The Healing Connection

Dr. Harold Koenig, founder of the Center for the Study of Religion/Spirituality and Health at Duke University Medical Center, advocates the power of spiritual healing in The Healing Connection: A World-Renowned Medical Scientist Explores the Powerful Link Between Christian Faith and Health. As the subtitle suggests, Koenig seems a bit enamored with his own prestige, and the book's first section (an autobiographical account of his own experiences as a doctor and a person struggling with a debilitating disease) succumbs too often into self-congratulatory mentions of his many achievements. However, the second and third sections offer strong opinions about Christian faith, spiritual healing and the future of the medical establishment. (Word, $21.99 212p ISBN 0-8499-1622-4; Jan.)