Review by Bio Prof:

I’ve been using the new and previous editions of the Parham text to teach an introductory immunology course for the last 4 1/2 years. Until I made a few unfortunate text choices for other courses this year, I didn’t fully appreciate what a wonderful text this is. The chapters (especially in the new, 3rd edition) are arranged in a logical fashion and broken down into sections for easy digestibility & assignability. The figures are clear with excellent descriptions and correlate nicely with the text. While the chapter on T cell activation/effector functions still suffers from a bit of disarray, it is still highly usable & provides the necessary information. Immunology is a difficult subject, but this text makes it a pleasure to teach & learn, and receives high marks from my students as well. It is perfect for a one-semester course.

Review by Eduardo Murphy:

I’m an electrical engineer, so I dont have good fundations on biology, however, this book unlike others, explain immunology very well, from the basics to the more advanced topics, the images, the figures, everything is really intend for an ignorant like me, to get precious knowledge. I really recomend it!

Review by toothygrin:

I am a Board Certified Allergist/Immunologist and I bought the book to help me to solidify my knowledge of basic immunology. Since the American Board of Allergy and Immunology only issues 10-year certification –and I took the exam the first time in 1991 — I have to take a multiple choice recert exam soon. The book is helping me prepare by reviewing current basic Immunology in a very easy to understand (and therefore easy to REMEMBER) fashion. The prose is not prosaic, it’s fun! The writing describes the immune system’s structure and functioning clearly and logically. It does an excellent job of tying everything together, which can be difficult with the expanding “octopus” of detail that comprises modern immunology.I highly recommend this for physicians and students of medicine or immunology.

Review by Garth Snyder:

After slogging through Janeway’s _Immunobiology_ and most of a course in immunology, I had memorized a lot of facts but still understood next to nothing about the overall “design” and operation of the immune system. I found _How the Immune System Works_ the perfect antidote to my existential ennui. I recommend it highly and wish there were similar books on other related subjects.

The main pleasure of this book is that it’s very “why-oriented” – Sompayrac explains how each mechanism fits into the grand scheme of immunology. Another key innovation is that he points out areas of immunology that aren’t well understood yet; that way, you can recognize them as gaps in the science at large rather than as gaps in your own understanding.

Other virtues include brevity, judicious omission of irrelevant detail (this book omits the customary table of 30-odd cytokines along with a list of the 10 or 15 actions of each, for example), and an engaging and readable style.

2006 UPDATE (ORIGINAL REVIEW WAS MAY, 2002): I’m so glad to see this book continuing to get great reviews. Having completed the rest of medical school, I can now say that this is the single highest-value text I encountered on any medical subject.

Review by :

Outstanding book if you have an auto immune disease. I have an auto immune disease known as Weber-Christian disease and spent 2 years suffering before finally being diagnosed correctly. Once I had been diagnosed, I was told there was nothing that could be done for me – that it wasn’t a life threatening disease and that it would just come and go periodically, so I needed to just learn to live with it. After reading this book and following the advice, I am on the way to being cured and am feeling 100% better. In a couple of months (2), I’ve gone from having to stay in bed taking pain killers to leading a normal life again, virtually pain free!! I am only 37 years old and was not ready to just lie down and give up. This book has been a life saver for me. I highly recommend it to anyone with an auto immune disorder.

Review by :

