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Politics & Society » Healthcare

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Healthcare is not simply a question of looking after the health of individuals.  Illness, how they spread and how we deal with the consequences can tell us a lot about society.  The provision of healthcare is also one of the most complex areas of public policy.  We have interviews recommending books on healthcare in all its dimensions.

Arthur Ammann, clinical professor of pediatric immunology at the University of California chooses his best books on HIV/AIDS and puts the fight against that disease it a broader context of fighting epidemics.  Writer and journalist, Seth Mnookin, chooses his best vaccine books and talks about how the science that is behind the fight against any disease is always influenced by a particular social context.  Elad Yom-Tov, who works on health issues at Microsoft Research chooses his best books on health and the internet.  The journalist Johann Hari chooses his best books on the war on drugs and clinical neurophysiologist Suzanne O’Sullivan chooses her best books on psychosomatic illnesses.

On related public policy issues, Dr Thomas Frieden, former director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in the US, talks about public health.  Jonathan Gruber, professor of economics at MIT who advised the Obama administration on healthcare reform, recommends his best books on public finance and the challenges that funding healthcare throws up.  Health economist Austin Frakt talks about the US healthcare reform, how it evolved and what needs to change.

Italian cardiologist, Tato Grasso, discusses medicinal marijuana and its therapeutic uses.

    Arthur Ammann recommends the best books on the HIV/Aids Plague

  • Read
    Arthur Ammann recommends the best books on the HIV/Aids Plague - The Plague by Albert Camus

    1

    The Plague
    by Albert Camus

  • Read
    Arthur Ammann recommends the best books on the HIV/Aids Plague - The Coming Plague by Laurie Garrett

    2

    The Coming Plague
    by Laurie Garrett

  • Read
    Arthur Ammann recommends the best books on the HIV/Aids Plague - And the Band Played on by Randy Shilts

    3

    And the Band Played on
    by Randy Shilts

  • Read
    Arthur Ammann recommends the best books on the HIV/Aids Plague - Plagues and Peoples by William McNeill

    4

    Plagues and Peoples
    by William McNeill

  • Read
    Arthur Ammann recommends the best books on the HIV/Aids Plague - The Invisible Cure: Africa, the West and the Fight Against AIDS by Helen Epstein

    5

    The Invisible Cure: Africa, the West and the Fight Against AIDS
    by Helen Epstein

  • Arthur Ammann recommends the best books on the HIV/Aids Plague - The Plague by Albert Camus
  • Arthur Ammann recommends the best books on the HIV/Aids Plague - The Coming Plague by Laurie Garrett
  • Arthur Ammann recommends the best books on the HIV/Aids Plague - And the Band Played on by Randy Shilts
  • Arthur Ammann recommends the best books on the HIV/Aids Plague - Plagues and Peoples by William McNeill
  • Arthur Ammann recommends the best books on the HIV/Aids Plague - The Invisible Cure: Africa, the West and the Fight Against AIDS by Helen Epstein

Arthur Ammann recommends the best books on the HIV/Aids Plague

When dealing with epidemics, science does not have all the answers and relying on a new miracle drug is not always the solution. We must also learn the lessons of history, argues the veteran doctor of the HIV/Aids epidemic, Arthur Ammann. He picks the best books on ‘plagues.’

Arthur Ammann recommends the best books on the HIV/Aids Plague

    The best books on Psychosomatic Illness, recommended by Suzanne O'Sullivan

  • Read
    The best books on Psychosomatic Illness - Studies in Hysteria by Josef Breuer & Sigmund Freud

    1

    Studies in Hysteria
    by Josef Breuer & Sigmund Freud

  • Read
    The best books on Psychosomatic Illness - Medical Muses: Hysteria in Nineteenth-Century Paris by Asti Hustvedt

    2

    Medical Muses: Hysteria in Nineteenth-Century Paris
    by Asti Hustvedt

  • Read
    The best books on Psychosomatic Illness - The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks

    3

    The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
    by Oliver Sacks

  • Read
    The best books on Psychosomatic Illness - Into the Silent Land: Travels in Neuropsychology by Paul Broks

    4

    Into the Silent Land: Travels in Neuropsychology
    by Paul Broks

  • Read
    The best books on Psychosomatic Illness - The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves by Stephen Grosz

