Incurable and Intolerable: Chronic Disease and Slow Death in Nineteenth-Century France - Hardcover

Szabo, Jason

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0813545455 ISBN 13: 9780813545455

Publisher: Rutgers University Press, 2009

Synopsis

Terminal illness and the pain and anguish it brings are experiences that have touched millions of people in the past and continue to shape our experience of the present. Hospital machines that artificially support life and monitor vital signs beg the question: Is there not anything that medical science can offer as solace?

Incurable and Intolerable looks at the history of incurable illness from a variety of perspectives, including those of doctors, patients, families, religious counsel, and policy makers. This compellingly documented and well-written history illuminates the physical, emotional, social, and existential consequences of chronic disease and terminal illness, and offers an original look at the world of palliative medicine, politics, religion, and charity. Revealing the ways in which history can shed new light on contemporary thinking, Jason Szabo encourages a more careful scrutiny of today's attitudes, policies, and practices surrounding "imminent death" and its effects on society.

About this title

About the Author

JASON SZABO is a medical doctor and historian involved in AIDS care and clinical research at MontrTal General Hospital. He has pursued postgraduate studies in history at McGill University and a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University.

Edition details

• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0813545455
• ISBN 13: 9780813545455
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 310