Always read the little book.
Charles Dunlap, MD
One day in medical school our pathology professor, Dr. Dunlap, rolled in a small library of about thirty books, resembling the Encyclopedia Britannica. He told us it was a monumental compilation of everything that was known about diabetes, published in 1920, before the discovery of insulin. Then he held up a book of about 200 pages, and said, “This was published in 1930, after the discovery of insulin. Always read the little book.”
In addition to the economy of time, my experience has been that a small book is likely to be a clear message by a knowledgeable author. My copy of The Pursuit of Simplicity by Edward Teller, PhD, the physicist who produced the hydrogen bomb, is 167 pages. Sometimes a large edited book is a collection of little books (chapters), but that is rare.
I have sought to make this publication as little as possible, consistent with the message. Over the years I have jotted down various insights about hypnosis to pass on to my students, and this is the result.
Malek’s Law: Any simple idea will be worded in the most complicated way.
Every violation of Malek’s Law is a victory for education and communication. At the risk of being overly elemental, I have sought to reverse this common phenomenon, so that the most complicated idea is presented in the simplest way.
Dabney M. Ewin, MD, FACS