Re: Low carb reviews.

PROS: Meticulous research. Well argued. Data rich.

CONS:
* Dated data: Most of the studies Taubes cites are from before 1960. He implies that in the 1960s there was a vast Conspiracy led by a few researchers with a low-fat/high carb agenda. Taubes argues that they crushed all research into the utility of low-carb diets.

* Verbose: Taubes takes a long time to make a point. The book didn't get interesting until page 250. And even then, it was tedious getting through it.

* Little mention of exercise: He rarely cites the impact exercise has on weight loss. He implies it has little impact.

* Short on concrete advice: Taubes never says this is a diet book, but after all the amazing research he did, it's a shame he didn't give more practical dieting advice. The few words in the Epilogue leave you wanting more.

WHO WOULD LOVE THIS BOOK: Those who want to know all the nitty gritty details about dieting research prior to 1960. Those who like Conspiracy theories. Those who like heavy, data rich academic tomes.

CONCLUSION: I wouldn't recommend this book to most people. It's not terribly readable or practical. The argument is interesting, but not convincing since he ignores most research done after 1960. Taubes spends a lot of time talking about pre-1960 research! He mostly ignores post-1960 research when formulating his arguments by dismissing most of the post-1960 research as being funded by special interests or run by researchers with an special agenda.

MY BIAS: I admit I have the opposite bias that Taubes has: I trust post-1960 research more than pre-1960 research. He seems to believe the opposite. If you buy his argument, then you'll love this book. I didn't...........<>

Seems like the data is limited and cherry picked.This formula can be found in many books.

There are many more negative reviews that go into more detail of the silliness of the book good calories bad calories.