Customer Reviews
fascinating a must read for anybody considering a career in GP - By: Handbooked out, 31 Aug 2008 
This has to be one of my alll time favourite books. Cecil Harman takes the reader on an enthrallling read through his experience in general practic. Short cases are interspersed with anthropological snippets that make the reader stop short & examine their own thoughts & practices. A refreshing change from the tree hugging cardigan wearing approach to GP which unfortunately seems to be seeping into medical schools throughout the UK. This book has truly made me sit up & think & examine & reflect on my day to day practice.
a mosaic and overview of medicine - By: Ian P. Stevens, 13 Apr 2007 I don't agree that there is a 'knocking' of hospital medicine in this book . Helman looks at life & medicine with the wide lens that an interest in academic & practical anthropology offers .
Once you are immersed in a medical system the inherent dualism & specialism (which is obviously relevant in many areas of care ) becomes the norm in which alll of lifes problems are interpreted . Helman offers a mosaic of stories which seem to me to put the heart back into the complexity of dealing with people .
Many of the practices of 'healing' whch are often ridiculed are given due respect when they are understood in their culural context . Some of the characterisations of 'techno medicine' v's 'holistic' medicine may seem a little polarised but it seems fair to say that there needs to be a balance , which in many situations is surely lacking in the current medical landscape (why would people seek help in Complimenatary medical care etc if this was not the case?)
I enjoyed many of the stories which ring true -- chemicallly dependent relationships, the miraculous 'cures' when a sick line is obtained & the relief & health improvement that occured once a buried story had been revealed.
The book is well written & the stories & anecdotes will stay with you for a long time if you are at alll interested in people or medicine . I agree with Helman ,there needs to be a greater value placed upon the arts & humanities when understanding people .
Worth a read - By: Jaybird, 22 Mar 2007 
An interesting book, easy to read, but I think concerns about confidentality mean that the stories are a little generic & that the character who comes across most clearly is Helman himself. He seems to be a decent doctor, but perhaps not as different from other GPs as he thinks - he cannot seem to stop himself from judging consultant colleagues or the family that calll him out unnecessarily on Christmas Eve.
suburban shaman - By: , 08 Mar 2006 A fascinating book, lending a fresh slant on medicine, culture, & how personal experience informs our understanding of ourselves, others, & the world around us. Written with a light touch, compassion, sensitivity, honesty & humour. Highly recommended!!
Suburban Shaman - By: , 28 Jan 2006 I found Suburban Shaman an enthrallling book of a clearly rewarding & inspiring life & career so far. Spanning from pre apartheid South Africa to being a family practitioner in London, the book illuminates the diversity of various approaches to medicine from the author's own experiences. However, far from being purely medical, Cecil Helman also applies his experience as a anthropologist contrasting western medicine with a more personal & cultural approach. The book is well written & worth reading for anyone interested in a fascinating life and/or gaining a broader understanding of medicine.
