''Suckers: How Alternative Medicine Makes Fools of Us All'' is a book about

alternative medicine Alternative medicine refers to practices that aim to achieve the healing effects of conventional medicine, but that typically lack biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or supporting evidence of effectiveness. Such practices are ...

written by author and health journalist Rose Shapiro. It was published by

Harvill Secker Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press. History Secker & Warburg Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...

in 2008. It covers very similar ground to

Simon Singh Simon Lehna Singh, (born 19 September 1964) is a British popular science author and theoretical and particle physicist. His written works include ''Fermat's Last Theorem'' (in the United States titled ''Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve ...

and

Edzard Ernst Edzard Ernst (born 30 January 1948) is a retired British-German academic physician and researcher specializing in the study of complementary and alternative medicine. He was Professor of Complementary Medicine at the University of Exeter, the wo ...

's book '' Trick or Treatment?'', but is written in a more journalistic and

polemic Polemic ( , ) is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called polemics, which are seen in arguments on controversial to ...

al style. It provides substantial detail regarding alternative treatments offered to

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

patients. In the book, Shapiro stressed that

homeopathy Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance that ...

was not

evidence-based medicine Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. It means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available exte ...

and said it should be removed from the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

. Shapiro said that alternative medicine should be under “the same strictures as the pharmaceutical industry” and not be permitted to refer to treatments as 'food supplements'. She advised better enforcement of the Cancer Act, to protect patients from unscrupulous providers, and said the government should stop subsidizing universities that cover alternative medicine in their curriculum.

Reception

''Suckers'' was reviewed by several writers in 2008. Writing for ''The Guardian'' in February'',''

Steven Poole Steven Poole (born 1972) is a British author, journalist, and video game theorist. He particularly concerns himself with the abuse of language and has written two books on the subject: ''Unspeak'' (2006) and ''Who Touched Base in My Thought Showe ...

described ''Suckers'' as a "vigorous polemic" against alternative medicine with the key theme that its practices (such as

and ear candling) are "not just stupid but dangerous." Damian Thompson reviewed ''Suckers'' for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' and said that Shapiro “expertly describes the pathology of medical counter knowledge".

Natalie Haynes Natalie Louise Haynes (born 1974) is an English writer, broadcaster, Classics, classicist, and comedian. Early life Haynes was born in Birmingham, where she attended the private King Edward VI High School for Girls. She grew up in Bournville. ...

, writing in

New Humanist ''New Humanist'' is a quarterly magazine, published by Humanists UK and based in London, that focuses on culture, news, philosophy, and science from a sceptical perspective. History ''New Humanist'' has been in print for years, starting out ...

, described the book as a "potted history of alternative medicine, as well as a thorough rebuttal of it, and her research is both fascinating and illuminating." Haynes said that Shapiro harbored the greatest anger for "snake-oil merchants who knowingly prey on the weak", in particular those with terminal cancer.

Boyd Tonkin Boyd Tonkin Hon. FRSL is an English writer, journalist and literary critic. He was the literary editor of ''The Independent'' newspaper from 1996 to 2013. A long-time proponent of foreign-language literature, he is the author of ''The 100 Best No ...

, then the

literary editor A literary editor is a editor responsible for refining and overseeing the quality of written content in a newspaper, magazine or other publication. Literary editor deals with aspects concerning literature and books, especially reviews. A literary ...

for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

,'' called the book a "ferocious assault" on proponents of alternative medicine that was a "bracing tonic" but he criticized the tone of the writing for its "sneery arrogance that (as with the Ayurvedic tradition) can only bother to caricature its few substantial foes." In a joint review of ''Suckers'' and '' Trick or Treatment?'',

Olivia Laing Olivia Laing (born 14 April 1977) is a British writer, novelist and cultural critic. They are the author of five works of non-fiction, ''To the River'', ''The Trip to Echo Spring,'' '' The Lonely City'', ''Everybody'', ''The Garden Against Time'' ...

said ''Suckers'' was a "troubling book" filled with horror stories of alternative practitioners where Shapiro "takes a delight in exposing alternative medicine's wackier tenets". Laing said the book's title "casts consumers as gullible and practitioners as vampiric in a way that many will find intensely irritating" while both books harbor "an acute awareness of the need for medicine to be evidence-based, a belief shared by the more sensible alternative practitioners."

, co-author of ''Trick or Treatment?,'' said that although he shared Shapiro's "general skepticism" and found the book an "interesting read" he noted two weaknesses. Singh said Shapiro takes a "very aggressive stance against alternative medicine" using a title that is designed to be hostile and second, that she "tends to focus on the truly wacky end of the alternative spectrum" and does not "devote enough space to more complex and subtle issues surrounding some of the more sensible forms of alternative medicine."

References

{{reflist 2008 non-fiction books Alternative medicine Scientific skepticism mass media Harvill Secker books