Features
- Cover Type: Paperback with 304 pages
- Published by: Basic Books October 1, 1989
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0465032044
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0465032044
-
Book Dimensions:
8 x 5 x 0.7 inches
- Weighs: 10.4 ounces
From Publishers Weekly
A psychiatrist at
Harvard Medical School, Kleinman vitalizes his book with quotations from patients and members of the healing professions. This is a scholarly study but accessible to a lay audience. Writing of "suffering, healing and the human condition," the author observes the dichotomy between technological advances in medicine and the actual treatment of the ill, handicapped and dying. Profoundly moving reports illuminate the deprived lives of social outcasts, shunned and stigmatized, whose requirements are not met by the medical community. There are also instructive descriptions of how an empathetic doctor can help "humans" (not cases) to regain health or, in extremis, die a "good death." Kleinman argues persuasively the need to reform today's medical-care system to more fully serve humanity.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Kleinman, a psychiatrist at
Harvard Medical School, pleads for doctors to consider psychological and social aspects of chronic illness along with the medical aspects. He points out a need for change in the education of physicians to reflect this broader view, also expressed by Melvin Konner in Becoming a Doctor ( LJ 9/1/87). He presents case histories to illustrate the differing reactions of patients to their illnesses. A distinctive feature is a comparison of patients in the United States and China, making the effect of social elements on illness graphically clear. Recommended for the public and health care professionals. Anne Twitchell, EPA Headquarters Lib., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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