Great Teacher, Great Lessons, Great Book!
I bought this book because of the excellent reviews it kept getting and because of how much I enjoyed hearing Dr. Campbell speak about the China Study (the actual study, not the book) in Sept 2001. I was comfortably certain that I would enjoy the book, but what I didn't realize was how much I would learn from it. After listening to several lectures, asking numerous questions, and reading many books and articles by a variety of highly credible authors about the benefits of a plant-based diet and the harmful consequences (to humans, animals and planet) of an animal-based one, as well as experiencing first-hand what a positive difference switching to a vegan diet makes, I didn't think there could be much left on this topic to learn. But I gleaned new, interesting and important information from every chapter in this book, whether it was about nutrition, the mechanics of disease, or the disturbing details about what goes on behind the scenes as industry, medicine, science, government and business collude to spew out self-serving, deceptive and destructive 'nutrition guidelines' for us hoi polloi. 'The China Study' has inspired us to fine-tune our diet (already plant-based for 5 years) by switching to mostly whole (minimally or unprocessed) foods, and has me looking at things like pharmaceutical ads and medical study headlines (such as 'Diabetics At Higher Liver Cancer Risk') with better informed, wider open eyes. While I already knew *that* a plant-based diet is far healthier, this book explains in superb detail why and how that is the case... and despite the frequent complexity of the science, his explanations are clear and understandable - thanks in part to his excellent use of analogies. Condensed and designed to make a large volume of scientific study results accessible to and understandable by the lay public, 'The China Study' is well written, interesting and informative, engaging, sincere and forthright, and peppered throughout with a wonderful wry and self-effacing humor. I applaud Dr. Campbell's courage in speaking out against the status quo because he cares about the well-being of people and the planet, and am grateful to him (and his son) for sharing his hard-earned knowledge, behind-the scenes experience, and impressive expertise through this important book. Sometimes, when I read books like this one that credibly and responsibly confront what we've been taught and think we know, challenging us to open our minds, think anew and experience a paradigm shift, I am reminded of my high school history teacher's pet saying. When my class would do poorly on a pop quiz, he'd shake his head and mutter, 'Buy 'em books and buy 'em books, and all they do is eat the covers.' I hope The China Study is widely read and influential, and that all anyone eats after being handed this book...is plants! :-)
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