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Hippocrates' Shadow

About The Book

"Aclear-sighted, heartfelt, and humane story of the needless tests and treatments that cripple healthcare....as a guide to good medicine, it may help us get back to the essence of what good doctors do: be with patients in healing." —Samuel Shem, M.D., author of The House of God and The Spirit of the Place

In Hippocrates’ Shadow, Dr. David H. Newman upends our understanding of the doctor-patient relationship and offers a new paradigm of honesty and communication. He sees a disregard for the healing power of the bond that originated with Hippocrates, and, ultimately, a disconnect between doctors and their oath to"do no harm."

Exposing the patterns of secrecy and habit in modern medicine’s carefully protected subculture, Dr. Newman argues that doctors and patients cling to tradition and yield to demands for pills or tests. Citing fascinating studies that show why antibiotics for sore throats are almost always unnecessary; how cough syrup is rarely more effective than a sugar pill; and why CPR is violent, invasive—and almost always futile, this thought-provoking book cuts to the heart of what really works, and what doesn’t, in medicine.

About The Author

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David H. Newman, M.D., runs a clinical research program and teaches at Columbia University and in the Department of Emergency Medicine at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center. He has also been widely published in biomedical journals. In 2005, as a major in the army reserve, he was deployed to Iraq, where he received an Army Commendation Medal. He lives in New York City

Product Details

  • Publisher: Scribner (September 15, 2009)
  • Length: 272 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781416551546

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Raves and Reviews

"In Hippocrates' Shadow, Dr. Newman sits us down for the doctor-patient chat we've been longing for -- a refreshingly candid, daringly inquisitive discussion of the uneasiness that exists on both sides of the medical care equation these days. There is a cure for what ails us, and Newman doses it in thoughtful, perceptive proposals that make good sense. In the end, everyone feels a whole lot better. There is hope." -- Amy Silverstein, author of Sick Girl

"There are few books that I really almost cannot put down, but Hippocrates' Shadow is one. A stunning indictment of current medical practice by a hard-headed doc tested in big-city emergency rooms, combat hospitals in Iraq, and at his mom's bedside. If your doctor is this frank with you, you are a very lucky patient, and you are getting a lot better (and sometimes a lot less) treatment than most." -- Melvin Konner, MD, PhD, author of Becoming a Doctor

"Dr. Newman's book is insightful and thought provoking. He teaches the reader about aspects of medicine that many of us, lay people as well as physicians, do not understand or appreciate, including the imperfection of the 'science' of medicine as well as the progressive loss of the 'art of medicine.' Anyone who wishes to better understand the promise and limitations of medicine should read this book." -- Geoffrey Kurland, M.D., author of My Own Medicine: A Doctor's Life as a Patient

"A clear-sighted, heartfelt, and humane story of the needless tests and treatments that cripple health care -- and how to get rid of them. As a guide to good medicine, it may help us get back to the essence of what good doctors do: be with patients in healing." -- Samuel Shem, M.D., author of The House of God, Mount Misery, and The Spirit of the Place

Awards and Honors

  • CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title

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