This substantial work contains 46 authoritative essays, focusing on the political economy of medicine and health, understandings of the body and transformations of some of the theatres of medicine. A multiauthor compilation, this 756‐page volume is intended for a general audience, health professionals and historians. The specialists who have contributed to this title are well known historians of medicine, including, anthropologists, historians, sociologists and teachers. The editors, Roger Cooter and John Pickstone and more than 30 other contributors reside in the UK. It has been hailed as “a magnificent histographical accomplishment of lasting value”.
When it arrived on my desk, it appeared to be in the same style as other similar titles we hold in the library, such as The Illustrated History of Medicine by Sournia (1992). However, instead of an illustrated chronology of the history of medicine, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the book has been organized in a much more user‐friendly way. According to the editors: “in order to be as inclusive as possible in ouR coverage of the different kind of contexts and social relations that have been borne upon medicine in the twentieth century, we chose to structure its history according to a tripartite division of Power, Bodies and Experiences.”
The 12 essays in the section “Power” explore the influence of medicine during the past 100 years. It concentrates on the political economy of medicine as it changes from period to period and varied between countries. Medical advances, innovations and technologies are described, but not exclusively. Medicine’s shortcomings are considered too, including eugenics in Jane Lewis’s essay on “Health and health care in the progressive era”, and the thalidomide catastrophe in “Medicine and the counter culture” by Mike Saks. The second section contains 18 essays, which concentrate on the advancement of medical knowledge, referring concepts, representations and digressive frameworks of medicine in the twentieth century. I found Dorothy Porter’s essay on “The healthy body” fascinating. In her essay she looks at the alliance between medicine, social science and public policy in trying to modify social behaviour. The essay is divided into subheadings looking at procuring health, physical culture and racial supremacy, and the fetishism of commodities and retification of the fit body. The final section, “Experiences”, refers to the intersection of medicine and key events. I found some essays highly thought provoking. In particular, in Susan Lederer and Naomi Roger’s essay, they examine medicine and the media. Virginia Berridge’s essay concentrates on medicine and AIDS. Also worth a mention is Patrice Pinell’s research into the history of medicine and cancer.
Overall this is an interesting and broad treatment of the history of medicine in the twentieth century. All the essays in this collaboration are well written and easy to read. At only £24.99, I would highly recommend this title to all health professionals, historians and the general public as a broad insight into how influential the practice of medicine has been to life during the past 100 years.
