Category: Book review
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The Patriarchs by Angela Saini
When I was applying to become a GP partner in the late 1980s, general practice was a popular career choice for doctors in the UK. Competition was fierce. Each week I typed five or more letters to practices advertising in the British Medical Journal for new partners. After a few months and some interviews, it became apparent that, while…
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Constructed Truths – true or fake?
As a GP, a generalist health professional, I know a little about a lot. At my age, I have perhaps forgotten more knowledge than I have retained, or at least it is not as easily retrievable. In addition, some of the knowledge I have had has been superseded by new knowledge, new facts, and newer ways of…
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Babel – big themes wrapped in an gripping story
This is a work of speculative fiction set mainly amongst the ivory towers of Oxford in 1830s England. Babel is one such tower, officially known as the Royal Institute of Translation, which is rich with silver rather than ivory. Herein is the industrial revolution, the opium wars in China and the lack of opportunity for…
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Opioids, pain and the power of marketing
Fascinating book about the Sackler family, Big Pharma and the opioid crisis
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The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue
Three days in the lives of a midwife, a GP-obstetrician and a young hospital volunteer in Dublin in the midst of a pandemic and towards the end of the First World War. Most of the narrative takes place in a store room repurposed for expectant mothers with the influenza. The title of the book is…
Health professional education and practice 