No Magic Bullet: A Social History of Venereal Disease in the United States Since 1880 PDF

Rating: (3 reviews) Author: Visit Amazon's Allan M. Brandt Page ISBN : 9780195034691 New from Format: PDF

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Review

"A welcome addition to the growing literature related to sex in American history....It is a major contribution to both medical and social history."--American Historical Review

"Brandt bases his case on a well-documented analysis of public policy concerning venereal diseases during the last one hundred years....No Magic Bullet deserves a broad audience."--Journal of American History

"Brandt has served up an analytical feast....No Magic Bullet may remain the definitive social history of [venereal disease] for many years to come."--Bulletin of the History of Medicine

"A significant contribution to our understanding of public responses to STDs in the United States....Useful and timely."--Arthur R. Williams, University of Florida, Gainesville

"An audacious examination of American attitudes toward sexually transmitted disease...A chilling reminder of a forgotten history."--The Village Voice

"An excellent short treatment of venereal disease in this country. It is clearly written and with the addition of the chapter on AIDS, most appropriate and updated."--William A. Sodeman, Jr., M.D., University of Southern Florida, Tampa

"A thoroughly researched...intriguing book...Brandt argues persuasively that many of the underlying attitudes of the Victorian period continue to hinder the control of venereal diseases."--Philadelphia Inquirer

"A subtle and convincing book...an eloquent chapter in the history of sex in America."--Psychology Today

"Well-researched, accurate, and clearly written...This historical perspective has much to offer readers in the fields of public health and infectious disease at a time when important policy decisions regarding the control of AIDS must be made."--New England Journal of Medicine

"A major contribution to the social history of medicine and public policy in the United States."--Isis --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Allan M. Brandt is Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Kass Professor of the History of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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• Product Details
• Table of Contents
• Reviews

• Hardcover: 245 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1St Edition edition (March 7, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195034694
• ISBN-13: 978-0195034691
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces

No Magic Bullet: A Social History of Venereal Disease in the United States Since 1880 PDF

An early and interesting book by Allan Brandt, the author of the fine "The Cigarette Century." This book focuses on American public health policies towards venereal disease, specifically syphilis and gonorrhea. Brandt covers the period from late 19th century to the 1950s. Brandt describes an interesting convergence of expanding scientific knowledge and power, reformism, and efforts at moral regulation. Brandt starts with Progressive era efforts at diminishing the impact of venereal disease. Fueled by the discoveries of late 19th century bacteriology and by fears of the social stresses accompanying industrialization-urbanization which cast venereal disease as a particular threat to middle class life and values, Progressive reformers embarked on a series of efforts that were an uneasy combination of pragmatic public health measures and moral regulation. These contradictions are a recurring theme of subsequent venereal disease control efforts.

Brandt shows WWI as a particularly important event in venereal disease control. Both pragmatic and moral concerns made venereal disease control a particularly important issue for the suddenly huge armed forces. The urgency of addressing venereal disease control heightened the internal contradictions of trying to pragmatically control venereal disease while maintaining traditional moral attitudes. These problems were initially encountered in WWI and re-emerged with a vengeance in WWII.

In the interwar period, venereal disease control again emerged as a reformist issue with New Deal oriented reformers pursuing more pragmatic efforts based on increased Federal involvement. These efforts, led by the famous Thomas Parran, were surprisingly successful.