THE FILTER - HEALTH BOOKS REVIEWED

THE BOOK

Daytime talk-show host Montel Williams is one of a small number of
celebrities known to have multiple sclerosis. "Climbing Higher" (New
American Library), co-written with Lawrence Grobel, recounts in satisfying
detail Montel's long dance with this most unpredictable disease.

THE AUTHOR

Before his TV career, Williams was a Marine, a U.S. Naval Academy grad, a
boxer and a cryptologist translating Chinese. All along, he suffered
unsettling symptoms and medical episodes some of which seem MS-related
while others -- including a bizarre misdiagnosis of breast cancer -- seem
just plain weird.

THE GOOD

Without self-pity (well, not much) he describes the pain and uncertainty MS
has dealt him and his family. He endorses exercise as a way to manage the
disease -- and also makes a passionate case for medicinal use of marijuana.
He offers a mix of contempt and respect for the medical community while
pressing for more research.

THE BAD

Get this man an editor! The book bears the telltale marks of the
Dictaphone: there's lots of rambling and repetition. There's also a bit
more detail about his sex life than is really necessary . . . but for folks
with MS, that can be a big part of the story.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Anybody talking so frankly about MS is doing a service by shedding light on
a mysterious and scary disease. While Williams is not cuddly enough (think
Michael J. Fox and Parkinson's disease) to serve as the standard bearer for
MS, the hour or so it takes to read this quickie is well spent.