Civilization and Disease - (Messenger Lectures) 2nd Edition by Henry E Sigerist (Paperback)

About the Book

Originally published in 1943, Civilization and Disease was based on a series of lectures that the medical historian Henry E. Sigerist delivered at Cornell University in 1940. Now back in print, the book is a wide-ranging account of the importance of social factors on health and illness and the impact that disease has had on societies throughout...

Book Synopsis

Originally published in 1943, Civilization and Disease was based on a series of lectures that the medical historian Henry E. Sigerist delivered at Cornell University in 1940. Now back in print, the book is a wide-ranging account of the importance of social factors on health and illness and the impact that disease has had on societies throughout human history. Despite considerable advances in both medicine and historiography, Civilization and Disease remains a landmark work in the history of medicine and a fascinating look at, first, civilization as a factor in the genesis and spread of disease, and second, the effects of disease on such aspects of civilization as economics, social life, law, philosophy, religion, science, and the arts. In a new foreword written for this edition, Elizabeth Fee outlines Sigerist's life, works, and legacy as a historian, a teacher, and an advocate for universal health care, hailing Civilization and Disease as "an excellent introduction to Sigerist's work."

Review Quotes

Civilization and Disease compellingly relates developments in medicine to economics, social life, the law and religion, and also to philosophy, literature and even music.

-- "Times Higher Education"

A thoroughly readable book in one of the most fascinating fields in human history.... Sigerist treats his rich material with admirable organization and selection, and writes clearly, urbanely, and unpretentiously.

-- "Chicago Sun"

It is a far cry from the Black Death to women's corsets, but Sigerist gets both into the compass of his book. It is a fascinating story, told with rare skill.

-- "Montreal Daily Star"

Sigerist examines with deep comprehension and admirable erudition which conditions have been and are favorable and which detrimental to the health of the individuals and the community. In each chapter, we find a fascinating survey of historical facts and a clear summary of the conclusion.

-- "American Historical Review"

Sigerist makes clear, most interestingly and impressively, the great importance of social factors in health and in disease. The social activity which we call civilization is illuminatingly discussed through the adverse effects which its malfunctioning has upon the health of the individual.

-- "New York Times"

About the Author

Henry E. Sigerist (1891-1957) was born in Switzerland and received an MD from the University of Zurich. Between 1932 and 1947, he served as Director of the Institute of the History of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. The author of twenty-seven books, including American Medicine (1934), Socialized Medicine in the Soviet Union (1937), and two volumes of A History of Medicine (1951 and 1961), and over 450 articles, Sigerist was also a staunch advocate for "compulsory health insurance" and his research helped to shape Canada's national health care system. Elizabeth Fee is Chief Historian at the National Library of Medicine at the National Institute for Health. Her books include, as coeditor, Making Medical History: The Life and Times of Henry E. Sigerist; AIDS: The Making of a Chronic Disease; and Women Physicians and the Cultures of Medicine; and, as author, Disease and Discovery: A History of the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, 1916-1939.