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Name: Truth Doesn't Have a Side: My Alarming Discovery about the Danger of Contact Sports: Omalu, Bennet, Tabb, Mark, Will Smith: 9780310351962: Amazon.com: Books
Price: 9.33 USD
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Rating: 4.7 (190 reviews)

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Truth Doesn't Have a Side: My Alarming Discovery about the Danger of Contact Sports Hardcover – August 8, 2017

by Bennet Omalu (Author), Mark Tabb Will Smith (Foreword)

4.7 190 ratings

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One day in 2002 the fifty-year old body of former Pittsburgh Steeler and hall of famer Mike Webster was laid on a cold table in front of pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu. Webster’s body looked to Omalu like the body of a much older man, and the circumstances of his behavior prior to his death were clouded in mystery. But when Omalu cut into Webster’s brain, it appeared to be normal. Something didn’t add up.

It was at this moment, Omalu studying slides of Webster’s brain tissue under a microscope, that the world of contact sports would never be the same: the discovery of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. CTE can result in an array of devastating consequences including deterioration in attention, memory loss, social instability, depression, and even suicide. And Omalu’s discovery of CTE in the brain of an American football player has become the catalyst of a blazing controversy across all contact sports.

At the center of that controversy stands the unlikely Dr. Bennet Omalu, a Nigerian-born American citizen, a mild-mannered, gentle man of faith. It is fascinating that it would take someone on the outside of American culture to make this amazing discovery, and refuse to let it be kept hidden. Dr. Omalu began his life in strife, growing up in war-torn Nigeria. But his medical studies in forensic pathology proved to be a lifeline. It fed his natural curiosity and awakened within a deeper desire to always search for the truth. Who would have thought that such an unexpected character would play such a role in bringing to life this world-changing data?

In Truth Doesn’t Have a Side, discover the truth about CTE: Its causes and symptoms, how we might keep our children safe and guide professional athletes when CTE sets in. The problem of CTE is coming to light with each new story about an athlete’s concussion problem, and we are likely facing dramatic changes to professional sports. You’ll be inspired by Dr. Bennet Omalu a man driven by his love and concern for the welfare of all people, and his professional vow to speak the truth.

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From the Publisher

concussion, will smith, cte, brain, health, football, contact sports, brain injury, true story, God

concussion, Bennet Omalu, cte, brain, health, football, contact sports, brain injury, true story

A Note from the Author

I met Mike Webster on the autopsy table. When I met him, I knew I had to find the answers for the problems that plagued him. This was my calling, my duty as a fellow human being made in the image of God.

Mike Webster suffered from a completely preventable brain malady called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE. I say preventable because if Mike Webster had never played football, he almost certainly would still be alive today, and the two of us would never have had reason to meet.

So what do I have against football? Why do I hate the game? I do not hate it, but I hate the toll it takes on those who play it. My outlook might be very different if Mike Webster had been an anomaly, but he was not. I believe there is a very good chance that every person who plays (or has played or will play) in the NFL will suffer from some degree of CTE. Not everyone will suffer to the degree Mike Webster did, but some will be worse.

—Dr. Bennet Omalu

concussion, Daniel Amen, cte, brain, health, football, contact sports, brain injury, true story, God

Editorial Reviews

Review

Dr. Bennet Omalu’s tireless pursuit of the truth is inspiring, and being able to relive his journey alongside him makes it all the more incredible. The world is a better place with doctors like Bennet Omalu in it. -- Giannina Scott, actress and producer

If you want to understand Dr. Bennet Omalu, don’t look at the acronyms that come after his name or read the papers he’s authored; listen to his laugh. It’s the laugh of someone who possesses the freedom that can only come when you know that you are doing exactly what you were destined to do. -- Will Smith

The name Bennet Omalu is one that many people may not be familiar with. But if you are a current or former athlete, a wife or a significant other of an athlete, or a parent of an athlete who competes or has competed in a contact sport that could produce concussions, his is a name you should know. His discovery of CTE gave a name to a cause of a neurological condition that many former athletes suffered from later in life. For many former football players like me, Dr. Omalu is our hero because he was that one person astute and bold enough to dig deeper in his neuropathology research to discover the cause of neurological ailments that may have af- fected countless former athletes long after the cheering stopped. -- Harry Carson, New York Giants (1976–1988), and a member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame, class of 2006

The world craves elite examples of courage from selfless crusaders who genuinely care first about the needs of others. Dr. Omalu is that man, and his story will inspire you and challenge the sleeping hero in each of us! -- Ben Utecht, musician, former NFL player, and author of Counting the Days While My Mind Slips Away

Truth Doesn’t Have a Side is a critically important book. If you care about your brain or the brains of those you love, please read it. -- Daniel G. Amen, MD, author of Memory Rescue

