Review by Choice Review
Most historical accounts of Latin America discuss the widespread occurrences of tropical diseases, particularly the outbreaks of malaria and yellow fever. Within the past 20 years, the focus has shifted to broader studies of Latin America that encompass the integration of history, disease, and society. Each of the essays in this volume edited by Armus (history, Swarthmore College) provides a discussion of longstanding public health issues in Latin America within the framework of the history of medicine, the history of public health, and the sociocultural history of disease. Not all countries or all diseases are discussed, but some of the representative topics include malaria control in Brazilian Amazon, tuberculosis in Buenos Aires, cholera in Peru, syphilis in revolutionary Mexico, and leprosy in Colombia. All of the cases cited in this collection identify disease as a complex process that needs to be examined inside of a societal frame that recognizes the roles that religion, gender, nationality, ethnicity, class, politics, and state responsibilities play in the development of public health policies. Well-documented chapters; author affiliations; some illustrations. For academic libraries, particularly those institutions having programs in Latin American history, public health and policy, and international relations. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. C. S. McCoy University of South Florida
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
