tastes of Powell’s booksellers are. I highly recommend digging into the recommendations — we would never lead you astray — but today...
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Brontez Purnell:
Powell’s Q&A: Brontez Purnell, author of ‘Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt’
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Rachael P.:
Starter Pack: Where to Begin with Ursula K. Le Guin
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Customer Comments
nunya bizwachs has commented on (4) products
Pet Lovers Guide to Natural Healing for Cats & Dogs
by
Barbara Fougere
nunya bizwachs
, August 29, 2013
I beg you on your pet's behalf, don't do this to your pet. Shame on the author and publishers. One hopes that a class action suit awaits them for foisting this quackery on the public, and on pets who have no voice to say "This ain't working" and "This ain't medicine. Go get real medicine." I was first drawn to this book by leafing through it and noticing that it had a chapter on what really goes into commercial pet food, and what pets really need. I was also half-convinced that there might be value behind chapter titles on "natural" remedies, and advice on pet healthcare. However... it's a book about ALTERANTIVE medicine, which includes, and claims to have objective value, the ludicrous category of homeopathy which is very clearly and provably not, not , NOT real and effective medicine with known scientifically proven value. Quite the reverse. The chapter on homeopathy does not explore the legitimacy of homeopathy's wild claims, such as "the cure to a symptom is to take a poison that causes similar symptoms"-- such as taking syrup of ipecac (which causes vomiting) to reduce vomiting, or hitting yourself in the head with a hammer to reduce headaches, bruising, and memory problems. Or the equally silly claim that adding large amounts of alcohol to the poison and shaking it will not dilute the poison, but rather INcrease its effectiveness. That's like saying that rather than taking two aspirin for a headache, a person should put it in a bathtub full of alcohol, shake it mercilessly while it dissolves, and then take a tiny sip from the bathtub. Google for Youtube+"James Randi"+homeopathy to hear more reasonable voices about the indefensible quackery of homeopathy. In other words, homeopathy is pure quackery that was invented by a lone, non-research doctor around the same time when other Western doctors still believed in bloodletting. Admittedly, it was born as a reaction to the quackery of the times. However, homeopathy is no better than the quackery it sought to replace, and has NOT progressed nor been scientifically proven to be effective, as mainstream Western medicine has. This naive acceptance of homeopathy as real medicine calls into question every other medical claim in the book. Would you believe any other claims from self-proclaimed prophet who believes in the Easter Bunny? Look elsewhere for real answers about how to heal your pet and keep your pet healthy. This book's advice is not real alternative medicine any more than the Santa myth is a replacement for parenting. And remember: mainstream Western medicine is already "natural", if "natural" has any meaning. Aspirin and colchicine, for example, are simply plant extracts that have been around for many hundreds of years with proven (real) value. If you question whether mainstream medicine is "natural", I recommend buying from Powell's the book "Reflecting on Nature: Readings in Environmental Ethics and Philosophy" ISBN13: 9780199782437 ISBN10: 0199782431 and reading in that book the essay "On Nature" by John Stuart Mill.
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Crystal Enlightenment The Transforming Properties of Crystals & Healing Stones
by
Katrina Raphaell
nunya bizwachs
, August 29, 2013
Seriously?? One wonders how, in a society that values the scientific method and rigorous testing of drugs and other medical techniques, claptrap like this continues to exist. This is not an objective examination of whether lumps of minerals placed on your body can heal you. This book starts with the assumption that you are already sold on this nonsensical idea. As the book says, it is about "the ancient art of laying on stones", but cannot and does not provide any basis for believing that rocks have magical powers. This book has less reality in it than a D.C./Marvel comic book or the song "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer". Seriously... the F.D.A. exists for a reason. "Western" medicine isn't accepted merely because of a prejudice of Western civilization for medicines developed in & by the west. "Western" mainstream medicine has been objectively proven to work. Don't place your trust in this quackery. Compare, for example, the mountain of evidence supporting the value of aspirin and colchicine (anti-gout real medicine). Compare this to the wild claims this book makes for supernatural, superstitious silliness revolving around simple lumps of minerals. Among the list of dangerous claims is that pretty rocks simply dug out of a quarry can cause self-healing, psychic protection, teach you, and be programmed by you. Seriously... this author and publisher should be sued if anyone is foolish enough to use this quackery instead of real medicine, and thereby comes to harm by illness progressing unchecked. The only worthwhile reason to buy this book is if you spot it in a used book store (so profits don't get back to these unworthy author+publishers) and thereby keep it out of the hands of someone who might be tempted to believe in this quackery.
