An overly preachy health book

 kw: book reviews, nonfiction, health, wellness, advice, polemics

The Dewey Decimal code for The Book of Animal Secrets: Nature's Lessons for a Long and Happy Life, by David B. Agus, MD, is 590. That number means "Zoological Sciences". It didn't take me long to realize that a more appropriate classification would be 613 (Promotion of Health) or 614 (Prevention of Disease), with a sub-classification meaning "polemic".

Ordinarily, if I decide not to read a book, I don't review it; I don't mention it. In this case, there may be some folks who can benefit from it, so I won't hide its existence. But it is not for me. There are a number of facts about different animals, although I don't think it is enough to get it a 590 classification.

The pattern is this: A story about what some animal experiences is presented, or a few facts about the lives of an animal, followed by a page or more of preaching. If the author could draw a simple conclusion without feeling the need to belabor the point to exhaustion, the book would be one-third the size…or less.