Inventing Disease and Pushing Pills

The invention of a whole range of diseases including penis-size anxiety and internet addiction is turning us all into patients. Jörg Blech investigates how inventing disease is fast becoming a profitable business and unearths the real motives of those pulling the strings.

Jorg Blech studied biology and biochemistry at the University of Cologne, Germany and the University of Sussex, UK. He was then trained as a journalist and was awarded internships in Paris, Washington DC and Bangkok. He is the science correspondent for the magazine Der Spiegel and lives with his family in Arlington, Massachusetts.

Preface 1. Limitless Healing 2. Myths of Medicine 3. A Disease called Diagnosis 4. The Risk Factor Merry-go-Round 5. Insanity as the Norm 6. Psycho Pill with Break-Time Snack 7. The Femininity Syndrome 8. Old Men, New Afflictions 9. Whenever You Want It 10. Destiny in our Genes 11. Healthy Beyond Belief. Twelve Questions to Diagnose. Invented Diseases and Dubious Treatments. Notes. Internet Addresses. Acknowledgments