Yang, who holds graduate degrees in both health and law from prestigious universities, remembers being a boy in Taipei and studying The Art of War under his father's direction. Decades later, he realizes that classical work provides a framework for a better approach to health care. In an era dominated by reactive medicine and fragmented, isolated opinions based on individual symptoms or illnesses, Yang uses the classic text to present a more integrated, holistic approach to one's own health journey. He uses research and case examples to illustrate how the current practice often focuses on one or two markers or details rather than seeing the multitude of interconnected systems that need to communicate and work harmoniously for maximum health. He also discusses the importance of being the source of intelligence gathering for one's own health and facilitating interactions among the various health specialists providing care. Yang points out that only the individual has 24/7 access to their body and can likely notice changes and patterns before they occur in health screenings. He urges the need for a proactive and deliberate approach to the wellness of the individual based more on the overall composite of the varied health, environmental, psychological, genetic, and nutritional pictures rather than standard averages and isolated results.

Although seemingly unrelated based on subject matter, readers familiar with Stephen Hawking's bestselling A Brief History of Time will likely begin to see a parallel in intention in reading Yang's health book. Hawking attempts to explain extremely complex subjects, such as black holes, antimatter, the nature of time, and alternative dimensions, in language and examples understandable to laypeople. The success and popularity of Hawking's work suggest he performed admirably, especially to those without an educational background in the field but with a keen interest. Admittedly, many still find the work a bit difficult, and Hawking himself eventually felt he may have been wrong and worked with a coauthor on new theories about some of the same subjects. Similarly, Yang sees a need for change in how the medical system works, and he uses The Art of War to help simplify the complex systems that make up an individual's health and wellness. Anyone who has researched a medical, psychological, or nutritional question beyond a surface-level response understands how complex understanding health quickly becomes.

Much of what Yang does works very well, with sections covering knowing the enemy and attempting to avoid a battle with the enemy altogether being particularly readable and well-explained. However, particularly in the middle chapters, the complexity of the medical and biological fields and their terminology may overwhelm the average reader. The main idea behind this book is transformational and necessary, and it is good to see it brought up more often in recent years. The fragmented, reactionary framework of healthcare does need significant structural and philosophical changes. Yang's book is grammatically clean and presents solid research and examples, which help illustrate the importance of a transformational shift in the field of health care and personal wellness. The overall idea is well conveyed, and the book will be engaging for those actively interested in their own well-being and/or the current state of Western healthcare.

Return to USR Home