I was cleaning my office shelves today –deciding what should stay and what should go– when I came across a book I bought a couple of years ago while working on a consulting project. It’s called The 2003 Healthcare Business Market Research Handbook by Richard K. Miller & Associates, Inc. For $385 or so (that’s the price for the 2005 edition) it promised a “thorough and in-depth assessment” of a variety of topics in health care.

This book was one of the biggest rip-offs I ever bought. Imagine a 500+ page book of so-called statistical and market information without a single table of data! Most of the sections are just summaries or excerpts of articles from sources such as Modern Healthcare and Business Week. I was really steamed when I got it.

I’m throwing this book away. Do yourself a favor and don’t buy the new one.

January 22, 2006