This book review is reprinted from the British Homoeopathic Journal Volume 84, Number 1, January 1995, with permission from Peter Fisher, Editor.
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Pigs: the homoeopathic approach to the
treatment and prevention of disease.
George Macleod.
Saffron Walden: C. W.
Daniel 1994.
Pp. 150.
ISBN 0 85207 2783.
9.95 pounds. [Editor's note: As of August 1996 Minimum Price Books' price is $19.95]
As the author himself says in his introduction, this book is different in many ways to
his other works dealing with the domesticated species. However, the differences are of
approach rather than intention. As with his
other works, this is aimed as much at the pig
farmer as at his vet. That is not to say that the
vet should not read it, as any offering from
such an expert contains much useful information. The committed homoeopath will soon
be seeking for more detailed information than
is available in the thumb nail sketches of the
homoeopathic medicines provided. Indeed,
some of the drug pictures seem rather scanty
even for the audience for which they are
intended.
The differences in presentation are dictated by the position that the pig occupies in the farming economy. There is a greater emphasis on prophylaxis-this being the only one of Mr Macleod's books which has any reference to prevention in the title. The approach to clinical problems is largely via the classification of specific disease entities with 'known causes'. This is probably unavoidable in view of the readership at which it is aimed. In the introduction the importance of good management is rightly emphasized, but in view of the importance of stress in the aetiology of many of the conditions discussed, the chapter on stress syndrome is disappointingly brief.
Reading the introduction is rather a case of deja vu in view of its similarity to the early parts of the author's other works. It could, however, be argued that it is necessary to cater for the reader for whom this book is the first venture into homoeopathy. The inclusion of the section on the bowel nosodes I found slightly puzzling, not in its clarity but in its purpose. The use of the bowel nosodes as medicines in their own right is recommended occasionally in the text but a brief mention in the materia medica section, as happens with other homoeopathic medicines, would surely have been sufficient. The introductory section on them is only touching the surface of a large subject, and their role in the treatment of chronic disease is probably one of the situations where professional help is required. Economically the emphasis in the pig is on the acute.
The layout of the book is in clear, well spaced type, the use of italics and bold type making it easy to find one's way around. The index, however, is in what seems to be the smallest possible print. Definitely for use by someone with eyes under 40 and not in a hurry! In a book of 150 pages, a few extra to accommodate the index would surely not have mattered. This is a book which has much to offer, and any authoritative addition to the veterinary literature is welcome. For the professional it will only be a starting point, but no less valuable for that. A useful addition to all veterinary libraries.
JOHN SAXTON
British Homoeopathic Journal
Volume 84, Number 1, January 1995