A learned, lively history of medicine “from Stone Age to New Age, from Galen to Gallo.— Unable to find a modern, readable, one-volume history of medicine for his students, Porter (A Social History of Madness, 1988, etc.), of London’s Wellcome Institute for the History of Science, has filled that gap admirably with this fascinating survey of medical theory and practice through the centuries. While he looks at medicine in early societies, and Islamic, Indian, and Chinese medicine, his focus is on Western medicine, which he finds uniquely powerful and now uniquely global. He explores its foundations in ancient Greece and Rome, the impact of the new science of the Renaissance, and the initial failure of biomedical findings to deliver effective new therapies. The accomplishments of individuals are here—Harvey, Koch, Pasteur, Lister, Freud., etc.—but Porter does not tell history simply through great men. The influence of French hospitals on medical education; how German laboratories created a new pathology, physiology, and pharmacology; the development of specialization; public health measures; medicine’s role in the expansion of imperial powers—all are included. In stylish prose, he paints a panoramic picture filled with memorable anecdotes, apt quotes, startling statistics, and sobering conclusions. At intervals he returns to specific topics, such as treatment of the insane, to demonstrate the shifts taking place in both social attitudes and medical practice. Approaching modern times, Porter reports on the great strides made in biomedical research, paying special attention to neurology, endocrinology, cancer, cardiology, genetics, and immunology. In his closing chapters, he turns to the politics of contemporary medicine, examining the changing relationship between the state and medicine and between medicine and the people. Never before, he notes, has medicine achieved so much nor attracted such great suspicion. With its triumphs “dissolving in disorientation,” medicine, warns Porter, must now redefine its limits. Thoroughly impressive—merits a broad lay readership in addition to med students. (40 illustrations)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-393-04634-6
Page Count: 800
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1998
Burdick adds to his homey oeuvre (French Cooking en Famille, not reviewed) with this collection of warm, filling meals. Okay, some of them do not exactly qualify as stews per se (Burdick's own definition of a stew as ``any dish in which solids are slowly simmered in liquid until they are tender'' is debatable). But who could argue against the inclusion of Swordfish Steaks Provenáale, which are braised in a mixture that contains almost every imaginable flavor—from capers to red wine to olives—but somehow manages to combine them into an earthy sauce with great depth? Recipes are divided by contents (beef, seafood, etc.), but not all the vegetable stews are vegetarian, since they—and many other dishes—use ham or bacon for seasoning. An exception is the outstanding Greek-style Lima Bean Stew infused with the flavor of sautÇed vegetables. Dishes are international in origin, and Burdick provides healthy-sized headnotes that are full of tips and draw on his own personal eating experiences, from his first visit to the city of Nice to his acquaintance with a former slave named Aunt Harriet. Despite Burdick's claim that he has attempted to reduce the fat in these recipes whenever possible, he occasionally has a heavy hand with butter and cream, as in a delicious stewed fruit compote that is dotted with an entire stick of butter before being baked under a custard. Still, with recipes this inspired, all is forgiven. Sumptuous antidotes to winter, but you'll crave them year- round. (Book-of-the-Month Club selection)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-449-90545-4
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1994
Criscuolo, owner since 1975 of a vegetarian restaurant in New Haven, Conn., has waited too long to put out this cookbook, and that is both compliment and criticism. Criscuolo herself notes in an introduction that while Middle Eastern and Mexican foods were mostly unknown when she began serving them, ``now they're on menus everywhere.'' Exactly—and they're in cookbooks everywhere, too. However, this collection does offer solid recipes for some vegetarian favorites, and Criscuolo takes a pleasant tone: friendly and never condescending (``A good store bought pastry is fine,'' she writes reassuringly in a recipe for escarole pie). While one chapter is devoted to Mexican specialties, the strongest influence here is Italian, thanks to Criscuolo's roots on New Haven's Wooster Street—an Italian-American neighborhood—and her mother, who ``always had a pot of soup going.'' Soups and baked goods are particularly strong. A chapter on the former includes myriad creative vegetable and bean soups, including a spicy pasta-and-bean soup with a porridge-like consistency. A section on breakfast provides several good muffin options, like surprisingly moist bran- apple muffins (Criscuolo does not eschew refined sugar and white flour, so the muffins have no heavy health-food feel). Occasionally, it becomes obvious that these recipes were developed in a restaurant and not in a home kitchen. When fried over medium- low heat in a scanty half cup of oil as instructed, the zesty batter for zucchini fritters turned mushy on the outside and remained raw on the inside. On an industrial stove, results would likely have been crispier. Nostalgia food for aging hippies and homesick Yalies.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-452-27176-2
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Plume
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1994
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
