Divide and Conquer: A Comparative History of Medical Specialization - Hardcover

Weisz, George

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195179692 ISBN 13: 9780195179699

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2005

Synopsis

This wide-ranging book is the first to examine one of the most significant and characteristic features of modern medicine - specialization - in historical and comparative context. Based on research in three languages, it traces the origins of modern medical specialization to 1830s Paris and examines its spread to Germany, Britain, and the US, showing how it evolved from an outgrowth of academic teaching and research in the 19th century into the dominant mode of medical practice by the middle of the 20th. Taking account of the parallels and differences in national developments, the book shows the international links among the nations' medical systems as well as the independent influences of local political and social conditions in the move toward specialization. An epilogue takes the story up to the twenty-first century, where problems of specialization merge into the larger crisis of health care which affects most western nations today.

About this title

Review:

Without exaggeration, it can be said that this rich book is an important landmark and will becomes a standard reference in historical research and curriculum. Weisz's book is an exemplar of analytical description and historical argument, and it is richly speckled with examples. Divide and Conquer reveals rich, uncharted territory. It is a great pleasure to read, evocative, and splendidly detailed. (Medical History, Vol 50)

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0195179692
• ISBN 13: 9780195179699
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 392