    5

    The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves
    by Stephen Grosz

  • The best books on Psychosomatic Illness - Studies in Hysteria by Josef Breuer & Sigmund Freud
  • The best books on Psychosomatic Illness - Medical Muses: Hysteria in Nineteenth-Century Paris by Asti Hustvedt
  • The best books on Psychosomatic Illness - The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks
  • The best books on Psychosomatic Illness - Into the Silent Land: Travels in Neuropsychology by Paul Broks
  • The best books on Psychosomatic Illness - The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves by Stephen Grosz

The best books on Psychosomatic Illness, recommended by Suzanne O'Sullivan

We still understand very little about the workings of the brain, and yet we dismiss the tricks it can play on us as undeserving of the same sympathy as physical illness. Neurologist and author Suzanne O’Sullivan recommends the best books on psychosomatic illness.

The best books on Psychosomatic Illness, recommended by Suzanne O'Sullivan

    The best books on Health and the Internet, recommended by Elad Yom-Tov

  • Read
    The best books on Health and the Internet - Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance by Atul Gawande

    1

    Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance
    by Atul Gawande

  • Read
    The best books on Health and the Internet - The Patient Will See You Now: The Future of Medicine is in Your Hands by Eric Topol

    2

    The Patient Will See You Now: The Future of Medicine is in Your Hands
    by Eric Topol

  • Read
    The best books on Health and the Internet - A Billion Wicked Thoughts by Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam

    3

    A Billion Wicked Thoughts
    by Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam

  • Read
    The best books on Health and the Internet - Dataclysm: Love, Sex, Race, and Identity — What Our Online Lives Tell Us about Our Offline Selves by Christian Rudder

    4

    Dataclysm: Love, Sex, Race, and Identity — What Our Online Lives Tell Us about Our Offline Selves
    by Christian Rudder

  • Read
    The best books on Health and the Internet - Nudge by Cass Sunstein & Richard Thaler

    5

    Nudge
    by Cass Sunstein & Richard Thaler

  • The best books on Health and the Internet - Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance by Atul Gawande
  • The best books on Health and the Internet - The Patient Will See You Now: The Future of Medicine is in Your Hands by Eric Topol
  • The best books on Health and the Internet - A Billion Wicked Thoughts by Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam
  • The best books on Health and the Internet - Dataclysm: Love, Sex, Race, and Identity — What Our Online Lives Tell Us about Our Offline Selves by Christian Rudder
  • The best books on Health and the Internet - Nudge by Cass Sunstein & Richard Thaler

The best books on Health and the Internet, recommended by Elad Yom-Tov

A quick search of your symptoms on the internet may lead to an acute case of ‘cyberchondria.’ But it may also provide data which will improve health and even save lives. Elad Yom-Tov, the author of Crowdsourced Health, recommends books showing how internet data and data science can provide exciting new ways of conducting health and medical research.

The best books on Health and the Internet, recommended by Elad Yom-Tov

    The best books on The War on Drugs, recommended by Johann Hari

  • Read
    The best books on The War on Drugs - Drug Addicts are Human Beings by Henry Smith Williams

    1

    Drug Addicts are Human Beings
    by Henry Smith Williams

  • Read
    The best books on The War on Drugs - The Murderers: The Shocking Story of the Narcotic Gangs by Henry Anslinger and Will Oursler

    2

    The Murderers: The Shocking Story of the Narcotic Gangs
    by Henry Anslinger and Will Oursler

  • Read
    The best books on The War on Drugs - Murder City by Charles Bowden

    3

    Murder City
    by Charles Bowden

  • Read
    The best books on The War on Drugs - The Globalization of Addiction: A Study in Poverty of the Spirit by Bruce Alexander

    4

    The Globalization of Addiction: A Study in Poverty of the Spirit
    by Bruce Alexander

  • Read
    The best books on The War on Drugs - In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction by Gabor Maté

    5

    In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction
    by Gabor Maté

  • The best books on The War on Drugs - Drug Addicts are Human Beings by Henry Smith Williams
  • The best books on The War on Drugs - The Murderers: The Shocking Story of the Narcotic Gangs by Henry Anslinger and Will Oursler
  • The best books on The War on Drugs - Murder City by Charles Bowden
  • The best books on The War on Drugs - The Globalization of Addiction: A Study in Poverty of the Spirit by Bruce Alexander
  • The best books on The War on Drugs - In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction by Gabor Maté

The best books on The War on Drugs, recommended by Johann Hari

Everything we have been told about drugs and drug addiction and how society should deal with them is wrong, says the British author and journalist Johann Hari. He chooses the best books on ‘the war on drugs.’

