The People's Health: A Memoir of Public Health and Its Evolution at Harvard [Hardcover]

Robin Marantz Henig (Author), A Joseph Henry Press book (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0309054923 | ISBN-13: 978-0309054928 | Publication Date: November 4, 1996

In "The People's Health", author Robin Marantz Henig brings to life the compelling story of the successes and setbacks of public health. This engaging book documents the expansion of public health from a search for microbes to a global effort to secure a healthful environment - from physician John Snow's breakthrough in cholera prevention in mid-nineteenth-century Britain to the public health crisis emerging today from the war in Bosnia. Henig explores the multiple perspectives from which public health must be viewed - well illustrated by the medical, behavioral, and social aspects of AIDS. In telling the stories of the wars on malaria, polio, and other diseases, she describes the machinery of public health and highlights the detective work of the early searches for pathogens. Since mid-century, most disease has related not to epidemics but to personal choices about smoking and eating that can lead to heart disease and cancer.Henig looks at the groundbreaking Framingham Heart Study, running nearly 50 years, from which emerged the concept of risk factors for disease. "The People's Health" discusses the link between health and human rights - for example, how legal and cultural practices force many African women into unprotected sex with HIV-infected husbands. The subtext of "The People's Health" is the contribution of the Harvard School of Public Health, direct descendent of the first professional training program for public health in America, where many of the advances of the past half-century originated. Throughout the book, Henig highlights individuals, such as Philip Drinker, who invented the iron lung, and Jonas Salk, who developed the polio vaccine. Also included is the story of Jay Winsten, who, as director of Harvard's Center for Health Communication, imported the designated-driver concept from Sweden and persuaded television's largest production companies to weave it into program plots. A fast-moving overview of humankind's effort to conquer disease and the public health challenges on the horizon, this volume is a "must read" for anyone concerned about public health.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Modern-day public health professionals must often examine much more than the biological and environmental aspects of a problem when conducting an investigation. Health writer Henig (A Dancing Matrix, LJ 2/1/93) examines public health accomplishments over the past 50 years as a means of illustrating how this multifaceted profession has evolved. The author provides brief examples of how many different issues?nutrition, poverty, violence, public education, risk analysis?may be important components of a complete public health examination. Henig concludes with a short discussion of the future of public health and the need for an increasingly interdisciplinary, international approach. This volume is intended as an institutional memoir to the Harvard School of Public Health on the occasion of its 75th anniversary, and while serious researchers will find the coverage lacking in detail, general readers will find a useful introduction to public health issues. Recommended for public libraries.?Tina Neville, Univ. of South Florida at St. Petersburg Lib.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Written to mark the Harvard School of Public Health's seventy-fifth anniversary, Henig's "memoir" perforce looks at some national and international events, for among the school's contributions have been Philip Drinker's work on the iron lung for the treatment of polio and Lisa Berkman's Social Network Indicator, which is used in studying the effects of social isolation. Such accomplishments reflect the worldwide struggle against infectious diseases and their transmission in which the school has played a major role. Among the most interesting current studies at the school are theoretical and investigative efforts to discover causes and possible treatments for what is styled the growing epidemic of violence. Throughout the clear and informative text, Henig underlines, directly and indirectly, the differences between public health and medicine, quoting, for instance, the American Public Health Association director who stated that "medicine can cure you, but public health will keep you well." A portrayal of public health as the exciting, scientifically oriented, and effective field that it is. William Beatty

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Joseph Henry Press (November 4, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0309054923
• ISBN-13: 978-0309054928
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,249,575 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars The incredible history of public health, December 27, 2007

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This review is from: The People's Health: A Memoir of Public Health and Its Evolution at Harvard (Hardcover)

Nicely written, easy and enjoyable reading. Amazing information, very interesting. If you are looking into a public health career, or wonder about the history of logevity, medicine, higiene, or nutrition, this is a great start. A beautiful tribute to those who made our lives so easy, healthy and enjoyable.