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About This Book:

Title: A Brief History of Disease, Science and Medicine: From the Ice Age to the Genome Project



Size
Length:        528 Pages
Height:         120
Width:          610
Weight:        195


Amazon Customer Reviews:
Average rating:    Based on 5 reviews

   I am the author
The book was republished by another press after an unsatisfactory situation with this publisher and is available under the ISBN 09749466-4-8. It is selling well and a second printing is about half sold out.
(12/17/2006)

   The Return of Humanism in Medicine: Hope for the Future!
In this litigious time when physicians and all medical care workers tend to live under an umbrella of suspect brought on by the intervention of the media, vast lawsuits, big business (pharmaceutical companies) intervention, and computer access to data, there has occurred a response in the medical facilities to promote 'defensive medicine' to instruct the nascent students how to cope with the antagonistic world outside the halls of the teaching hospitals. This has resulted in less emphasis on the learning of the skills of the time honored Doctor-Patient relationship and in creating the aura that physicians dwell in glass dome sanctuaries of science: the quiet moments of sharing personal fears and concerns and relieving the pain in the souls of the patient and patients' families seem relics of the past house-call/caring-physician image.

Michael Kennedy in his book A BRIEF HISTORY OF DISEASE, SCIENCE & MEDICINE has done more to rectify this widening gap between physician and patient than any volume I have read. This meticulously written, dignified yet very warm and honest look at medicine from the Ice Age to the era of molecular and genetic concepts for the present and the future reads more like a fascinating novel than an academic treatise. There are facts and histories discussed here which will enlighten not only the general public but also the men and women of medicine - from premed student to retired doctor. It is simply an amazing source of knowledge while simultaneously being an honest, no-holds-barred review of how we came to this point in healthcare. And if ever there were a time when this book was needed, it is certainly now. Read this fascinating tome and learn not only the extraordinary progress made in the mystery of disease and physical meanderings away from the 'normal', but at the same time see just how vulnerable is the scientist and physician in dealing with new aspects of the art of practicing medicine through time. Kennedy and his colleagues have added an important adjunct to the re-entry of humanism in the teaching of medicine at his alma mater: this book demonstrates that journey of commitment to resurrect the precious healing relationship between the doctor and those who approach him for succor. Read this book for a highly dignified history of medicine, for some amazing insights into disease process, and for reassurance the perhaps the return of the sanctity of healthcare delivery is a possibility. A fine and very important achievement, Dr. Kennedy!
(10/11/2004)

   With insights and changes in scientific thinking
A Brief History Of Disease, Science & Medicine by Dr. Michael T. Kennedy (retired vascular surgeon and a former Clinical Faculty Member, University of Southern California) informatively surveys the development of modern medical practice from prehistoric times to the modern day. An extensive index allows for easy cross reference of the fascinating facts, pioneer discoveries, traditions of ancient and current civilizations, and much more. A broad-ranging survey packed cover to cover with insights and changes in scientific thinking, A Brief History Of Disease, Science & Medicine is recommended for medical students and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the history and development of modern medicine.
(03/05/2004)

   Enormously educational yet thoroughly entertaining and fun
This is both an extremely ambitious and enormously entertaining history of the development of the medical treatment of human beings throughout the ages. It is ambitious in that the author attempts to survey the field from prehistory until the present day, and to do so in less than five hundred pages. The scope means that at times things of necessity have to be left out. For instance, the great story in science as a whole (and in medicine in particular) between classical antiquity and the early 17th century is the growth and eventual downfall of Aristotelianism, which provided the scientific background for nearly every branch of scientific endeavor during that time. Many of the key events of that story are briefly recounted, but many are not (e.g., allied discoveries by Galileo in astronomy that refuted Aristotelian assumptions). Still, given the limitations of space, this is an admirable treatment of the subject. To deal with every issue comprehensibly would have expanded dramatically the size of the book, which would have given the lie to the title. My one serious objection to the book is that the book does not have an overarching narrative structure. I'm not always sure what particular story is being told. Nonetheless, it is impossible to come away from the book without a far deeper appreciation for the remarkable journey medicine has undertaken over the centuries. It also makes me enormously grateful that I am alive today, and not in some previous century.

Above all, this is a fun, engaging, thoroughly entertaining book. Although the book sometimes veers towards the encyclopedic, the style at all times is anecdotal. The author loves his subject, and especially delights in the quirkier side of things. There are mountains of fascinating trivia, and as a lover of great trivia I was constantly saying to myself, "Wow, I didn't know that!" Some of the more fascinating bits of the book are when Kennedy discusses famous individuals and the way in which disease may have affected them, such as Ivan the Terrible or Henry VIII. Even in modern medical discoveries, he has an eye for the unusual.

This is also, however, a very educational book. The amount of information contained in its pages is fairly staggering. One great use for the book is to read through the sections on a particular epoch if one is engaged in historical reading. But the book is more than a collection of interesting facts. The reader gains an appreciation for the way that medical practice has developed over the centuries. For instance, Kennedy discusses how before the invention of anesthesia speed was a highly esteemed virtue in a surgeon. Surgery was performed quickly, and as a result there was less of an emphasis on working carefully and carefully suturing. But with the development of anesthesia, surgery slowed down, and surgeons took more care to operate with great care and to minimize injury to tissue. This is merely one random example out of thousands.

