"Dorothy Porter's latest contribution to public health history is an ambitious undertaking that builds
upon her earlier and well-known work. Her aim in Health, Civilization and the State is to provide a synthesis of
public health history in Europe and North America.."
--Peter Twohig, Dalhousie University
Routledge Web Siite, January, 2004
Summary
Health, Civilization and the State examines the social, economic and political issues of public health provision
in historical perspective. Focusing on Britain, Continental Europe and the United States, Dorothy Porter provides
a comprehensive outline of the development of public health care from the ancient world to the modern state. Covering
a broad range of historical issues, the book includes discussion of:pestilence, public order and morality in pre-modern
times; the Enlightenment and its effects; health care centralization in Victorian Britain; localization of health
care in the United States; population issues and family welfare; the rise of the classic welfare state; and current
attitudes towards public health as we approach the twenty-first century.
