The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity (The Norton History of Science) by Roy Porter (PDF)

Description

Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize “A panoramic and perfectly magnificent intellectual history of medicine…This is the book that delivers it all.” ―Sherwin Nuland, author of How We DieHailed as “a remarkable achievement” (Boston Globe) and as “a triumph: simultaneously entertaining and instructive, witty and thought-provoking…a splendid and thoroughly engrossing book” (Los Angeles Times), Roy Porter’s charting of the history of medicine affords us an opportunity as never before to assess its culture and science and its costs and benefits to mankind. Porter explores medicine’s evolution against the backdrop of the wider religious, scientific, philosophical, and political beliefs of the culture in which it develops, covering ground from the diseases of the hunter-gatherers to the more recent threats of AIDS and Ebola, from the clearly defined conviction of the Hippocratic oath to the muddy ethical dilemmas of modern-day medicine. Offering up a treasure trove of historical surprises along the way, this book “has instantly become the standard single-volume work in its field” (The Lancet). 24 pages of b/w illustrations

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “[Porter’s] perceptiveness is, as usual, scalpel-sharp; his manner genially bedside; his erudition invigorating.” ― Simon Schama”To combine enormous knowledge with a delightful style and a highly idiosyncratic point of view is Roy Porter’s special gift, and it makes [this] book…alive and fascinating and provocative on every page.” ― Oliver Sacks, M.D.”A learned, lively history of medicine…merits a broad lay readership in addition to med students.” ― Kirkus Reviews”Porter’s magisterial chronicle of medical thinking and practice deserves the popularity of his bestselling London: A Social History…Written with storytelling flair and erudition, this study will be of interest to laypersons and professionals alike.” ― Publishers Weekly About the Author Roy Porter (1946―2002) was professor of the history of medicine at University College, London. His books include Blood and Guts, The Creation of the Modern World, Flesh in the Age of Reason, and The Greatest Benefit to Mankind, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Award.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Very Graphic, but that’s how medicine was, long read.

⭐There are happily a good many excellent historians of medicine, as reviewing the few good journals will bear out. But regrettably few have tried to take on the monumental task of reviewing it all, at one fell swoop. Small wonder. It risks considerable criticism and contumely, from dolts who can’t stay engaged beyond a hundred pages to those whose fertile yet unseeded minds carp at the products of others. This serves well as a course text, and not solely for its linearity and comprehensiveness; but also for its 1) unique organization, into recurring cycles on disciplines (focused on the mental disorders, on surgery, in one era, then again in another era); and 2) for Porter’s willingness to wade into the swamp of opinion. It’s not just about what happened. It’s also about what will happen, and Porter’s capacity to have foretold many of the rising controversies in systems of health care is a great tool for showing medical students how to examine and criticize trends. They don’t have to agree with his projections, to be able to admire the number of economic and cultural considerations Porter brings into them. I want thoughtful doctors at the end of their educations, not opinionated ones. Lovely, good-humored prose such as Porter’s engages them, the evolutions described encourage them, and his clear descriptions enrich the basis for their professional commitment. Criticisms: noted by previous critics, the phtos/illustrations were unfortunately condensed by the publisher into small sections; and Porter’s social medical passion at times erupts and exposes him to charges of bias. But I don’t know that he misrepresents opinion as fact, at any point, and his data sourcing is very good. My high rating reflects admiration for the combination of ambition, scope, accuracy, and readability, realizing that the perfect history-of-medicine text has yet to be written. This is quite fine, while awaiting a successor to Roy Porter.

⭐I really enjoyed this book. it sketches out the broad trends of the medical institution in an engaging way. This did not feel like a history textbook but rather as a grand narrative of humanity quest to defeat disease.As someone who works within the medical field, I feel like this book has inspired me to look past the challenges of modern medicine and continue to find better solutions.

⭐A more complete general medical history I could not ask for! It amazes me how much information is packed into this tome, and any healthcare professional or medical historian would benefit from reading this book. The one downside is that, due to the breadth of this work, it often passes over interesting stories so as to continue along with the progression of medical history. However, an exhaustive list of additional works is included in the back in order to seek out and expand one’s depth of knowledge about the history of medicine. This work will give you a very complete understanding of the overall arc of medicine, from ancient to modern times!

⭐Let’s be honest, most of the people go to become a medical doctor because they want to secure their expensive lively hood.And it takes many years of grinding at the school. And some adopt the profession because they are greedy to make money.If you are greedy in other profession, it may not hurt other humans that much but in medical field it becomes matter of life and death. Just imagine doctor refuses to see a sick patient because he or she can not afford to pay doctor’s high fee for fifteen minutes of his/her time…I hope, this books gives better perspective to those medical student to remember their basic commitment to mankind.

⭐I purchased the Kindle version. However, after reading just 12% of the digitalized book I gave up and threw in the towel. The Kindle version is riddled with spelling, punctuation and other grammatical errors. I found close to 100 errors involving misspelled words, missing words, missing or misplaced punctuation, etc. in the first 12% of the digitalized text that degraded what should have been a pleasurable and informative reading experience into a total pain in the keister. It’s obviously not the author’s fault. Whoever scanned the book for Kindle (Amazon? Publisher?) apparently made no effort whatsoever to proofread the digital text. I am very disappointed. I have purchased about 200 books for my Kindle, and periodically while reading I come across a misspelled or missing word, or some other grammatical error. But the errors I found in this text are beyond the pale. Shame on Amazon. And shame on the publisher of this digitalized book for not doing their job and ensuring that a properly proofed text was offered online.

⭐This wonderful book by Roy Porter is simply the best available history of medicine. It is long and detailed, as befits a huge topic. It is Eurocentric, as is most of modern medicine. It stresses the scientific origins of the development of modern medicine.While doing all of these things, it remains a very readable book. Porter’s writing style is lucid and at times entertaining — quite welcome attributes in a tome on the history of medicine.Having waded through other histories of medicine, I believe this is the best. And the paperback version is a wonderful bargain!

⭐Anyone else death i am yours nothing else can stop you thank you death ford doing your job no one else

⭐The late professor Roy Porter wrote Medical History like none of his peers.This 850 pages book was his best and in it he poured all his wisdom to tell the full history of medicine.It can be a rather dry subject to read by Mr Porter added a nice human touch to every story making it more interesting.It covers from ancient history to moderm times ( early XXI century ) makes emphasis on the discoveries of the XIX century.This volume will appeal to everyone ,even those without a medical background.

⭐I’ve just started to read this, it was bought as necessary for my OU module on the History of Medicine. So far, I have found it easy to read and comprehend and would recommend it to other students or anyone with an interest in this subject.I bought this book second hand and was very impressed with Fleet Bargain Books. The book arrived in good time, packaged well and was in the condition I expected.

⭐how couldn’t I like a book that is titled for me!the book has an easy to read, pick up and put down style, full of interesting facts and data. It’s amazing how fast we have progressed in the field of health care over the last 60 years alone!I originally bought the book for an essay for uni, but have since read it a couple more times I’ve enjoyed it that much

⭐It is so easy in our century to take the exceptional standard medicine for granted. This book traces the history of medicine exploring the good the bad of early medicine that we have much to be thankful for. Any one with an interest in medicine good health or just simply curious would find this book insightful. Any student engaged either in area of medicine may benefit from ist content.

⭐This book contains much of what has already been written by others, yet presents no new perspectives that would make such an undertaking worthwhile. It also lack the kinds of details needed to bring history to life, instead largely focusing on the chronology of events, dates and all the old names.

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