Mankind's battle to stay alive is the greatest of all subjects. This brief, witty and unusual book by Britain's greatest medical historian compresses into a tiny span a lifetime spent thinking about millennia of human ingenuity in the quest to cheat death. Each chapter sums up one of these battlefields (surgery, doctors, disease, hospitals, laboratories and the human body) in a way that is both frightening and elating. Startlingly illustrated, A SHORT HISTORY OF MEDICINE is the ideal presentfor anyone who is keenly aware of their own mortality and wants to do something about it. It is also a wonderful memorial to one of Penguin's greatest historians.

Roy Porter's book, "Enlightenment", won a 2001 Wolfson Prize.

About the Author
Roy Porter was until his retirement Professor in the Social History of Medicine at the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine. He last book ENLIGHTENMENT won a 2001 Wolfson Prize. Roy Porter died March 3rd 2002.

Reviews
'Nobody will be able to put down this short history of medicine... without counting their blessings. Never have I read a book which made me so glad not to have been born before the mid-20th century.' Daily Mail



Book Information
ISBN 9780141010649
Author Roy Porter
Format Paperback
Page Count 224
Imprint Penguin Books Ltd
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 211g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 16mm