One of the most appealing aspects of the book is the deeply personal style of the author. Closely aligned with his love of the anecdotes and trivia is his eye for the humorous side of things. He also writes with a personal touch. In discussing some medical condition, he will mention that he had had such a case himself at such and such a point, or that someone had devised a form of pediatric surgery, and he later had as a patient the second recipient ever of that treatment. Or he will mention that his mother's uncle had a certain medical condition, or aunt was a nurse for a famous doctor.

This truly is a book suited for a variety of audiences. I have a strong interest in history, and as a result I enjoyed most the first half, in part because I had the background to understand everything there pretty easily. I struggled a bit more in the second half as medicine became more specialized, but I imagine that this half would be of greater interest to medical students or physicians. The main thing that I want to emphasize is that both the medical student and the educated nonspecialist will equally find much to enjoy in the book. Similarly, one could also employ the book merely as a reference work, or read it several chapters at a time. It is rare, however, that a book can be so educational over such a wide-ranging subject, and entertain so thoroughly at the same time.
(02/19/2004)

   A side of medical history that you don't often read about
At some point in the nineteenth century, the practice of medicine was transformed into medical science. Before that time, while there were some people who critically examined techniques of treatment, most medical practitioners did more harm than good. At best, the treatment did no harm and there was tremendous resistance by the medical profession to change, even when the benefit was clearly demonstrated. Many women died in childbirth due to infections caused by doctors going directly from dissecting cadavers to delivering babies without washing their hands. It was not until sometime in the twentieth century before it could be said that the medical profession had alleviated more suffering than it caused.
This book chronicles all of this and is one of best written histories that I have encountered, independent of subject. It all starts in the first few pages, where you learn that early humans who were hunter-gatherers did not suffer from many acute diseases. After populations spent generations in the same general area, most diseases had adapted to being chronic in nature. Few people died from those diseases and new ones were rarely introduced into the population.
Three things, leading to the rise of civilization, changed that. The first was the domestication of animals, which allowed for the trans-species migration of diseases. This was a bit of a surprise to me, although it should not have been. The modern and deadly diseases of AIDS and Ebola are both caused by viruses that have migrated from other primates. As I write this, countries in Asia are killing enormous numbers of chickens in an attempt to prevent a disease virus from moving from chickens to humans.
The second event was the development of agriculture, which required stationary populations, and allowed the numbers to grow dramatically. This led to the profession of civil engineering and how to provide potable water and dispose of waste. Until recently, this has been a chronic problem and many epidemics have been due to contaminated water.
The third event is the increased mobility of populations, which is a more recent event. Strains of diseases that are chronic and mild in one population due to generations of acquired immunity become plagues when introduced to new populations. So much of the history of the world has been shaped by disease, which is one of the primary themes explained in detail. The Europeans gave the Americas smallpox and the Americans gave the Europeans syphilis. Asia gave Europe the bubonic plague, and Africa gave the world AIDS. I was very impressed with how Kennedy describes these events and explains how they changed the world.
Some of the most fascinating historical accounts dealt with individuals. The Russian Czar known as Ivan the Terrible was not always so terrible. In the early years of his reign, he was very enlightened, establishing schools and a legal code. However, in his later years, he earned his historical moniker, even killing his own son. His body was exhumed in the years of Soviet rule and it showed clear evidence of tertiary syphilis. Therefore, the insanity of his last years and the devastating consequences for Russian history were most likely due to his suffering from advanced syphilis. Although not proven, there are strong indications that Henry VIII of England also suffered from tertiary syphilis, which can explain some of the erratic behavior in his later years. One cannot help but be astonished at the rates of syphilitic infection in Europe a short time after it was brought back by the early explorers of the Americas. In 1599, one-third of the inhabitants of Paris were infected with syphilis. Given that it is transmitted primarily by sexual contact, this figure is incredible. It also indicates how sexually promiscuous the Parisians had to be and points out that there were times in history where people were more sexually promiscuous than they are now.
One cannot help but be astonished by the resistance to change that has pervaded the medical profession throughout its existence. It would be hard to find any other group of people who have exhibited such a conservative mindset for so long. In some ways, the only place where similar mindsets can be found is in religion. On the personal side, Kennedy occasionally refers to events in his life. There are not many, but they are expressed in a very matter of fact manner. It is unusual to read something like, "I was there when we tried . . . ., the patient died."
This book is a real riveting page-turner. Once I started reading it, it was the only book that I read until I finished it and now I have to catch up on all my other projects.
(02/18/2004)



Book Details Summary: The title of this book is A Brief History of Disease, Science and Medicine: From the Ice Age to the Genome Project and it was written by Michael Kennedy. This edition of A Brief History of Disease, Science and Medicine: From the Ice Age to the Genome Project is in a Hardcover format. This books publish date is January 2004 and it has a suggested retail price of $. There are 528 pages in the book and it was published by Writers' Collective. The 10 digit ISBN is 1932133593 and the 13 digit ISBN is 9781932133592. For the most current lowest price, Click Here.