The fact that human values are being driven out by technology is widely regretted but also regarded as inevitable if we are to continue to make progress. This book, written from the perspective of general practice, examines this assumption and shows that it is based on a series of illusions and misunderstandings.Friends in Low Places describes typical reactions to, and the strains and expectations of, being classified as a 'professional' and discusses how we need to restore the balance of human and technological values. It has been eagerly awaited as a follow up to The Paradox of Progress by the same author. 'This book is cathartic. A crescendo of assenting growls will be heard across the land when they reach the chapters on managerialism and the Utopian protocols created in a world where everyday activity has to be evidence-based. This book offers a different way of seeking solutions. Planners and administrators, it argues, need to acknowledge how great is the divide between their most sophisticated models and the reality out there and thus recognise that the most valuable evidence on offer from those in low places is the evidence of their daily experience.'