The best books on The War on Drugs, recommended by Johann Hari

    The Best Vaccine Books, recommended by Seth Mnookin

  • Read
    The Best Vaccine Books - Polio: An American Story by David Oshinsky

    1

    Polio: An American Story
    by David Oshinsky

  • Read
    The Best Vaccine Books - Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine's Greatest Lifesaver by Arthur Allen

    2

    Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine's Greatest Lifesaver
    by Arthur Allen

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    The Best Vaccine Books - The Cutter Incident: How America's First Polio Vaccine Led to the Growing Vaccine Crisis by Paul Offit

    3

    The Cutter Incident: How America's First Polio Vaccine Led to the Growing Vaccine Crisis
    by Paul Offit

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    The Best Vaccine Books - Microbe Hunters by Paul de Kruif

    4

    Microbe Hunters
    by Paul de Kruif

  • Read
    The Best Vaccine Books - The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic by Steven Johnson

    5

    The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic
    by Steven Johnson

  • The Best Vaccine Books - Polio: An American Story by David Oshinsky
  • The Best Vaccine Books - Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine's Greatest Lifesaver by Arthur Allen
  • The Best Vaccine Books - The Cutter Incident: How America's First Polio Vaccine Led to the Growing Vaccine Crisis by Paul Offit
  • The Best Vaccine Books - Microbe Hunters by Paul de Kruif
  • The Best Vaccine Books - The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic by Steven Johnson

The Best Vaccine Books, recommended by Seth Mnookin

The history of vaccines is fascinating, and we highly recommend all the books discussed in this interview with Seth Mnookin, author of The Panic Virus and Professor of Science Writing at MIT. These are gripping reads that tell the story of vaccines, medicine’s greatest life-saver, and the risks people took to find them.

The Best Vaccine Books, recommended by Seth Mnookin

    The best books on Public Health, recommended by Thomas Frieden

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    The best books on Public Health - Vaccinated by Paul A Offit, MD

    1

    Vaccinated
    by Paul A Offit, MD

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    The best books on Public Health - House on Fire: The Fight to Eradicate Smallpox by William H Foege

    2

    House on Fire: The Fight to Eradicate Smallpox
    by William H Foege

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    The best books on Public Health - Inside the Outbreaks by Mark Pendergrast

    3

    Inside the Outbreaks
    by Mark Pendergrast

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    The best books on Public Health - Tobacco: A Global Threat by John Crofton and David Simpson

    4

    Tobacco: A Global Threat
    by John Crofton and David Simpson

  • Read
    The best books on Public Health - Rose’s Strategy of Preventive Medicine by Geoffrey Rose

    5

    Rose’s Strategy of Preventive Medicine
    by Geoffrey Rose

  • The best books on Public Health - Vaccinated by Paul A Offit, MD
  • The best books on Public Health - House on Fire: The Fight to Eradicate Smallpox by William H Foege
  • The best books on Public Health - Inside the Outbreaks by Mark Pendergrast
  • The best books on Public Health - Tobacco: A Global Threat by John Crofton and David Simpson
  • The best books on Public Health - Rose’s Strategy of Preventive Medicine by Geoffrey Rose

The best books on Public Health, recommended by Thomas Frieden

Infectious disease expert—and former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention— Thomas Frieden, takes us inside the world of fighting epidemics, eradicating disease and confronting the preventable damage we do to ourselves.

The best books on Public Health, recommended by Thomas Frieden

    The best books on Public Finance, recommended by Jonathan Gruber

  • Read
    The best books on Public Finance - Economics of the Public Sector by Joseph E Stiglitz

    1

    Economics of the Public Sector
    by Joseph E Stiglitz

  • Read
    The best books on Public Finance - Taxing Ourselves by Joel Slemrod & Jon Bakija

    2

    Taxing Ourselves
    by Joel Slemrod & Jon Bakija

  • Read
    The best books on Public Finance - Green Book by Committee on Ways and Means, US House of Representatives

