Books, Links, And Articles

Perfect Eyesight Without Glasses (size 2MB)
This is Dr. Bates's original, 1920 book. Although it is now 85 years old, the commercially available Better Eyesight Without Glasses was heavily edited after Dr. Bates's death, and is not recommended. It is available here as a free download in PDF format because the copyright has long since expired. To read a PDF, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Use Your Own Eyes (size 5.1 MB)
This book is an excellent companion to, and is sometimes more easily comprehensible than, Dr. Bates's original book. It was written by Dr. W.B. MacCracken, MD. Dr. MacCracken worked with Dr. Bates personally.

Dr. Roberto Kaplan is one of the world's foremost behavioral optometrists. He is especially insightful on how psychology affects vision, and for those interested in the psychological links to limited eyesight, I recommend his books, The Power behind your Eyes and Seeing Without Glasses. Note that Dr. Kaplan's books are, at best, an adjunct to Dr. Bates's writings. Here is a link to an essay he has written about nearsightedness

The Neuro-Psychology Of Myopia (size 1.6 MB)
This is the most up to date discussion on the causes of myopia (nearsightedness) I have seen. It is written by Dr. Ray Gottlieb, OD PhD and is recommended for anyone who is either nearsighted, or just fascinated with how the human brain works.

The Psychology Of Attention (size 2.7 MB)
The classic work on attention by Theodule Ribot, first published in 1890. This is the original translation and includes the third section not in the Margaret Corbett 1946 translation.

Visions Of Joy
This is a link to the website of Esther Joy van der Werf. In addition to teaching vision improvement on the West Coast of the USA, she teaches proper breathing techniques. Her site contains many useful links to other websites.

Central-Fixation.com
A wonderful site with reprints of Dr. Bates's books and magazines, all available for free. The site also has software that encourages good vision habits, such as"Swing Windows".

I-See.org
This web site maintains a fantastic database of downloadable books and articles about improving eyesight.

Snellen Eye Chart (size 47 KB)
You can download and print out this standard eye chart and test your own vision. It includes charts for near and far.

Eye Surgeon's Warning On LASIK
The American Academy of Ophthalmology says that very short-sighted people "should not have" LASIK eye surgery

10 Reasons Not To Get LASIK
An attorney outlines the risks and misconceptions about laser eye surgery.

FDA on LASIK
This is the Food and Drug Administration's official position on LASIK.

The Salisbury Eye Evaluation Project
Download the Journal of the American Medical Association study that showed a purported link between working outdoors and developing cataracts.

To have a link to an article posted on this page, please contact Robert Lichtman