Truth Doesn’t Have a Side is a provocative, passionate, and enlightening discussion of football, forensic science, and religious faith. Dr. Bennet Omalu’s research has focused much-needed attention on sports-related brain injuries. Whether readers agree or disagree with Dr. Omalu’s dramatic conclusions, they will find his life story fascinating, highly informative, and truly remarkable. -- Dr. Cyril Wecht, forensic pathologist and medicolegal consultant; past president, American Academy of Forensic Sciences and American College of Legal Medicine

Truth Doesn’t Have a Side tells the remarkable story of Dr. Bennet Omalu’s journey of perseverance in an imperfect world and his reliance on the absolute faithfulness of God. It is the story of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. -- Father Carmen D’Amico, pastor of Miraculous Medal Parish, Meadow Lands, Pennsylvania

About the Author

Dr. Bennet Omalu is a Nigerian-American neuropathologist who discovered and named chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in American football players, other athletes and military veterans. He is the chief medical examiner of San Joaquin County, California, and a clinical professor at the University of California, Davis. His story is told in the major motion picture Concussion, starring Will Smith. Bennet and his wife have two children and reside in Sacramento, California.

Mark Tabb has authored or coauthored more than thirty books, including the number one New York Times bestseller, Mistaken Identity.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Zondervan; 1st edition (August 8, 2017)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0310351960
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0310351962
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.45 x 1.1 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #626,906 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #442 in Football Biographies (Books)
- #920 in Football (Books)
- #1,446 in Medical Professional Biographies

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4.7 190 ratings

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Mike Hodgkinson

The truth about Concussion

Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2023

Verified Purchase

Overall a very informative book but with strong religious overtones

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Joseph P. Tevington

Each of us is precious and deserves being treated that way....

Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2018

Verified Purchase

Dr Bennet Omalu is the brilliant, exquisitely credentialed physician/neuropathologist/medical examiner, who exposed the horrific, inescapable danger of football to the human brain.

Behind the tenaciousness energizing Dr Omalu to withstand the resultant calumnies arising from whistle blowing on the enormously powerful football industry is Dr Omalu's deep belief in the dignity of each human being. In this autobiography, Dr Omalu frequently reminds us that each and every human being is made in the image of God.

The respect owed to each human extends even beyond the human body's being alive. The Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Vatican's Charter for Health Care Workers certainly proclaim that - even after death - the human body is to be treated with great care and respect. Though he is not a theologian, Dr Omalu grasps this great truth, seemingly better than anyone.

A few nuggets from this book:
* "A helmet keeps someone from lacerating their scalp, breaking their skull open, or suffering some type of bleeding inside the skull. It does not cushion the brain as it impacts the skull in a headfirst collision of bodies. Nothing can protect the brain in such an impact" (p. 144).
* "She opened her eyes at the sound of my voice and breathed in deep, like she was taking in the scent of her father. Those eyes looked up into mine. I felt like I was looking into the eyes of God. I became overwhelmed with emotion. Tears rolled down my face - tears of joy. I realized right then that in the process of conception between a man and a woman, God invites us to partake in His glory and share in His holiness and godliness. The creation of life is a holy experience. The baby girl I held close to my bosom was His gift of life" (p. 256).
* "The country of my birth was embroiled in a bitter civil war when I came into this world. Stories about the crisis in Biafra made worldwide headlines. News magazines...featured photographs of starving children....But the world did nothing. Awareness is not enough, for, as God's Word teaches us, 'wisdom is vindicated by her works'" (p. 267).

One person found this helpful

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DJW

I wasn't looking for information on CTE

Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2017

Verified Purchase

I really had no interest in CTE, not that I hadn't heard about, and I'd seen the movie "Concussion," though it really didn't leave much of an impact on me. I mostly dismissed the subject as typical Hollywood hypocrisy, decrying the violence in society on a pedestal, while promoting it on every celluloid frame. What lead me to read the book was following an interview I saw on EWTN with Dr. Omalu.

These weren't the words of your typical left-wing liberal calling for government mandated utopia for the masses (but never for themselves). This Doctor seemed to actually believe what he was saying, and was willing to testify to it as God as his sole witness and only judge. I wanted to read this man's story.

And an amazing story it was. Not the CTE, though of course that's a part of it, but the autobiographical representation of his life as lived out in radical obedience to his Catholic faith.

I can't say if I agree with the science of CTE. I am not qualified to make any judgment on the issue, and I believe Dr. Omalu would want it that way; better for me to just admit that I don’t know. But I am 100% convinced that he believes it. And that's enough to make the book worth reading.