    3

    Green Book
    by Committee on Ways and Means, US House of Representatives

  • Read
    The best books on Public Finance - Losing Ground by Charles Murray

    4

    Losing Ground
    by Charles Murray

  • Read
    The best books on Public Finance - Free For All? by Joseph P Newhouse

    5

    Free For All?
    by Joseph P Newhouse

  • The best books on Public Finance - Economics of the Public Sector by Joseph E Stiglitz
  • The best books on Public Finance - Taxing Ourselves by Joel Slemrod & Jon Bakija
  • The best books on Public Finance - Green Book by Committee on Ways and Means, US House of Representatives
  • The best books on Public Finance - Losing Ground by Charles Murray
  • The best books on Public Finance - Free For All? by Joseph P Newhouse

The best books on Public Finance, recommended by Jonathan Gruber

A key figure behind the Massachusetts and Obama healthcare reforms tells us about the purpose and uses of public finance economics, and explains how Romneycare and Obamacare are both different and alike.

The best books on Public Finance, recommended by Jonathan Gruber

    The best books on Healthcare Reform, recommended by Austin Frakt

  • Read
    The best books on Healthcare Reform - Inside National Health Reform by John McDonough

    1

    Inside National Health Reform
    by John McDonough

  • Read
    The best books on Healthcare Reform - The Social Transformation of American Medicine by Paul Starr

    2

    The Social Transformation of American Medicine
    by Paul Starr

  • Read
    The best books on Healthcare Reform - Remedy and Reaction by Paul Starr

    3

    Remedy and Reaction
    by Paul Starr

  • Read
    The best books on Healthcare Reform - Bring Market Prices to Medicare by Robert Coulam, Roger Feldman and Bryan Dowd

    4

    Bring Market Prices to Medicare
    by Robert Coulam, Roger Feldman and Bryan Dowd

  • Read
    The best books on Healthcare Reform - Your Money or Your Life by David Cutler

    5

    Your Money or Your Life
    by David Cutler

  • The best books on Healthcare Reform - Inside National Health Reform by John McDonough
  • The best books on Healthcare Reform - The Social Transformation of American Medicine by Paul Starr
  • The best books on Healthcare Reform - Remedy and Reaction by Paul Starr
  • The best books on Healthcare Reform - Bring Market Prices to Medicare by Robert Coulam, Roger Feldman and Bryan Dowd
  • The best books on Healthcare Reform - Your Money or Your Life by David Cutler

The best books on Healthcare Reform, recommended by Austin Frakt

If you were starting from scratch, no one would design a healthcare system like America’s. The health economist tells us how it evolved and what needs to change. He picks the best books on US healthcare reform.

The best books on Healthcare Reform, recommended by Austin Frakt

    The best books on Medicinal Marijuana, recommended by Tato Grasso

  • Read
    The best books on Medicinal Marijuana - Cannabis Uso e Abuso by Giancarlo Arnao

    1

    Cannabis Uso e Abuso
    by Giancarlo Arnao

  • Read
    The best books on Medicinal Marijuana - Marijuana by Dr Lester Grinspoon and James B Baker

    2

    Marijuana
    by Dr Lester Grinspoon and James B Baker

  • Read
    The best books on Medicinal Marijuana - Therapeutic Uses of Cannabis by British Medical Association

    3

    Therapeutic Uses of Cannabis
    by British Medical Association

  • Read
    The best books on Medicinal Marijuana - Cannabis and Cannabinoids by Franjo Grotenhermen and Ethan Russo

    4

    Cannabis and Cannabinoids
    by Franjo Grotenhermen and Ethan Russo

  • Read
    The best books on Medicinal Marijuana - Erba Medica by Associazione Cannabis Terapeutica

    5

    Erba Medica
    by Associazione Cannabis Terapeutica

  • The best books on Medicinal Marijuana - Cannabis Uso e Abuso by Giancarlo Arnao
  • The best books on Medicinal Marijuana - Marijuana by Dr Lester Grinspoon and James B Baker
  • The best books on Medicinal Marijuana - Therapeutic Uses of Cannabis by British Medical Association
  • The best books on Medicinal Marijuana - Cannabis and Cannabinoids by Franjo Grotenhermen and Ethan Russo
  • The best books on Medicinal Marijuana - Erba Medica by Associazione Cannabis Terapeutica

The best books on Medicinal Marijuana, recommended by Tato Grasso

The Italian cardiologist and fellow of the International Association for Cannabis as Medicine proposes five books on Medicinal Marijuana and explains why we should be reading them.

The best books on Medicinal Marijuana, recommended by Tato Grasso

About

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand seven hundred interviews, or eight thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

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