The History of Medicine

By: Mark Jackson

Narrated by: Tom Alexander

As scientists confidently look forward to average life expectancies hitting 100+ years in some Western societies, it’s easy to forget how precarious our grasp on good health has been. It is a struggle no better demonstrated than by the myriad and extraordinary measures that humans have gone to – as diverse as animal sacrifice to stem cell transplants – in their quest to stave off death and disease.

Acclaimed historian Mark Jackson takes a fresh global view of mankind’s great battle, exploring both Western and Eastern traditions. Examining ancient right through to modern approaches to health and illness, Jackson presents the orthodox and alternative practices and key turning points – sometimes for good and sometimes not – that determined how different cultures tackled disease. The result is a fascinating survey of the complex ways in which medicine and society have shaped one another throughout the ages.

©2014 Mark Jackson (P)2024 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

'Jackson has transformed the way we understand the theory and practice of medicine. This is global history at its most sophisticated.' (Joanna Bourke, Professor of History at Birkbeck, University of London)

'The very best one volume history of health and illness available.' (Sander Gilman, Professor of Liberal Art and Sciences at Emory University)