I was thrilled to get this book. I have terrible allergies to cats, horses and dogs. I could never visit the house of someone with pets and I have spent most of my life with a chronic head cold. After reading The Immune System Cure I started taking the supplements recommended for my allergies and within days I was able to tolerate animals. As well after reading the first five chapters I realized that I was not only allergic to pets but also to sulphites found in wine and beer and also wheat. Before reading this book I was not aware how nutrition and stress affect our immune system. I was shocked to learn that as little as 1 teaspoon of sugar can turn off our natural killer cells, the cells that fight cancer and viruses, for up to six hours. As well simple diet changes have made a tremendous difference in my health. I now eat as many fruits and vegetables as I can and I include good fats and oils and I have stopped eating margarine and processed oils. I have so much energy. I never realized how exhausting my allergies really were until I no longer was affected by them. The best thing about the book is that it is all based on research. People will be able to take it to their doctor and the doctor will not ignore it. All the recommendations are based on published research and plenty of human research trials are included. The authors also tell us that we may have an underactive immune system as seen in cancer and infectious disease but people like me may have an overactive immune system and may need to balance it out. Anyone with autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or MS will really appreciate a fresh approach to treating their disease. And I can’t say enough about how thankful I was to learn that my allergies are caused by my immune system. Now I know that a antihistamine is only a bandaid and The Immune System Cure offers treatments that get directly at the cause of the immune dysfunction. I have read hundreds of books on allergies and none have taught me what I needed to know to be free of my allergies. Bravo to the authors.

Review by Sallie Stephens:

I purchased this book after seeing it advertised in a Christian magazine. It caught my eye because, having a chronic illness, I am just plain tired of feeling sick all the time. I knew my diet wasn’t the best, and I took vitamins and supplements on a sporadic basis. What I needed was an easy-to-read gameplan to improve my health. This book is just that. Dr. Maccaro has done her research, as well as having a chronic disease herself, and I feel her book is a very valuable tool to use if you are wanting to take a good hard look at your diet and lifestyle and are willing to make changes. I admit that I have been following her program now for only two weeks, so it is too early for me to tell if it indeed will help eleviate some of my symptoms. But what I can say is that after two weeks I DO have more energy and feel like I am doing something GOOD for my body! Her 90-day program basically has you eliminate all wheat, dairy, sugar and caffeine from your diet, as well as taking supplements, adding exercise and trying to eliminate stress. Not an easy chore, but I have found it to be much easier than I thought. She gives great recommendations for products to purchase, which I very much appreciate. I know that when entering a Natural Food Store I am confronted with so many choices I don’t know which way to turn, so her recommendations are great. I live in a very small town and have found most of the products she recommends, but Dr. Maccaro also gives addresses as to where to find the products as well. She includes in her first 30 days of the program a detoxifying program, which unfortunately for me was too strong for my system. I anticipate that this would not be a problem for most people however. I also appreciate the fact that Dr. Maccaro is a Christian and writes from a Christian perspective, adding prayer to one of her chapters on stress relief. The only reason I did not give this book a 5-star rating is because I felt there were a few questions left unanswered: such as in her first 30-day eating plan she outlines what she wants you to eat (which is helpful), but I never really know if I can add anything else (within the guidelines of the diet of course) I also wish that she had included an email address where we could reach her, but I do realize she is a busy person! After two weeks I am VERY happy with the way I feel and I hope, at the end of the 90 days that I am a healthier, more energetic person. I think I will be, if the first two weeks are any indication! Thanks Dr. Maccaro! Your book is easy to read and very, very helpful!

Review by Shaz:

If you’ve ever given thought to fasting or doing a toxin cleanse, you might want to check this book out. Learn about the necessities of foods with powerful antioxidants and enzymes, and why dairy foods aren’t doing anyone any good (I recently learned that dairy cows are milked so often, they develop mastitis, a painful breast infection lactating mothers can get that causes bacteria and, in cows, pus- UGH! That stuff is in milk!). The 90 days are broken up into three 30-day parts, complete with tests to take and motivation to keep going. Dr. Maccaro considers herself to be a very spiritual person, and there is an unbelievable amount of scriptures quoted along with the nutritional information; so be prepared, if this offends you or puts you off. It is, however, a great way to rid your body of disease-friendly toxins and can be a great jump start on your road to wellness. (Be prepared, though, to ditch all sugar, dairy, and meat products, as well as caffeine (AAAAGH!), artificial sweeteners and wheat).

