The Cambridge History of Medicine - by Roy Porter (Paperback)

Number of Pages: 416
Genre: Medical
Sub-Genre: History
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Age Range: Adult
Author: Roy Porter
Language: English

About the Book

The 2006 Cambridge History of Medicine surveys the rise of medicine in the West from classical times to the present.

Book Synopsis

The Cambridge History of Medicine, first published in 2006, surveys the rise of medicine in the West from classical times to the present. Covering both the social and scientific history of medicine, this volume traces the chronology of key developments and events, while at the same time engaging with the issues, discoveries, and controversies that have beset and characterized medical progress. The authors weave a narrative that connects disease, doctors, primary care, surgery, the rise of hospitals, drug treatment and pharmacology, mental illness and psychiatry. This volume emphasizes the crucial developments of the past 150 years, but also examines classical, medieval, and Islamic and East Asian medicine. Authoritative and accessible, The Cambridge History of Medicine is for readers wanting a lively and informative introduction to medical history.

Review Quotes

"It is a book by historians about the social and scientific history of medicine. It gives special attention to the past 200 years but also surveys primitive medicine, dating to prehistory. The book is both lucid and readable and ought to be of wide interest."
New England Journal of Medicine, Robert N. Tyson, M.D., University of Washington

"Porter and the other authors of the volume try to present a balanced view of modern medicine, pointing to both its achievements, such as the triumph over contagious diseases, and its problems, such as its overwhelming cost. There is much in this book that is interesting and worth learning about."
H-Histsex, Robin Ganev, Department of History, University of Regina