You can find a review of this excellent book in the Book Reviews sectiion of this site
On the threshold of the twenty-first century, the health sciences in our society are in the midst of a powerful paradigm shift. This is why we see so much friction between the orthodox and alternative medical and dental communities.
The situation has gotten so extreme that in 1991, Congress had to send a directive to the National Institute of Health, demanding that they begin to actively research alternative healing therapies as an option to the "orthodox" methods. A Department of Alternative Medicine was established. According to the AMA Journal, visits to non-traditional healers doubled from 1991 to 1997, with 40% of the population using some form of alternative therapy in 1997. And in 1998, Congress appropriated 50 million dollars for a Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine within the National Institute of Health.