When a friend was diagnosed with ALS, Kenn began casually educating himself about the disease, with no intent to write a book. It turns out, no one completely understands ALS yet. Theories about its cause have ranged from people eating fruit bats, to toxins in blue-green algae, to weed killers, to ingredients in soft drinks and processed meats, to nutritional deficiencies.
The more Kenn learned, the more curious he became. Remarkably, ALS seems to share some characteristics with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s; curing one may lead to a cure for all of them. The progress is amazing and accelerating; we have good reasons to be hopeful.
Kenn wound up learning many weird scientific tidbits plus some interesting medical history. Revenge of the Pond Scum is the journal of his quest. It includes many of those tidbits and side trips, as well as a few of his own brainstorms. If you’re embarking on a similar quest, this book may save you a lot of time.
From the back of the book:
“It’s a very, very interesting book indeed!” Derrick Lonsdale, MD, formerly of the Cleveland Clinic, Fellow of the American College of Nutrition (FACN) Fellow of the American College of Advancement in Medicine (FACAM)
“A funny, compelling, provocative, intellectually stimulating book”–Cynthia Dormer, PhD. associate professor of nutrition, Metropolitan State University of Denver.
“A great book by citizen-scientist Kenn Amdahl. He is a keen observer who follows the dataa wherever it takes him and that makes a fascinating journey. He is able to make connections that most of us would miss (It reminds me of James Burke’s series “Connections”) I’ve been reading anything “sciency” for the last 50 years and am not impressed by much. This is a good one.” —Thomas E Bloom, DO, BS biology.
“An entertainingy journey on the scientific connections between bacteria and neurodegenerative disease” — James Metcalf, Ph.D., Senior Researcher, Institute of Ethnomedicine.
Excerpts from reviews on Amazon:
“Science reading at its best” Merilyn Welch
“ALS for the science-impaired” Elizabeth Reeves
“I totally devoured this book which, in this case, will lead to better health and knowledge of ALS, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s Disease…
The author stresses that this is not a scientific book, but rather a research book about possible causes and proliferation of these diseases. It was very easy to read and understand as well as entertaining…” Jan Bachman
“Takes the stodgy out of science …This book is fun, informative, and empowering and as such, is well worth reading.” LiseReads
“Sooo good, needs a follow up, a lot of ideas so actually need your brain turned right up to follow it- but these ideas may inspire the next nobel prizes” a reviewer in the United Kingdom
“This isn’t a science book textbook reader but you will learn about monkeys, mold, fruit bats, fruit, and yes, pond scum, in such an interesting way that you will never know the science is there. The writing is engaging, fun, and witty.” Sunday Smith
“Thoughtful, smart, engaging… Pearls like this make me want to re-read this book.” M. Reen
“Great, quirky read” Peggy Whitehead
“Amdahl has an uncanny ability to make science understandable and fascinating” Regan Eberhart
Clearwater Publishing Company Inc 