Book Recommendation: Powerful Medicines
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I began reading Jerry Avorn's 'Powerful Medicines: The benefits, risks, and costs of prescription drugs' before Vioxx and Celebrex made headlines for their possible effects on cardiac risk. Though I'm only a third of the way through the book, I want to pass along my recommendation. So far, I've gained real insights into how drugs are tested, 'approved' by the FDA, and marketed using examples such as Fen-phen, Premarin, Rezulin and others. I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't know a tenth of what actually goes/went on (and I'm a medical doctor!). You'll be amazed, too.
Big Red Palm
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""The Big Red Book comes to your Palm with the release of AHFS DI (AHFS Drug Information) by Skyscape
 First published in 1959, the 'Big Red Book,' as it's come to be known, has gone the extra mile for pharmacists and healthcare professionals seeking answers to the most detailed questions. It provides more extensive evidence-based data than any other drug reference and is now available for the PDA.
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[Via The Palmdoc Chronicles]
I prefer this text for looking up drug information and find the information it contains much more useful. It seems as though the PDR contains every possible complication as a CYA for the drug maker. The AHFS book doesn't give me that impression.
The Bomb In My Garden
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I just started reading 'The Bomb In My Garden' (Amazon), written by the Iraqi scientist who was formerly the director of Saddam's nuclear centrifuge program. The back cover contains strong recommendations from both James Fallows and David Kay, both of whom are knowledgeable and trustworthy, in my view. Allow me to quote from the preface:
""There was no active nuclear program before the invasion of Iraq. However, Saddam certainly had the capabilities and, it must be presumed, the intention to restart it some day when the world was no longer watching him so closely. As long as tyrants like Saddam are willing to intimidate frightened scientists into doing their bidding, the threat of covert nuclear programs will continue. I hope that my story can help the public understand how such dangerous programs are developed so that they can be stopped wherever possible.""
Even if it takes a bunker-busting nuclear weapon, in my view...
