The End of Modern Medicine: Biomedical Science under a ... (ISBN 0791451305)

Thinking out of the biomedical box:
This is a fascinating sequel to "The Second Medical Revolution - From Biomedicine to Infomedicine" published in 1987 by Laurence Foss and Kenneth Rothenberg (Shambhala Press). As a preventive cardiologist I have always been troubled by the "fix it only when it's broke" approach to today's chronic medical problems (e.g., coronary heart disease). The idea of the body as a machine that can be understood by meticulous analysis of its parts has consumed the medical profession throughout the 20th Century. The ultimate expression of this outdated biomedical approach is the human genome project which proposes to unravel all the mysteries of human disease through the study of molecular biology and genetics. Foss and Rothenberg's revolutionary new paradigm opens exciting new and scientifically valid frontiers from which to approach an understanding of today's chronic diseases. While encompassing all the accomplishments of today's biomedical sciences, the proposed paradigm shift justifies including our thoughts and behaviors as targets for both understanding disease mechanisms and, more importantly, including them in our efforts to prevent and treat these diseases. The 1987 book was a struggle to digest but remarkable in its rewards to the reader. In his new book, "The End of Modern Medicine..." Foss further explores the justification for a successor medical model that includes "mind over matter" as a subject for scientific study. I would love to see these two books required reading in medical school, but it will take a true revolution to defeat today's entrenched biomedical establishment. Nevertheless I highly recommend this book to all those who dare to think outside the biomedical box and who would like a fresh approach to the understanding of life itself.