COVID: The Politics of Fear and the Power of Science

People are afraid. COVID-19 has upended our lives as it poses new medical dangers, economic suffering and grave uncertainty about the world around us. The collateral damage is enormous, but politics invade perception. There are so many unknowns. Does a treatment work? Is a vaccine coming? How likely are you to catch COVID and how can you best protect yourself and your family? What are the real risks and what is hysteria? Where are our fear leaders? What are their agendas?

From Fox News Medical Analyst and the author of False Alarm (Wiley, 2008) comes COVID and the Politics of Fear by Marc Siegel, M.D. This shocking expose of the facts as the media covers the national pandemic news and spread of the invisible virus, reinforces the notion that we must arm ourselves against fear tactics that limit our abilities to safely make decisions and protect our families in a world of uncertainty.

Life for citizens of the developed world before the pandemic was safer, easier, and healthier than for any other people in history thanks to modern medicine, science, technology, and intelligence– but COVID-19 has stolen that security and our nations peace of mind. Now there is a pandemic virus, as well as a crippling epidemic of fear sweeping America. Why? The answer, according to nationally renowned health commentator Dr. Marc Siegel, is that we already lived in an artificially created culture of fear that was just waiting to be unleashed. In COVID and the Politics of Fear, Siegel identifies three major catalysts of the culture of fear— government, the media, and our own psyche. With fascinating, blow-by-blow analyses of the most sensational false alarms of the past few years, compounded now by the worst contagion of our lifetimes, he shows how fearmongers manipulate our most primitive instincts—often without our even realizing it. COVID shows us how to look behind the hype and hysteria, inoculate ourselves against these crippling fear tactics, and develop the emotional and intellectual skills needed to take back our lives even as we battle the pandemic itself.

The Inner Pulse: Unlocking the Secret Code of Sickness and Health 

Understanding the secret code of illness and health

Many doctors overlook the seemingly inexplicable tragedies and recoveries that happen in hospitals every day, opting to view them simply as aberrations from the medical norm. In this book, Dr. Marc Siegel draws from his decades of experience treating patients and explores the sometimes miraculous effects that the spirit and emotion can have on disease and healing. The inner pulse is the essence that links the soul to the mind and body, the marker that predicts whether a person’s life force is fading or strengthening. This book shows you how to tap into your inner pulse and even how to influence it.

• Explores how your inner pulse can alert you to what is going on in your body
• Offers a new perspective on the positive and negative effects of the mind on illness and healing
• Includes dramatic case stories of Dr. Siegel’s work with his own patients?those who have healed and those who have not

Exploring the uncanny world where expectation and outcome are driven by a patient’s personal intuition, this book will give you a deeper understanding of how the mind relates to disease and how the mind and the body working in sync can help heal.

Swine Flu: The New Pandemic

Without minimizing the risk for current strains of H1N1 to become more dangerous, author and physician Siegel (Bird Flu: Everything You Need to Know About the Next Pandemic) offers a calming dose of reality regarding swine flu; while “”we need to be in awe of the potential for damage,”” Siegel prescribes “”learning to understand why the likelihood of the worst case coming to pass is awfully low.”” A practicing internist, associate professor and newspaper columnist (as well as a parent), Siegel addresses many common concerns over the H1N1 pandemic, giving clear explanations about the nature of the virus, historical examples, risk factors, available treatments, and more. He also explains how the 1918 flu pandemic killed as many as 50 million people-the chaotic aftermath of WWI played no small part-and how the present pandemic is simply incomparable. Breaking down the science of virus transmission, Siegel explains the conditions by which H1N1 could mutate into something more dangerous, as well as the anti-viral drug, Tamiflu, and the swine flu vaccine (and how the vaccine’s safety is being assured).Taking a balanced approach, Siegel offers a realistic and concise guide for any concerned citizen.

Bird Flu: Everything You Need to Know About the Next Pandemic

As bird flu sweeps through Asia, the rest of the world has begun to worry that it might spread west and start infecting humans. As many experts have pointed out, an influenza pandemic is only a matter of time and that time could be now. Or is it? In Bird Flu, Dr. Marc Siegel cuts through the hype, the facts, the fears, and the realities to explain what has the experts so worried and why there’s still plenty of reason to be calm. Among the questions he answers are:
* What is bird flu, and who has it?
* What can I do to protect my family?
* Should I stockpile Tamiflu?
* Will this be like the deadly Spanish flu of 1918?
* Why is there no bird flu vaccine?
* Will the annual flu shot protect me?

In his sensible and entertaining style, Siegel looks at the advances we’ve made in treatments, the research still to be done, and the challenges ahead for Asia to lay out a realistic plan for ending this global threat. While a bird flu outbreak in the United States may or may not happen this year, there’s still a great deal of work to be done in readying America for outbreaks of any kind.

False Alarm: The Truth about the Epidemic of Fear

More relevant than ever as the Coronavirus, COVID-19 pandemic sweeps the globe, False Alarm (Originally released in 2008) reminds readers to look closely at the facts as the media covers the national pandemic news and spread of the virus, as well as reinforces the notion that we must arm ourselves against fear tactics that inhibit our abilities to properly make decisions in a world of uncertainty.

Life today for citizens of the developed world is safer, easier, and healthier than for any other people in history thanks to modern medicine, science, technology, and intelligence. So why is an epidemic of fear sweeping America? The answer, according to nationally renowned health commentator Dr. Marc Siegel, is that we live in an artificially created culture of fear. In False Alarm, Siegel identifies three major catalysts of the culture of fear—government, the media, and big pharma. With fascinating, blow-by-blow analyses of the most sensational false alarms of the past few years, he shows how these fearmongers manipulate our most primitive instincts—often without our even realizing it. False Alarm shows us how to look behind the hype and hysteria, inoculate ourselves against fear tactics, and develop the emotional and intellectual skills needed to take back our lives.

Bellevue: A Novel

David Levy, an intern at New York City’s Bellevue Hospital, is caught between two equally undesirable worlds–that of Dr. Fat Goldman, his uncaring supervisor, and Sal Vertino, his rebellious best friend, whose career may be headed for disaster