Review by CGD Dad:

My last biology class was in 9th grade and thus my understanding of cells, the blood system and the immune system in general has been very cursory. To be perfectly honest I’ve never been interested in biology at all but my son’s condition (has chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) and is currently at day +4 in a bone marrow transplant) has caused me to revisit this topic. Unfortunately I’ve been confounded in finding a good overview of the immune system that is both intelligible to a lay person but which gets at the fundamental mechanisms. This book was nothing short of a revelation to me; particularly the first four chapters and the paragraph on CGD. I now feel like I actually understand how and why CGD affected him in the way it did and what is happening with his donor marrow. This has allowed me to formulate questions that adequately convey my specific concerns and to better understand the responses and the daily results of his CBC counts. I strongly recommend this book to anyone wanting (or needing) to understand how the immune system works.

Review by Irfan A. Alvi:

This book serves as an excellent introduction to immunology for the general reader.

The level of detail is introductory but not trivial, and immunology is inherently a challenging subject, so readers should expect to pay attention and concentrate. This book isn’t casual reading, and some general science background would be a big help.

At the same time, the level of detail is much less than a book intended for health care professionals or students, so people in that category will need to go beyond this book, although they may still find this book to be a nice and comparatively gentle introduction. The same applies to general readers who are researching particular immunological disorders; for example, this book really only scratches the surface when it comes to things like allergies, autoimmune diseases, and cancer immunotherapy.

Another effect of this book being intended for a general audience is that the presentation of information isn’t quite as systematic as found in more advanced books, and I think that’s a drawback for a subject as complex as this. But I do understand that books targeted at a general audience need to cater to the stylistic expectations of that audience if they’re going to sell any copies …

Overall though, I’ll reiterate that this book is an excellent introduction to immunology, so I recommend it to readers looking for such a book, and who understand its limitations.

Review by JS:

I borrowed this book from a prof who was reviewing it for the next time he taught immunology. I used it to gear myself up for two presentations and papers in biochem and cell/molecular biology. Having no experience in immunology but a solid backgroudn in biochem and biology, I found it incredibly easy to read, yet has all the details and mechanisms necessary for one to read and understand research papers in immunology. The picture and graphics are fantastic. It is concise without skipping so much detail as to lose the reader. I wish all my textbooks were written this well. It ties in material from biochemisty and cell biology as well as genetics. It would be a wonderful text for an upper level undergraduate immunology course.

Review by A. Shalman:

I am a medical student, and I have red and seen a lot of books. Guys, I couldn’t believe how easy and fluent was the reading of this book. I must admit that i am not one of those guys that can sit down and finish the big Robbins in a few days, but with this book I have managed to do it !!! For me it was a first. Because P.Parham constantly reminds you of the stuff you read in the earlier chapters, and the exceptionally simple but good illustrations, you don’t forget anything! I truly never seen such a thing. My enthusiasm may seem too exaggerated but I can’t help it. 450 pages went like 50, and the book spares no details! Another great point is the questions and answers at the end of the chapters and at the end of the book, respectively. Med. Students, this book is for you, and 5 stars are not nearly enough.

Review by Colleen Cornish:

this is a great book showing how foods work with your body. explains what foods are not useful with certain illnesses. very simple and direct. and i love that with each food there is a recipe to go with it. i have tried some of them, and they have all been good. i have purchased this book for my two sisters as when they saw it in my home they wanted it and i also purchased it for two friends who have used it extensively.

Review by Deborah Crawford:

I would have liked more in-depth info on these immunity boosters. Instead, this book has a brief overview of the items chosen plus a recipe for incorporating it into your diet.

Not surprisingly, most of the foods are various fruits & veggies, but some herbs, meat and fish, and yogurt are included, too. The 100 are also not listed by importance or in any heirarchy, either, and I think that would have been helpful, at least for me. They are categorized by type, and I found cauliflower included with green leafy vegetables, which I found surprising.

I do like the ailment directory in the back of the book, though. You can look up what’s “ailing” you and get suggestions and specific foods to add to your diet for that specific ailment.