 Author Name: Weissmann, Gerald
Title: Democracy and DNA: American Dreams and Medical Progress
Book Condition: Like New.
ISBN Number: 0809093057 / 9780809093052
Seller ID: 0620L794728
Hardcover. Stated 1st edition hardcover with dustjacket 1995 Hill and Wang. Superclean; no marks; pages bright; binding tight. Gift-giving condition. 263pp, Index, Sources. Language: English. 'In the 15 essays of this collection, Weissmann ranges from Oliver Wendell Holmes to Lewis Thomas, among his fellow writer-physicians, as he traces George Eliot's spirit of meliorism (i.e., making the world better by doing good) from the abolitionists and reformers of the 19th century to the broad-minded molecular biologists of the 20th. The journey is a pleasant one, thanks to Weissmann's delightful style and wide-ranging knowledge. Particular essays deal with such topics as Holmes and puerperal fever, Olmsted and the sanitarians who developed New York's Central Park for the sake of better public health, and Thomas' dual dedication to scientific research and literate communication of medicine's role in society. Among those making unexpected but relevant appearances are Katherine Lee Bates (composer of America, the Beautiful) and Alice James, whose long and literary journal cleared some of the neurotic clouds from neurological disease. Although the spirit emanating from this collection is mostly optimistic, Weissmann admits that, despite all of medicine's progress, it still has a long way to go.'-- William Beatty, Booklist.
Price =
20.00 USD |
