ARTICLE IN PRESS

Homeopathy (2006) 95, 114–115r 2006 The Faculty of Homeopathy

BOOK REVIEWS

e-book: Homeopathic FamilyMedicine

Dana UllmanHomeopathic Educational Services 2003, but updatedevery 3 months. Electronic Download from www.homeopathic.com 271pp.

Price: $39.95 for single download, $59.95 for 2-yearsubscription and $59.95 for a printed copy. Freesample download available.

The preface to this book tells us of its purpose. ‘Ourmission y is to keep you informed of the latest andbest research in the field of homeopathic medicine’.This goal, the author points out, is not easy to achievewith a printed volume (although this is also available ifyou prefer it). With an e-book, regular updates arepossible, so that the information, the debates and thereferences keep up pretty closely with matters going onin the homeopathic world. There is a section listing theupdates and when they were made and you can see thatthe process goes on all the time.Apart from the novel feature of the possibility of a

rapid response to new information, what else sets thisbook apart? It is similar to many simple introductoryhomeopathic books in providing a preamble abouthomeopathy in general, its history, its place inmedicine, its potential place in the medicine of thefuture with comments on provings, potencies andhome usage. There is an especially enjoyable summaryof clinical homeopathic research in the 19th century,demonstrating how methodologically far ahead ho-meopathic doctors have always been in research. Thenthere is the bulk of the book, which is an alphabetic listof medical conditions, followed by remedies whichmight be used to help in each case and (helpfullypartisan) discussions of any research in the clinicalarea. So far, so standard.What is different and I think very helpful, is that if

there are clinical trials (or other relevant research) ofthat condition with homeopathy, these are referencedand fully listed after a discussion of the remedies. Ofcourse, this is available through other sources—forexample, the Hom-inform database is free to use on-line (www.hom-inform.org) and will bring up muchinformation, but searches elsewhere will not necessarilyproduce the succinct results available in this e-book. Ifyou need to find out if there is some trial support forthe use of homeopathy in a particular condition, this isa very good place to look.Getting used to an e-book will not be to everyone’s

taste, but after a while, it becomes quite straightfor-ward to explore the text. As long as the update pro-

mise continues to be delivered on, this is a usefulresource.It is only a matter of a short time I am sure, before

all the ‘Lancet’ shenanigans are fully incorporated intothe text. I have no doubt that Dana Ullman will bedelighted to refer and discuss the large volume of well-aimed criticism which has been published, so thise-book can prove itself in bringing all the argumentstogether.

Tom WhitmarshGlasgow Homeopathic Hospital, UK

E-mail: tom.whitmarsh@virgin.net

doi:10.1016/j.homp.2006.02.007

Provings—Volume II

Paul HerscuThe New England School of Homeopathy Press,Amherst, MA, USA (www.NESH.com)Price: $36.00 available only as a 2 volume set, withProvings Volume I ISBN: 0-9654004-6-8

An understanding of provings—frequently cited asthe basis for homeopathic prescribing—often remainsconfusing, and elusive at best. Many homeopathicpractitioners refer to provings as one of the mostimportant underpinnings of homeopathy, but few cantrace the symptoms from a homeopathic materiamedica back to a specific homeopathic drug provings;and fewer yet have actually participated in a homeo-pathic drug proving. This book by Paul Herscu, ND,builds on his first volume on provings and isparticularly helpful because it is a compendium ofarticles on provings and related issues. As such it offersa historical perspective that begins with Hahnemannand continues to the present day. The issues raised inhomeopathic drug provings are relevant not only tohomeopathy but to all of medicine and medicalresearch.Herscu has assembled a series of articles, many of

them originally published in the British HomeopathicJournal/Homeopathy. Beginning with Hahnemann’scomments from the Organon of Medicine on provings,he follows the thread of evidence and information onhomeopathic drug provings through the first hundredyears of homeopathy with quotes from Dudgeon,Dunham, and Kent. Chapter 3, taken from the worksof RE Dudgeon, is particularly informative andaddresses questions about homeopathic drug provings

ARTICLE IN PRESS

Book Reviews

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and research methods that are present today. Theserange from issues about dosage and repetition of thedose, to blinding of the provers, to how one shouldselect provers for a homeopathic drug proving.As the author moves into the 20th century we

discover the writings of Gibson, Templeton, Raesideand Dhawale where the same issues that confoundedthe early homeopaths continue to be discussed. Inessence the question is ‘What constitutes a goodproving’? How many subjects are needed? Whatpotency should be used and how often should it berepeated? How are symptoms extracted from ahomeopathic drug proving? A question to which hereturns in Chapter 33.As someone who has conducted more than 70

homeopathic drug provings and struggled with findinga balance between provings results that are homeo-pathically useful and scientifically reliable I thoroughlyenjoyed the range of opinions the author hasassembled. In addition to beginning with Hahne-mann’s comments on provings from the Organon,Herscu follows a thread of writings on the subject fromDunham and Kent to the present day. For me perhapsthe most interesting chapter was an article by a non-homeopath, Ted Kaptchuk, entitled ‘When doesunbiased become biased?’1 In this article, which, likemany other chapters first appeared in the BritishHomeopathic Journal, Kaptchuk discusses the histor-ical and scientific issues surround the use of placebos,

blind assessment, randomization, and the use ofstatistics in medical research and how these relate tohomeopathic drug provings. A compelling argument ismade for a critical evaluation of the research methodsused in contemporary scientific research. If this is donehomeopathic drug provings could not only contributeto the homeopathic material medica but also tomedical research in general.There are of course no final answers to ongoing

questions about research methods. Nevertheless, thisbook is an important contribution to the field ofhomeopathic research in general and to homeopathicdrug provings in particular. I would recommend thisbook to anyone who wants to review some of theoriginal source material from those who have doneprovings or struggled with questions related toresearch methodology.

Reference

1 Kaptchuk TJ. When does unbiased become biased? Br Hom

J 1996; 85: 237–247.

David RileyIntegrative Medicine Institute Santa Fe, NM 87508, USA

E-mail: dsriley@integrativemed.org

doi:10.1016/j.homp.2006.02.006