When Carol Boruk of La Marque, Tex., saw Kevin Trudeau selling his book on a late-night infomercial last November, she was mesmerized.
Mr. Trudeau was good-looking, energetic and articulate, and talked about nonpharmaceutical remedies that could eradicate virtually any disease – and that he said were being suppressed by the government and the drug industry. Article continued here.
I read it….
and I have a very poor opinion of it. A patron asked that we purchase it, but I declined to do so because the book lacked substance, misstated fact, and was not much more than an advertisement for a fee based website.
More people asked for it, so due to the patron demand I ordered it. Now we have 32 reserves for it and more copies had to be ordered. I hope people figure out that there are no ‘cures’ in it. I also hope that they grasp the bigger picture that there is no great conspiacy to hide the panacea they seek (If there were this felon sure wouldn’t have it.)
Re:I read it….
We decided to not order additional copies, despite the high number of holds, because the book is little more than an ad for Mr. Trudeau’s business ventures–you know—you can only get the really good info if you subscribe to his website. The down side of this is that more people will probably purchase the book, and fatten his wallet further.
Re:I read it….
When we have more than a certain number of holds staff orders more from our book leasing company. I guess he is fattening his wallet with McNaughton’s money.
Re:I read it….
The most honest job this guy has had was as a used car salesman. He was marketing a get-rich-quick scheme when he was still a teenager. He’s been so aggressive, and so economical with the truth, in his claims that he’s made other marketers of homeopathic and “natural” cures that he’s worked with nervous and uncomfortable.
But people are so eager to believe there’s a magic bullet out there that they’ll swallow anything. It doesn’t help, of course, that the schools are afraid to teach critical thinking and the scientific method is under attack. There’s going to be more of this nonsense, rather than less, in the next few years.
Other Sources
What do people think of libraries providing a handout that provides citations to articles that question the book? Then leave it up to the patron to read all the info. Librarians can help people know that there is more info out there for people to look at.
Cure-All Book
Just because a patron requests a book doesn’t mean a library has to order it–and that is not censorship. It is called collection development. We have a policy that is based on reviews of books/non-print materials using professional journals, reviews, does the book fill a gap in the collection, etc.
All you have to do is get on amazon.com and realize this book is pure hype. There aren’t any professional reviews of the book–just readers that have already discerned the book is an info-mercial for the author.
Most libraries have materials that cover “natural cures”–that have been well reviewed and written by respected experts in their field. A librarian can refer a patron to those materials. If the patron isn’t satisfied an inter-library loan of a specific title can be arranged–from a library that did purchase the book.
We are often pressured into buying the latest diet-craze books–so as balance I always make sure we have a book that provides sound medical reviews and ratings of all the diets. I then suggest the patron check this book out as supplemental reading, without making any comment of the diet in question or the original book request. They can take the suggested book–or leave it.
Most libraries are currently operating under budget constraints, so for a library to order more than one copy of a book–especially if it is questionable to begin with–lacks sound fiscal judgement.