Dr. Marty Makary is President Trump’s pick to head FDA, and he has been a long-standing critic of “received wisdom” or what he calls medical dogma, procedures and norms that have “always been done” but have either not received adequate scientific study, or research has been mis-reported due to legacy bias. Several chapters are devoted to the presentation of an issue, then the science is teased apart to determine the truth of the issue. Makary addresses the explosion of the doctor-creacted peanut allergy epidemic; Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and the false link to breast cancer; antibiotic overuse and the destruction of the microbiome; the myth of dietary cholesterol’s impact on heart disease; the resistance of blood banks to test donated blood for HIV/AIDS, leading to the deaths of countless hemophiliacs; the true origin of ovarian cancer starting in the fallopian tubes; and several issues surrounding the over-medicalization of infant delivery.

Makary does an interesting analysis of why medical dogma remains so fixed, resistance to change. He discusses the nature of cognitive dissonance, and how it applies to changes in medical care. He delves into current procedures around peer-reviewed literature, and the weaknesses of those procedures that have led to shocking rates of faked illustrations and photos, and inaccurately reported data, as well as the editors of prestigious journals who hold on to powerful positions too long. Those editors and organizers of medical conferences resist permitting researchers with results too removed from current thinking to present to their fellow doctors, often black balling these researchers.

Makary writes in a style that is easy for the layman to understand. You are likely to be amazed by what you learn here. Each of the afore-mentioned chapters is fully supported by cited studies. The final chapter discusses what we may be getting wrong, if NIH would approve of funding for research, and why they probably won’t. Highly recommended.