Over 50 years after its publication, this text still provides a useful outline of some of the key developments in medical practice from ancient and mediaval times to the mid 20th century. Written in short crisp chapters by a medical doctor, the volume provides comparisons through historical perspective about the roots of medicine in pagan ritual in Europe as we face the growing popularity of New Age thought and alternative medicine in the 21st Century. The 240 page paperback cost 50 cents in 1962 and that shows how the economics of medical history have changed since then. ( )