Editions Rodopi

British military and naval medicine; 1600-1830.

This collection of essays covers a broad spectrum of topics within the history of British military and naval medicine. In his introduction to the volume, contributor and editor Hudson notes "... the volume highlights the value of challenging the inherited notion that military medicine was in all respects `a good thing' for medicine and society." In addition to examining the history of military and naval medicine, the collection explores how those branch of medicine were part of a wider social, economic, cultural, and political framework. The essays also illuminate the need for further study in the field. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

A cheap, safe and natural medicine; religion, medicine and culture in John Wesley's Primitive physic.

John Wesley is known to most as the charismatic founder of the Methodist religion. It is largely forgotten that he was the author of popular books on science and medicine. Madden (theology, Oxford University) examines Wesley's Primitive Physic in the context of Enlightenment thought and Wesley's own deep religious convictions. She feels that Wesley was a child of his times and that his medical recommendations reflect this. He urged readers to use simple, tried and true remedies, many of which, like eating bread with bran in it, have become popular again today. His rules for preventing illness include eating less, exercising and drinking little or no alcohol. Madden shows that his "reasonable" attitude to medicine was guided by his faith and belief that a return to the primitive church and to the remedies God has provided would result in a much-improved world. An interesting sidelight into a rarely studied aspect of Wesley's make up. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Control and the therapeutic trial; rhetoric and experimentation in Britain, 1918-48.

The early twentieth century prominently featured an array of drugs which would astound even the most hedonistic and recreational user of today. Further, many of the medicines then available were completely unproved and an alarming number were actually deadly. Edwards, a physician, historian and clinical researcher, traces the development of the randomized controlled trial, now the gold standard but in its origins a wild and dangerous idea that challenged the very concept of "control." Edwards describes early trials and the controversy surrounding them, the fates of such trials as the evaluation of raw pancreas therapy and light therapy, the controversies of serum therapy for pneumonia from 1929 to 1934, the strategies of Almroth Wright and Bradford Hill to capture the nomenclature of controlled trials, and in a fascinating conclusion, what is controlled about the current controlled trial. The period photographs and illustrations are well-chosen. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Discovering patterns in mathematics and poetry.

Long-time collaborators Birken (emeritus, mathematics) and Coon (English, both: Rochester Institute of Technology, New York) team up yet again to explain how both of their fields are based on patterns. After explaining what patterns are and how to look for them, they explore them in counting and mathematics, rhythm and rhyme, ideas, shapes, symmetry, fractals, and in the mind. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)