Alcoholism: The Facts

2 Responses to “Alcoholism: The Facts”

1. Anonymous says:

   August 4, 2010 at 3:14 am

   I found this book disturbing. The author defines alcoholism most narrowly: basically one must be absolutely out of control and not functioning on any level to qualify. This book will provide refuge for the functioning alcoholic who is looking for a source to support his denial. The author takes “problem drinking” very lightly, suggesting that it can and does cure itself at the drinker’s will. Much of this book contradicts everything I have read or heard from all other sources (and certainly my own experience with a “problem drinker.”) The author also seems to some extent hostile to AA, a bias he should have told in the preface. It is hard to judge that this book represents “the facts,” any more than it represents the author’s perspective. Readers should not assume that the author’s MD makes him anything more than a human with an attitude; and in this case, one that is not broadly accepted.
   Rating: 2 / 5
2. Dr Mitchell Earleywine says:

   August 4, 2010 at 3:30 am

   Goodwin’s accessible, effortless style, which he used so well in previous editions, carries the reader nicely through the intricacies of one of the world’s most well loved drugs and its associated disorders. Excerpts from literature and case studies provide a superb feel for the phenomenology of addiction. Numerous entertaining quotes appear from everyone from Kissinger to Humpty Dumpty. Goodwin provides a thorough look at alcohol itself, the problems associated with excess consumption, common theories calculated to account for these problems, and many of the available treatments. Through simple explanations of the right interpretations of available data, Goodwin not only provides a fantastic deal of meaningful in rank, but he teaches the reader to become a excellent consumer of research. This book is refreshingly scientific and lacks the horribly moralistic tone many books on this topic take.
   Rating: 5 / 5