Rating: 
Summary: A major eye opener regarding the medical establishment
Review: The authors of this book have perceived, through their research and interviews, significant health threats associated with the pertussis vaccine. They have challenged the relationship between the profit motivated and secretive phamaceutical companies and an affluent medical establishment. They have taken on the arduous task of convincing the American public, which is enamored with it's national medical reputation, that the public's best interests are often not the guiding principles. We Americans have grown up in a society that rarely questions it's medical establishment. This is true even as history has time and again proven that this establishment has often promulgated dangerous and deadly medical practices. One needs not search far to find examples of malpractice disguised as scientifically "proven" medical treatment. The better known of these include blood-letting and the application of leeches to draw out disease. Dr. Benjamin Rush of colonial Philadelphia is heralded not only as a patriot but, more importantly as one of the founders of our American medical establishment. Less known, is his record during the Yellow Fever epidemics of his day. His arrogant and persistent defense of his own method of treatment, which consisted of purging the afflicted patient by infusing them with mercury, undoubtedly hastened the deaths of thousands. Modern medicine has, indeed, done much to improve the health of our society today but this does not, nor should it, protect it from concientious public scrutiny and mandated reform when medical policy goes awry. The authors ask us to question an entrenched medical establishment and they do it very effectively, all the while maintaining a strict journalistic integrity. This book is an important introduction to a profound problem facing us as a society. It is well worth the discomfort you will experience while reading it.
Rating: 
Summary: It will make you question.
Review: The authors of this book have perceived, through their research and interviews, significant health threats associated with the pertussis vaccine. They have challenged the relationship between the profit motivated and secretive phamaceutical companies and an affluent medical establishment. They have taken on the arduous task of convincing the American public, which is enamored with it's national medical reputation, that the public's best interests are often not the guiding principles. We Americans have grown up in a society that rarely questions it's medical establishment. This is true even as history has time and again proven that this establishment has often promulgated dangerous and deadly medical practices. One needs not search far to find examples of malpractice disguised as scientifically "proven" medical treatment. The better known of these include blood-letting and the application of leeches to draw out disease. Dr. Benjamin Rush of colonial Philadelphia is heralded not only as a patriot but, more importantly as one of the founders of our American medical establishment. Less known, is his record during the Yellow Fever epidemics of his day. His arrogant and persistent defense of his own method of treatment, which consisted of purging the afflicted patient by infusing them with mercury, undoubtedly hastened the deaths of thousands. Modern medicine has, indeed, done much to improve the health of our society today but this does not, nor should it, protect it from concientious public scrutiny and mandated reform when medical policy goes awry. The authors ask us to question an entrenched medical establishment and they do it very effectively, all the while maintaining a strict journalistic integrity. This book is an important introduction to a profound problem facing us as a society. It is well worth the discomfort you will experience while reading it.
Rating: 
Summary: They took a shot in the dark---and missed!
Review: This badly outdated book was written by two people who have no training in either science or medicine. I took some time reading this book and even went to the trouble of looking up some of the authors' references. I found that in a number of instances, the cited references which the authors claim "prove" their allegations of the harmfulness of whole-cell pertussis vaccine do nothing of the sort. Cited information is taken out of context and used to suit the authors' foregone conclusion--namely, that vaccines are bad. The authors even try to make the case that pertussis (whooping cough) is not such a bad disease anyway, a claim easily debunked by anyone who has had or witnessed this disease.As a registered nurse, I found a number of the anecdotes describing stories of various vaccine injuries do not make sense medically. They simply don't have the ring of truth, and of course, there is no way for the reader to verify any of the anecdotal information. Anyone predisposed to think that vaccines are fundamentally harmful and there is a great consipiracy to kill children through mass vaccination will find this book fascinating, since the authors share that view. However, for the average parent who simply wants straightforward and honest information on vaccines, this book is definitely not what the doctor ordered.
Rating:
Summary: They took a shot in the dark---and missed!
Review: This badly outdated book was written by two people who have no training in either science or medicine. I took some time reading this book and even went to the trouble of looking up some of the authors' references. I found that in a number of instances, the cited references which the authors claim "prove" their allegations of the harmfulness of whole-cell pertussis vaccine do nothing of the sort. Cited information is taken out of context and used to suit the authors' foregone conclusion--namely, that vaccines are bad. The authors even try to make the case that pertussis (whooping cough) is not such a bad disease anyway, a claim easily debunked by anyone who has had or witnessed this disease. As a registered nurse, I found a number of the anecdotes describing stories of various vaccine injuries do not make sense medically. They simply don't have the ring of truth, and of course, there is no way for the reader to verify any of the anecdotal information. Anyone predisposed to think that vaccines are fundamentally harmful and there is a great consipiracy to kill children through mass vaccination will find this book fascinating, since the authors share that view. However, for the average parent who simply wants straightforward and honest information on vaccines, this book is definitely not what the doctor ordered.
Rating:
Summary: !! A must-read for doctors and medical students !!
Review: This book affords a chilling glimpse into the world of organized health care and the nightmare which faces vaccine damaged children and their families. As the father of a child who was crippled for life by a pertussis vaccine, I can certainly attest to the horrors it relates. But I would go on record as saying it is mainly a must-read for doctors, because parents won't read it until it is already too late to do anything (as in my case, for example). But doctors must be made to see that current vaccination practice, as it now stands, is destroying the lives of thousands of people needlessly. Furthermore, they should be made aware of the extent to which the institutions they belong will go in order to cover up the evidence when it implicates an accepted practice. My only criticism of this book is that it will not bring my son back to me.
