The Western Medical Tradition
This book, first published in 2006, is a detailed and authoritative account of the last two centuries of the development of 'Western' medicine, a tradition now important everywhere in the world. It is written by leading experts who not only describe the most important people, events, and transformations, but give explanations for why medicine developed as it did, becoming as important as it has in the modern world. It contains one of the first historical summaries of the development of medicine after the Second World War. It is an authoritative source of new information as well as a synthesis of the current state of knowledge on this fascinating subject. The Western Medical Tradition, 1800–2000 is a companion volume to The Western Medical Tradition, 800 BC to AD 1800.
- Authoritative synthesis of the current knowledge of the Western medical tradition
- A benchmark study of medicine in the last half of the twentieth century which is the first of its kind
- Contains useful summary material: illustrations, charts and tables, timelines, bibliographical essays
Reviews & endorsements
"Bynum offers an engaging survey...Lawrence skillfully continues the story...[Hardy and Tansey] include some valuable international comparisons ... I would rate this volume a success."
-The New England Journal of Medicine
Lawrence's excellent discussion of medicine in the Soviet Union should be singled out for special mention in this category. The Western Medical Tradition 1800-2000 is aimed at students of the history of medicine. However, there is much to recommend the volume to those interested in broader historical matters, with useful material on patterns of disease, hospitals, the role of the state, welfare and public health. All the authors make an effort to place medical developments into their wider social and political context, with Stephen Jacyna setting the early nineteenth century most solidly in a background of political upheaval and industrialization. The book provides an excellent overview of medicine within relatively short periods."
-Deborah Brunton, The Open UniversityVictorian Studies
"...the textbook is especially strong on medical education and international organization."
- Eric J. Engstrom, Canadian Journal of History
"Far more than most surveys of medical history, this one contains not only a factual narrative but also select examinations of the intersections between health care and Western societies." --John C. Burnham, Ohio State University
Product details
March 2006Paperback
9780521475655
630 pages
175 × 249 × 33 mm
1.04kg
15 tables
Available
Table of Contents
- 1. Medicine in transformation, 1800–50 Stephen Jacyna
- 2. The rise of science in medicine, 1850–1913 W. F. Bynum
- 3. Continuity in crisis: medicine, 1914–45 Christopher Lawrence
- 4. Medical enterprise and global response, 1945–2000 Anne Hardy and E. M. Tansey.