Coffee with a canine: Dominique Tobbell & Taka

This weekend's featured duo at Coffee with a Canine: Dominique Tobbell and Taka.

The scholar, on Taka's role in the creation of her new book, Pills, Power, and Policy: The Struggle for Drug Reform in Cold War America and Its Consequences:

Although I wrote most of the book before Taka joined my family, he played a very important role as I finished the manuscript. Every writing day would begin and end with a lengthy cuddle with Taka on the futon in my office. Taka would also let me know throughout the day when it was time to take a break. He had several strategies for this: a) barking or pawing at me to “come play,” b) gently nibbling at my sleeve or leg to get my attention, c) bringing his favorite toy and depositing it either on my lap or my desk, or, more often than not, d) all of the above! These playful “disruptions” and the frequent neighborhood walks and trips to the dog park with Taka provided the best relief from writing and ...[read on]

About Pills, Power, and Policy, from the publisher:

Since the 1950s, the American pharmaceutical industry has been heavily criticized for its profit levels, the high cost of prescription drugs, drug safety problems, and more, yet it has, together with the medical profession, staunchly and successfully opposed regulation. Pills, Power, and Policy offers a lucid history of how the American drug industry and key sectors of the medical profession came to be allies against pharmaceutical reform. It details the political strategies they have used to influence public opinion, shape legislative reform, and define the regulatory environment of prescription drugs. Untangling the complex relationships between drug companies, physicians, and academic researchers, the book provides essential historical context for understanding how corporate interests came to dominate American health care policy after World War II.

Visit Dominique A. Tobbell's website, and read more about her book, Pills, Power, and Policy: The Struggle for Drug Reform in Cold War America and Its Consequences.

Writers Read: Dominique A. Tobbell.

Read--Coffee with a Canine: Dominique Tobbell and Taka.

--Marshal Zeringue