Books by Nancy Tomes
“The history of major advances in medicine were previously told through the lens of the discoverers, like Louis Pasteur, and discoveries, such as the identification of the pathogen that caused TB. Nancy Tomes pivots to a new history of the germ theory era by examining how ordinary Americans changed their views and behaviors during the late 19th and early 20th century about these invisible microorganisms. The Gospel of Germs is about how bacteriology became relevant in the homes, the kitchens, the churches, and the streets…The title The Gospel of Germs refers to how the belief in germ theory was spread with almost religious zeal by public health reformers. It was a very different moment in the politics of US public health than today, although many aspects of the gospel mentality have endured.” Read more...
Best History of Medicine Books
Keith Wailoo, Historian
Interviews where books by Nancy Tomes were recommended
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1
The Expressiveness of the Body and the Divergence of Greek and Chinese Medicine
by Shigehisa Kuriyama -
2
The Gospel of Germs
by Nancy Tomes -
3
The Cholera Years: The United States in 1832, 1849, and 1866
by Charles Rosenberg -
4
Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology
by Deirdre Cooper Owens -
5
The Cigarette Century: The Rise, Fall, and Deadly Persistence of the Product That Defined America
by Allan Brandt
Best History of Medicine Books, recommended by Keith Wailoo
Best History of Medicine Books, recommended by Keith Wailoo
The history of medicine is not just the story of life-saving discoveries, it’s also about how medical advances interact with the society from which they emerge. Here Professor Keith Wailoo, a historian of medicine and public health at Princeton University, recommends books that shed light on the social history of medicine, especially in the United States.
