Nature Cures: The History of Alternative Medicine in America [Paperback]

James C. Whorton (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195171624 | ISBN-13: 978-0195171624 | Publication Date: May 6, 2004

From reflexology and rolfing to shiatsu and dream work, we are confronted today by a welter of alternative medical therapies. But as James Whorton shows in Nature Cures, the recent explosion in alternative medicine actually reflects two centuries of competition and conflict between mainstream medicine and numerous unorthodox systems.
This is the first comprehensive history of alternative medicine in America, examining the major systems that have emerged from 1800 to the present. Writing with wit and with fairness to all sides, Whorton offers a fascinating look at alternative health systems such as homeopathy, water cures, Mesmerism, Christian Science, osteopathy, chiropractic, naturopathy, and acupuncture. He highlights the birth and growth of each system (including European roots where appropriate) and vividly describes both the theories and the therapies developed within each system, including such dubious practices as hour-long walks barefoot in snow or Samuel Thompson's "puking and steaming" regimen. In particular, Whorton illuminates the philosophy of "natural healing" that has been espoused by alternative practitioners throughout history and the distinctive interpretations of "nature cure" developed by the different systems. Though he doesn't hesitate to point out the failings of these systems, he also shows that some "cult medicines" have eventually won recognition from practitioners of mainstream medicine.
Throughout, Whorton writes with a light touch and quotes from contemporary humorists such as Mark Twain. His book is an engaging and authoritative history that highlights the course of alternative medicine in the U.S., providing valuable background to the wide range of therapies available today.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Thorough, enjoyable, and rigorous, this study documents the major "unconventional" healing movements of 19th- and 20th-century America. Whorton (history of medicine, Univ. of Washington) traces the origins and influences of Thomsonianism, homeopathy, mesmerism, Christian Science, osteopathy, chiropractic, naturopathy, and acupuncture, briefly discussing therapeutic touch, visualization, and prayer as well. The author also examines the rancorous history of medical licensing in the United States and leaves the reader with a sense that 21st-century healthcare will allow for a more conciliatory system of integrative medicine. He focuses on organized healing traditions and therefore does not examine the recent trend toward mass-market teas, supplements, herbal remedies, and other now-routine household therapies. This book fills a large gap left since the publication of Norman Gevitz's 1988 collection of essays, Other Healers: Unorthodox Medicine in America. Highly recommended for academic and public libraries.
Andy Wickens, King Cty. Lib. Syst., Seattle
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From The New England Journal of Medicine

