Bilharzia: A History of Imperial Tropical Medicine (Cambridge Studies in the History of Medicine) |
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Author:
John Farley
By Cambridge University Press
Average Customer Rating: 
List Price: $50.00
Our Price: $46.71
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Product Description
The advent of tropical medicine was a direct consequence of European and American imperialism, when military personnel, colonial administrators, businessmen, and settlers encountered a new set of diseases endemic to the tropics. Professor Farley describes how governments and organizations in Britain, the British colonies, the United States, Central and South America, South Africa, China, and the World Health Organization faced one particular tropical disease, bilharzia or schistosomiasis. Bilharzia is caused by a species of blood vessel-inhabiting parasitic worms and today afflicts over 200 million people in seventy-four countries. Author Farley demonstrates that British and American imperial policies and attitudes largely determined the nature of tropical medicine. Western medical practitioners defined the type of medical system that was imposed on the indigenous populations; they dictated which diseases were important and worthy of study, which diseases were to be controlled, and which control methods were to be used. Historians, historians of medicine, parasitologists, and experts in tropical medicine will find this a fascinating study.
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Quite good introduction to the history of imperial medicine., 1998-09-02
Farley's book is a really enjoyable one. It is well structured and clearly set even for readers with no special medical background. He only rarely goes into details of microbiology or other, not strctly historcal field. It is a really well balanced piece of work. I especially enjoyed it since it gave a rather broad introduction to imperial medicine which cannot always be found in works dealing with the history of certain tropical illnesses (eg. Harrison's Malaria). The slight problem I had was perhaps that in some cases the overview of the medical historical background became a real overview while in other cases it seemed a lot more professional, a lot broader. I can recommend it for historians of the period especially that I have found no review of the book in related journals (eg. Journal of African History).
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 610
EAN: 9780521530606
ISBN: 0521530601
Label: Cambridge University Press
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 372
Publication Date: 2003-12-11
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Studio: Cambridge University Press |
