Edzard Ernst was born in 1948 in Wiesbaden, Germany. He went to school in Germany and the US and studied psychology and medicine at the LM University in Munich. In 1977, he qualified as a physician in Germany where he also completed his MD and PhD theses.

He was Professor in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) at Hannover Medical School (Germany) and Head of the PMR Department at the University of Vienna (Austria). He came to the University of Exeter in 1993 to establish the world's first Chair in complementary medicine. In 1999, he took British nationality. Since 2012, he is Emeritus Professor at the University of Exeter and now lives in Cambridge, UK as well as in Brittany, France.

Professor Ernst is/was founder/Editor-in-Chief of three medical journals ('Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies', 'European Journal of Physical medicine and Rehabilitation' and 'Perfusion'). He has been a columnist for many publications (BMJ, GP, PJ, The Guardian, The Independent, The Spectator, etc.). His work has been awarded with 17 scientific awards (most recent: John Maddox Prize 2015 and Ockham Award 2017) and two Visiting Professorships (Canada and USA). He served on the 'Medicines Commission' of the British 'Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency' (1994 - 2005). 

The History of Chiropractic.- Popularity and Acceptance.- The Main Axiom of Chiropractic: Subluxation and Spinal Manipulation.- Other Modalities Used by Chiropractors.- Offshoots of Chiropractic.- Therapeutic Claims by Chiropractors.- Effectiveness of Spinal Manipulation.- Safety of Spinal Manipulation.- Education and Professionalism.- Ethical and Legal Issues.- Other Issues.- The Tricks of the Trade.- Glossary.