Rating:
Summary: Parents or parents to be must read this!!
Review: This book as well as the Sanctity Of Human Blood by Tim O'Shea were huge eye openers for my husband and I, in the area of vaccinations. We feel every parent needs to be informed on this subject. A Shot In The Dark goes into debth on the DTP vaccine and mainly focuses on the pertussis vaccine. The book will make you cry to hear the hundreds of stories of Pertussis vaccine damaged children and their families. There are thousands of children that are damaged by the pertussis vaccine each year and must of those cases are not even reported or noted. This book talks about reactions to the vaccine, the doctors who are must of the time unwilling to admit when a child has suffered a vaccine reaction and has permanent damage. It talks about the different forms of damage and how to recognize them. It talks about the vaccine manufacturers and the lack of testing done for safety on the pertussis vaccine. This book covers the tests and information that individules and some doctors have done that is for the must part covered up by manufacturers, laboratories, and doctors that don't want the truth out. Even though this book is over 10 years old the information is still true for today as nothing much has changed in administering the pertussis vaccine. Parents are still not told that a child can suffer convulations, seizures, collapse, SIDS, and learning disabilities to name a few. My children are not vaccinated. All three are in excellent health and have never had ear infections or any other health problems in which I had to give them any drug or antibotic. Please read this book, your childs future as well as yours may depend on it.
Rating:
Summary: Do not fail to read this book!
Review: This book is a MUST read for parents and parents-to-be. If it has ever even occured to you that the medical system is not infallible, this book will open your eyes to a reality that most people would prefer to ignore. Vaccinations DO cause temporary and permanent damage to children every year in this country, and many of the diseases against which we are vaccinated are not as frightening as the damage caused by the vaccinations themselves. This book focuses solely on the DTaP vaccination. There are many case histories of children who were permanently brain damaged and even killed by this vaccination. In some cases more than one child in a family has been permanently injured. In others parents have had to fight in court to retain custody of their younger children when they refused to vaccinate them following severe reactions in their older children. The companies that manufacture vaccinations are making millions of dollars per year. When a child has a permanently debilitating reaction to a vaccine, the manufacturer is not even held financially responsible - the government uses our tax dollars to compensate families through an official program called the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Would this program even exist if it weren't obvious that vaccines DO cause damage in some instances? This book gives great information about the kinds of children who are more likely to react to vaccinations, including those who were born prematurely or with a low birth weight, those from families with allergies and food sensitivities, and those who had family members experience vaccine reactions. It also describes in great detail the kinds of reactions one can expect from vaccinations - and which ones should not be considered "normal" despite what your pediatrician's office may tell you. If your child has received some vaccinations already and you feel uncomfortable about any symptoms he or she exhibited in the days following, READ THIS BOOK before you allow any further vaccinations. MANY children who were eventually permanently injured exhibited reactions to earlier vaccinations that were ignored or considered unimportant until hindsight provided the obvious answer.
Rating:
Summary: Voice of Experience
Review: This book was a real sanity check for me. As a small child, I had two bouts of mysterious convulsions followed by cessation of breathing. Just as in the book, doctors denied and concealed the facts about my reation to pertussis, but my parents were convinced that the vaccinations I had recieved were responsible and prevented me from being vaccinated in the future. A Shot in the Dark is probably the most important book parents or expecting parents can read to potentially save the life of their child. The information within has been almost completely surpressed by most pediatricians in the US. Each chapter left me more and more angry at what had happened to me and more and more informed for the first time about this dangerous vaccine. The book is fair and critical of the medical community and its research and accounts are sound and vivid. The authors themselves know of what they write and have made life work out of tragedy saving countless others from the same fate. I consider myself lucky to be alive today, and this book has helped me understand my body and my current health better than ever before. It is also inspiring, and after reading it, if you are like me, you will spread the warning and demand more from our doctors.
Rating:
Summary: Voice of Experience
Review: This book was a real sanity check for me. As a small child, I had two bouts of mysterious convulsions followed by cessation of breathing. Just as in the book, doctors denied and concealed the facts about my reation to pertussis, but my parents were convinced that the vaccinations I had recieved were responsible and prevented me from being vaccinated in the future. A Shot in the Dark is probably the most important book parents or expecting parents can read to potentially save the life of their child. The information within has been almost completely surpressed by most pediatricians in the US. Each chapter left me more and more angry at what had happened to me and more and more informed for the first time about this dangerous vaccine. The book is fair and critical of the medical community and its research and accounts are sound and vivid. The authors themselves know of what they write and have made life work out of tragedy saving countless others from the same fate. I consider myself lucky to be alive today, and this book has helped me understand my body and my current health better than ever before. It is also inspiring, and after reading it, if you are like me, you will spread the warning and demand more from our doctors.
Rating:
Summary: Clear writing, many case studies
Review: Trying to decide just how vaccines are for your children? Read this and learn what can happen, what people have been through, what the doctor isn't telling you, and why they don't tell you. The book is easy to read and hard to put down.
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