One of the bits of doggerel that James Whorton missed as he tracked the course of vis medicatrix naturae over the past two centuries came from the prolix pen of Oliver Wendell Holmes (from "The Morning Visit"): Of all the ills that suffering man endures, The largest fraction liberal Nature cures. None knew this better than Holmes's contemporary "irregular" practitioners of the healing art, some of whose theories Holmes demolished with overkill in "Homeopathy and Its Kindred Delusions" (Boston: Ticknor, 1842). The first third of James Whorton's history is devoted to the heyday of alternative medicine in the 19th century, a time when homeopathy, hydropathy, neuropathy, and magnetism were preferable to the mercury purges and bleeding of traditional medicine. In spite of their crack-brained theories, however, the so-called irregulars were ahead of the traditionalists in some ways: they welcomed women into their fold, they emphasized prevention, and they promoted sex education. Those physicians, who, like Holmes, abhorred the heroic "cures" of traditionalists were reduced to a therapeutic nihilism that militated against any placebo effect. None of this is new information, but Dr. Whorton has performed a service by bringing it all together in one place and in relation to the times. He is well prepared for the task, having written two previous books that cover the same period in different contexts. For the present book, in addition to many other sources, he has combed the files of 96 journals, including well-established medical journals, organs of current alternative therapies, and those of historical interest, such as the Kneipp Water Cure Monthly. The object of Nature Cures "is to provide a perspective on the past that will serve health professionals of all affiliations in their interactions today." This Whorton does well. Elsewhere he states that "questions of efficacy cannot be answered by an historian." This is fair enough, but it opens up a gray area where Whorton's selective reporting can be criticized. However, in general he tries not to take sides. The book is easy to read and is sprinkled with amusing doggerel and wisecracks from Mark Twain, H.L. Mencken, and others. Readers may be surprised to learn that many folk maxims derive from the theories of 19th-century alternative medicine: "Starve a fever, feed a cold"; "An apple a day keeps the doctor away"; "Eight glasses of water and a bowel movement every day." Although the book is subtitled "The History of Alternative Medicine in America," the author has wisely chosen to limit himself to what Kaptchuk and Eisenberg describe as those in the "professional system . . . medical movements with distinct theories, practices and institutions" ("Varieties of Healing." Annals of Internal Medicine 2001;135:196-204). To the big four -- chiropractic, acupuncture, homeopathy, and naturopathy -- Whorton has added osteopathy (now part of mainstream medicine) and Christian Science. Other alternative therapies run into the hundreds, cover the gamut from megavitamins to Reiki (which is touched on briefly in the final chapters), and include folk and ethnic medicines; a comprehensive history would require several more books. The second third of the book deals with drugless therapy in the early 20th century. This was a time when surgeons were performing miracles; the germ theory of disease was accepted, yet there were still few effective pharmaceuticals. It was also a period of bitter conflict between the regulars and the irregulars, when the former -- reacting to the Flexner report (Medical Education in the United States and Canada. New York: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1910) -- began to clean their own house and reestablish the state licensing laws that Jacksonian democracy had done away with. Each side levied extravagant insults against the other. The third part of the book, "The Late Twentieth Century: Holistic Healing," may be the most challenging and, as already hinted, the most contentious. The last survey by Eisenberg and colleagues is five years old ("Trends in Alternative Medicine Use in the United States, 1990-1997." Journal of the American Medical Association 1998;280:1569-1575), and change occurs almost as rapidly in the field of alternative medicine as in traditional biomedicine. From 1962 to 1993, the Index Medicus grouped journal entries under the heading "Therapeutic Cults"; from 1994 to 2001, the heading was "Alternative Medicine"; by 2002, it had become "Complementary Therapies." Whorton describes how, when, and why these changes came about. Acupuncture enters the picture boosted by James Reston's experience in China; osteopaths and their schools are absorbed into mainstream medicine; chiropractors are licensed and accepted under Medicare. Senators Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) succeed in dragging the National Institutes of Health (NIH) unwillingly into the picture. The NIH has struggled without much success for the past 10 years to justify alternative therapies scientifically. Readers who are not familiar with the earlier history will profit from and enjoy this introduction to it. The conclusion of the book will appeal to all thoughtful readers, whether or not they are history buffs. It includes the seven principles adopted by the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians to govern naturopathic practice: "Respect for the healing power of nature; avoidance of harm to the patient; concentration on the underlying causes of illness rather than treatment of its symptoms; regard for the patient as a whole person; emphasis on prevention; promotion of wellness; the healer should be a teacher." These principles, well enunciated by George Engel many years ago ("The Need for a New Medical Model." Science 1977;196:129-136), are probably taught, to a variable extent, in most medical schools. However, they require the healer to spend time with a patient and to listen. It is one of the more striking paradoxes of our health care system that practitioners of alternative medicine can be paid for applying these principles, whereas orthodox practitioners are pushed to ignore them by those who control the purse strings. Alfred Yankauer, M.D.
Copyright © 2003 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. The New England Journal of Medicine is a registered trademark of the MMS. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (May 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195171624
• ISBN-13: 978-0195171624
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #389,546 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Presents the history of alternative medicine in America, December 7, 2002

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nature Cures: The History of Alternative Medicine in America (Hardcover)

Nature Cures presents the history of alternative medicine in America, showing that the recent rise of alternative medicine actually reflects two centuries of competition between mainstream medicine and unorthodox systems. In providing a running history of alternative medicine, author James Whorton enables readers to analyze the progress, successes and failures of both traditional and alternative treatments.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nature Cures: The History of Alternative Medicine in America, August 10, 2009

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D. Timothy Mccoy - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nature Cures: The History of Alternative Medicine in America (Hardcover)

The value of this book to me is the historical context of the sometime strained relationship between natural medicine and "western medicine". History indeed repeats itself. Natural, alternative medicine grew out of a disenchantment with traditional medicine. As today, people began searching for answers other than what they were receiving from their doctors. The stories are informative and illuminating and really help one understand the chasm between the two worlds. I have not completed the book so I am simply at the stage of understanding the problem. I hope the book offers some type of solution that allows these polarized sides with similar hope for outcomes to work together on what might get us out of the healthcare crisis we are currently in.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great price, October 3, 2010

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Cool Shaw - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nature Cures: The History of Alternative Medicine in America (Paperback)

The book was just what I needed, not in bad shape, and for a great price. Thank you!