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Faith of Our Founding Fathers
by
Tim LaHaye and LaHaye Tim
nunya bizwachs
, August 29, 2013
This is not history. It's the unsuccessful rewriting of history/denial of reality to suit the tastes of Christians who would like to see the US gov't abandon freedom of religion and the separation of church and state. Although the back cover's blurbs and comments might lead one to believe that this might be an objective book, look closer. The dedication is to a minister; the last chapter is a how-to guide to write to your gov't representatives to ask that the US gov't openly endorse one narrow group of religions (protestant Christianity) over all others. The book especially ignores and/or misrepresents objective facts about Jefferson and Madison, framers of the constitution. If you want to read an objective history about why we have religious freedom baked right into our government, read John M/ Barry's "Creation of the American Soul" ISBN13: 9780715644249 ISBN10: 0715644246, not "Faith of our Founding Fathers", which is a dimwitted, subjective, one-sided attempt to reinvent America to please Christian bigots.
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Homeopathic Care for Cats & Dogs Small Doses for Small Animals
by
Donald Hamilton
nunya bizwachs
, July 23, 2013
Don't mistake this for a book on real, reliable, working medicine for your pet. If you love your pet, use a vet who uses normal medicine. DON'T use homeopathic medicine on your pet. Homeopathy is based on laughably bad junk science: badly, barely thought out guesswork by a former doctor 200+ years ago in the age when bloodletting with leaches was thought to be a cure (by mainstream doctors). Sure, whacko medicine could thrive in that environment...but we have real medicines now, with hard scientific proof, so there is no room in real medicine for nonsense like homeopathy. It is without reliable, reproducible studies to back any of its ridiculous claims. (Google for "james randi" + "homeopathy" to read or youtube more on the debunking of this pseudo-medicine quackery. One reviewer writes "In this book, Dr. Hamilton carefully and clearly lays down the essential knowledge needed to use homeopathy successfully." However, there is no such thing as "us[ing] homeopathy successfully". It simply doesn't work. A few simple quotes from the book should convince you that it's based on wholly unbelievable guesswork, not science nor medicine. For example, Pages 90+91 ("Choosing the Right Potency"): "[A greater dilution provides greater strength.] Just why this is the case is unclear, but succussion ( = dilution+shaking the "medicine") probably imparts the strength, and one theory is that the greater dilution provides more "room" for the strength to accumulate.[...] A potency of 100,000C is designated as CM and a potency of 1,000,000C is called MM. The latter would be a substance diluted 1-to-100 (1%) 1,000,000 times! These high potencies should only be used under the guidance of an experienced homeopath." That's right-- homeopathy claims that DILUTING a medicine with 99% water, and repeating that process 1 million times, will make it STRONGER. That's like saying that carving a few atoms off an aspirin will cure your headache better than taking the whole aspirin! A homeopathic "medicine" is already so diluted by the time you acquire it that it's almost entirely water, with literally only a handful of atoms from the original "medicine". Or, how do you feel about this statement? Page 89: "Since we utilize the remedy energy to initiate a reaction by the body, we are not really using the material portion of the medicine. And the energetic aspect is not quantitative; it is qualitative." Page 88: "Remember that homeopathic medicines are highly diluted already. They work on more of an energy level than as a material substance, so the quantity is not important. It is simply the exposure to the vibrational energy that induces change." Ummm...'vibrational energy'? Puh-leez! Would you really want to trust your dog or cat's cure to a book that relies on a mystical energy, not the real material chemical properties of the medicine? Look also at the lack of science behind assessing what medicine "works" to cure which ills. Page 7 (Introduction to Homeopathy): "Because of the similarity of [one substance's] effects to the symptoms of intermittent fever, Hahnemann {the founder of homeopathy]in the late 1700s] proposed that it was this similarity that enabled [that substance] to treat intermittent fever effectively[.] Taking this idea further, Hahnemann eventually proposed that all medicines work by this action, curing diseases which have symptoms similar to the drug's effects. He called this principle the 'law of similars'." Hmmm... the founder of homeopathy decided that because one medicine caused fever and cured it, then ALL chemicals that cause symptom A, B, or C are the cure for illness A, B, or C respectively. How cuckoo is THAT? Imagine if your doctor suggested that the cure to headaches is to hit you in the head with a hammer. Or your doctor suggesting that the cure for pregnancy is to get pregnant, the cure for drowning is to drown, and so on! As I said, homeopathy is based on stupid guesswork and junk science. There is no reliable, reproducible proof that any homeopathic remedy will cure anything. Don't make the mistake of using this book instead of reaching out for REAL, proven medicines. Real illness in your pet deserves serious, real treatment...not nonsense from a witch doctor.
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