The Secret History of the War on Cancer, by Devra Davis

[mcb]

[This topic (started by me) was lost in the crash but recovered via RSS by Heaalih. Two subsequent replies were not recovered.]

I began reading this book yesterday, after having it on my to-read list for many months. My impression of it so far is that it is an insightful investigation into certain aspects of the workings of "pathological science." The chapter I am reading currently deals with eugenics, and while I don't know exactly where the author is going with it, I am starting to see a pattern of increased scientific corruption that led to both sciene-related atrocities in WWII (and before), and the suppression of investigation into the causes of cancer.

While the author doesn't say it, I would say that "unseen forces" were hard at work, and that the period deserves greater attention. While we might tend to think about Hitler, these changes were happening all over the world.

Very interesting so far!

 

[mcb]

By now I have finished the book and I was not disappointed. It is complementary in some ways to Sherry Roger's Detoxify or Die. The latter book lists many toxics that we are commonly exposed to, and Davis delves into the history of how they got there.

The knowledgeable reader will have little trouble identifying the implied pathological behavior apparent in the various accounts. I was a little surprised, though, at the depth and breadth of the problem, even though I am well aware of what goes on. The book documents details of a number of issues on which I had only been able to speculate previously.

The question was raised in a reply to this topic that has been lost as to Davis' treatment of smoking. I would say that she is firmly in the anti-smoking camp, which is no great surprise. There are, nevertheless, lessons to be learned from the tobacco industry's approach to "science," lessons studied by other industries eager to manipulate it as well. (In some cases they simply employ the same consultants.)

As is usually the case, I listened to this book as an audiobook and it is difficult for me to retrieve quotations or even locate specific passages, but it is worth noting that a number of findings were cited from a German researcher that called into question smoking's role as a well-defined cause of cancer, because it doesn't fit the expected pattern of a direct causea. Perhaps the author just wanted to show how "deluded" some people can be, but it is interesting that she never addressed these issues.