Dr. Omalu made this comment in his book regarding prohibiting children under 18 from playing football but letting adults make their own informed decision: "This means we can still enjoy college football and NFL football as we play and enjoy them today!" I am not sure if he is being intentionally coy or truly doesn't understand. (He readily admits to not understanding the game,)

Because football is a game that takes decades to perfect, and the NFL only has room for the perfect...and the young.

That means without Pop Warner, Middle school, and High school Football, there is no college and NFL to "enjoy as we still do today." It would be. in Dr. Omalu's world, like going for brain surgery to someone in their first year of medical school. In fact it would be even more dangerous to the player "patient" who never learned the proper techniques.Football, Hockey, Lacrosse, Boxing, are choreographed chaos. Particularly Football where the ability to move in unison (like the way schools of fish and flocks of birds do) takes years of practice. Starting that learning process would be like picking up the piano at 19 yrs old in hopes of be coming a virtuoso. It doesn't happen, the brain we're trying to protect is the same brain that has the unique ability to absorb immense amounts of information as child that it looses rapidly after the onset of adulthood.

So Dr. Omalu is really authoring the manifesto for the end of Football (and all major contact sports). His comparison to smoking is relevant. In just 50 years we have gone from smoking as a symbol of American individualism to one of smokers being ostracized out of the public sphere. Perhaps football awaits a similar fate? If parents begin to pull their kids away from Football, Boxing, Hockey, Lacrosse...the sport will die as sure as smoking in restaurants has. Dr. Omalu's Hollywood friends however, still appear on film with cigarettes as props, the mystique of the lady blowing smoke is still too powerful to eradicate from their films...like violence, sex, and guns...and football. In true progressive fashion, their prescriptions in the "pulpit" have nothing to do with their actions outside the "church doors." Dr. Omalu would do well to remember who he's associated with, as some of his recent comments on politics has shown, and as he makes clear in his book, he is easily fooled by the glamour of celebrity.

Like smoking, the penalty for the patient lies in a distant future. The glory of the gridiron for parent and child will be hard to walk away from based on a potential outcome on the other side of a yet invisible horizon.As a person who played football, boxing, lacrosse and hockey...and smoked...as young person....the threat of tomorrow when you're young and strong is seldom enough to prevent you from poor decisions today. I didn't play any of them at the high level of college or pro-sports, but they remain some of my fondest memories as a child. Sandlot football, black tar basketball, sparing in the local club. I doubt any warning would have been enough for me to have avoided these games in favor of chess and checkers. So it falls on the child's guardian. Are parents ready to prevent their child from fulfilling his/her dream of the Hall of Fame? Is the next Mother of Joe Montana ready to except a role as 25th place in one of Dr. Omalu's acceptable athletic pursuits. Are you the parent, or grandparent, prepared to to say "no?"

Probably not...yet...

....but what if, your sole witness and only judge is the same as Dr. Omalu's?

EDIT: after finishing the book, I went back and watched the movie a second time and got much more out of it. It still reeks of Hollywood pablum, but Dr. Bennet Omalu does manage to come through in ways that I didn't recognize before reading the book.

30 people found this helpful

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Paul Isbell

CTE - the game of denial!

Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2017

Verified Purchase

A very interesting story of how one man stood up to the 'very competitive' game of football - and barely survived it by relying on his religious faith to guide him through the hostile atmosphere of him being 'hated' for what he had only accidentally discovered - that repeated hits to the head are never good, period! One almost has the feeling of reading the great Danish writer - Ibsen, for the story has a 'moral' to tell. The story doesn't speak well of the NFL. What will most likely be discovered that there's degrees of CTE - the damage done to individuals playing the game of football will be degreed to be variable as to degree of damage, but damage nevertheless occurs to all players of the game - they'll most likely never know the full degree of one's injuries until one's autopsy - of course, a very long time after the damage had been done.

5 people found this helpful

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Bessie

The book was written to help people exposed to head trauma by a man that is honest and has no reason to falsify reports.

Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2018

Verified Purchase

This is the most important and honest book I’ve ever read. I couldn’t put it down once I started reading it. I have family members that are experiencing brain problems and the books explained a lot of what they are going through. One member is 59 and played football in high school, college and Semi pro. He fell 3 yrs ago and was knocked out and now he has most of the symptoms the book explains. The other member is 23 and had head damage from motor bike accidents and is having many problems.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Claudio C

great book - great present

Reviewed in Germany on June 26, 2020

Verified Purchase

happy to find it, pretty rare finding, great for a present. :)

Michelle Dawn Fleming

Interesting true story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 5, 2019

Verified Purchase

The autobiography of a neurologist who discovers that knocks to head during American Football cause brain damage and how he gets treated for showing this.

Ola O

Very powerful story from an original thinker. It's a ...

Reviewed in Canada on September 3, 2017

Verified Purchase

Very powerful story from an original thinker. It's a must read for the open minded and inquisitive person searching for the truth.