Catching My Breath: : An Asthmatic Explores His Illness

Rating:
Summary: Good asthma info, but unnecessary political commentary
Review: This book contains a lot of useful and interesting information on asthma. The vast majority of it is well-written and easy-to-understand. Readers who are not scientifically-inclined should skip over the section on the anatomy and physiology of the human immune response. Anyone with a good foundation of and interest in biology and the health sciences could follow it, but it is probably too technical for the average lay reader.

My main complaint about the book is the complete lack of footnotes and bibliography. This makes it difficult to impossible to substantiate some of the data or refer to his sources for further reading.

My second complaint is the author's habit of trying to weave his own theories on economics/politics/sociology into his presentation on the incidence of asthma, medical priorities, access to health care and other social services, etc. Based on his personal philosophy, he makes many assertions about cause and effect without any statistics to back him up. I would have enjoyed it more if Mr. Brookes had stuck to the facts about asthma and spared the reader his political ideology and theories on the topic.

Still, I enjoyed the book and would read other titles by this author.

Rating:
Summary: An insider's look at adult asthma
Review: This book is a skillfully woven tapestry of personal journey and medical fact. Tim Brookes tells his story of coping with his asthma in an easy-to-read narrative style. The frustrations of dealing with the health care industry, employers, and friends are voiced, as well as the realities of life-style limitations imposed by the disease. Perhaps the best part of all is the accurate medical info that dispels myths and clears up some confusion about treatment plans. If you are an asthmatic, are married to one