Overview

Originally published in 1984, and now reissued with a new Preface, this was the first systematic and evaluative investigation of the holistic health movement – the first to put its contribution and limitations in both historical and current perspectives. The book answers two essential questions: how do alternative medicines challenge the tenets of conventional scientific medicine; and could a synthesis of these alternative medicines and scientific medicine lead to a reformulation of conceptions of healing? A historical survey of medical care up to the use of scientific medicine in the 19th and 20th Centuries is followed by chapters on different traditions of alternative medicine: homeopathy, chiropractic, non-medical and spiritual healing, oriental medicine and self-care. Each considers the historical roots and development of the particular alternative medicine; describes its principles and how they relate to mainstream medicine. The concluding chapter considers social policy implications and political issues.

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9781032279879

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Reviews

'Burton writes in a lucid, straightforward style.' Mary Gyarfas, Social Science Review

Author Information

J. Warren Salmon was Professor of Health Policy and Administration, University of Illinois, Chicago, USA. He is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal Hospital Administration and Health Care.

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