4 stars
| I received a copy of this book through Goodreads in exchange for an honest review. This was an absolutely fascinating read that examines placebos, hypnotism, false memories, and related topics. While in no way comprehensive, it is an interesting examination of some of the science, history, and explanations behind such occurrences. The book was well-constructed and well-written. It has a good balance of personal experience, anecdotes, and research and science through studies and interviews with experts. The science of it is very simplified, making it fairly easy for non-science people to understand. This is broken up by interesting stories as well as Vance’s own experiences growing up as a Christian Scientist and experimenting with various topics covered in the book such as having a curse placed upon him and trying hypnotism. A great popular science book for people interested in learning more about the strange phenomenons surrounding placebos and hypnotism as well as related topics such as the effectiveness of alternative medicines, nocebos, false memories, and the power of expectations. It was so interesting to see how various areas were related and the variety of topics that came up including addiction, PTSD, alien sightings, and Haitian zombies. The science and writing of the book were very good, however I did feel that the promise to teach the reader how to harness the power of expectation was a bit vague. Its fun to play around with but is certainly not a step-by-step guide on how to take advantage of expectation. It is rather some rules and suggestions. A fantastic read that is interesting, informative, and mind-blowing. There is even a sample hypnotism script at the end for those interested in experimenting with hypnotism. Great read. Goodreads |