You’ve had X-rays. Your dentist swears by them. Your doctor orders them “just in case.” But what if the world’s most routine medical procedure isn’t as harmless as everyone claims?

In The Bull in the China Shop, author and critic Bill Jordan pulls back the lead curtain on one of the most overlooked health risks of modern times: medical radiation. Delivered in a style equal parts serious investigation and satirical romp — somewhere between a public health warning and a Monty Python sketch — this book takes you on a journey through the surprising, disturbing, and often absurd history of X-rays.

Discover how radiation was once used to treat dandruff, shrink tonsils, and make your shoes fit better. Yes, really. Explore the lives of early radiologists, some of whom discovered the dangers of radiation only when their own body parts began falling off. Learn how military experiments, overzealous dentists, and for-profit scan centers quietly turned a diagnostic tool into a slow-moving public health catastrophe.

Jordan examines everything from:

• The rise of CT scans and the “dose creep” of digital imaging
• Why radiologists rarely follow up with patients long-term
• How children, women, and frequent flyers face greater risks
• The forgotten warnings of Dr. John Gofman and the “linear no-threshold” model
• And how routine scans may be contributing not just to cancer, but to heart disease, stroke, and genetic damage

You’ll meet the Radium Girls, who painted glow-in-the-dark watches with radioactive paint (and licked the brushes). You’ll tour atomic test sites, early shoe stores, and dental clinics where X-rays are casually aimed at your thyroid like it’s no big deal.

Along the way, the book asks sharp questions:

• Why don’t doctors track your lifetime radiation exposure?
• Why are CT scans so widely used despite known risks?
• Why are alternatives like MRI and ultrasound often overlooked?
• And why does questioning radiation safety still get you strange looks?

With over 70 short chapters covering everything from mobile phone myths to the psychology of overdiagnosis, The Bull in the China Shop blends science, skepticism, and satire in a highly readable format. It’s a book for patients, practitioners, and anyone curious (or alarmed) about how the medical profession came to irradiate millions of people annually — often without clear benefit, proper tracking, or fully informed consent.

Prepare to laugh, learn, and maybe start asking a few more questions before your next "routine scan."