This book was interesting to me as my dad has Parkinson's. It gave a bunch of background on the disease, talked about prevention, and discussed the future. I was hoping for more tips on how to prevent it, but I didn't get that. There were a few tips, but nothing specialized or out of the ordinary. There were inspiring stories of lots of people who got it and carried on, even improving their lives, and a lot of information about current research on alternative treatments.

My husband was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease ten years ago at the age of 49. I’ve read several books about PD, but this one was the most interesting to me. The authors have done an incredible job of explaining the many potential causes and future treatments in the works. The history of how PD came to be during the Industrial Revolution was informative. The widespread use of harmful solvents, herbicides, and pesticides that are contributing to a rise in PD is disturbing and maddening. This book will open your eyes to aspects of this disease that you’ve never considered and makes you very aware of environmental issues that need to be immediately addressed. This is a book everyone should read—not just PD patients and caregivers—because it could prevent you or your loved ones from getting this disease.

Parkinsonism is a fast-growing group of neurological disorders, including best-known Parkinson’s Disease. In this newly released survey of the epidemiology, a collaboration of several leading medical scientists and policy experts present a broad and accessible introduction to the topics. Before publication, I received a protected PDF ebook from PublicAffairs of the Hachette Book Group, for purposes of reading and publishing a review on my blog and other social media. I am personally interested as a retired biomedical engineer, whose father has a long-term and now advanced case of PD.

Parkinsonism has a complexity of root causes. Genetics, environmental contamination, and patient experience all can have some component. The chapters are nicely organized into topics that dissect the issues – history and genetics, trends in occurrence, environmental pesticides, solvents and contaminated ground water, head trauma and diet, care-taking, new treatments, and public policy issues. Sometimes, within a topic, the writing takes too much of a smorgasbord and anecdotal approach for my taste. But in general, it is a concise flow, with minimal repetitiveness, and useful illustrations. My scientific interest is more on the level of cellular and chemical biology, and I found those topics to be glossed over in favor of statements of medical outcome. However, as a family member, the breadth and depth were just about right. It ends with a prescriptive call of 25 actions that should be taken to prevent the disease, advocate for resources and policy changes, care for those affected, and develop and improve therapies. This is an important topic, and the book rises to it. Recommended!

This book is being released, and I read it, during the COVID-19 pandemic. I have to say that I found the authors’ contention that “pandemic” should be expanded to include non-infectious diseases, because infectious disease is no longer a leading source of death and disability, to be too sensationalistic at this time and actually unnecessary to the understanding of Parkinsonism.

A very informative book that all people with Parkinson's, caretakers and physicians should read. It brings to light many issues associated with the disease and how treatment has not advanced much in many years. I was especially interested in the factors that put people at risk for the disease and the treatments because my mother suffers from it. I found it profoundly informative, the environmental factors involved with this disease were very eye opening. The book would be very impactful to even people not affected by the disease and I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to learn more about this debilitating disease. I am grateful to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.