Owsei Temkin

Over the course of a career spanning most of the twentieth century, distinguished historian Owsei Temkin has argued passionately for the necessity of chronicling and analyzing the history of medicine. The essays presented in this book span Dr. Temkin's career, bringing together new pieces and many previously unavailable outside the journals in which they were originally published. Here the reader will find new thoughts and ideas that deviate from Dr. Temkin's earlier beliefs and reflect a lifetime of research into the historical and ethical foundations of modern medicine.

Preeminent historian of medicine Owsei Temkin has brought to his writing over the past 40 years an awesome range of scholarship. The essays gathered in this volume deal with all the topics that he considers most important in his work. They have been widely commended for their originality, intelligent analysis, and impressive continuity of thought. The essays deal with the history of basic medical sciences, of health and disease, and of surgery and drug therapy, as well as with general questions concerning the historical and philosophical approach to medicine from antiquity to the early twentieth century. -- from Book Jacket.