Wolfgang Uwe Eckart, Robert Jütte, Medizingeschichte. Eine Einführung, Cologne, Böhlau Verlag, 2007, pp. 378, €19.90 (paperback 978-3-8252-2903-0).

Abstract

For many years, German students of medicine have relied on Wolfgang Uwe Eckart’s Geschichte der Medizin (Springer, 1988) concisely and successfully to steer them through the obligatory history of medicine course that is part of the medical curriculum. The present book, written with Robert Jutte, is not, as the title might suggest, an update for the new millennium but rather the authors’ contribution to plugging a gap left by so many introductory works. History of medicine is, of course, not confined to the clinic, roaming free in the hallowed halls of the humanities and the social sciences. While the adoption and reshaping of concepts and methodologies from the interdisciplinary tool bag has allowed medical historians a broadness of range not common in other branches of history, it has also increased the amount of “arcane” knowledge that an often extremely diverse cohort of students is required to assimilate. Well-known historians like W F Bynum, Roy Porter, Jose Babini and Jose Maria Lopez Pinero (to name but a few), as well as Eckart himself, have produced admirable works that provide concise introductory histories and chronologies of medicine, both for academic and general readers. Alas, precious little exists to provide the same readers with a simple way through the thornier concepts of methodologies, schools of thought and sources. Indeed those newly developing their medico-historical interests often find that they have to hit the ground running, particularly those, such as the aforementioned medical students, not lucky enough to be attached to a specialized department, or with a background in the sciences. These groups will benefit the most from this volume. First and foremost, this text is no popular history book: unashamedly academic in style and content, it is squarely aimed at the undergraduate student (or postgraduates making the leap from another discipline or those simply wishing to refresh distant memories), assuming little prior knowledge but, nevertheless, plunging the reader headfirst into the deep waters of source types and evaluation, historiography, methodologies and principal concepts. From basic advice on secondary sources and citations, the use of oral history or iconographic sources, and the uses and pitfalls of the internet, the volume passes through methodological approaches including the history of ideas, gender history, historical anthropology and biography, segueing into tangential disciplines (‘Grenzgebiete und Nachbar-disziplinen’, pp. 243–311) such as the history of pharmacy, technology and dentistry. The history of alternative medicine (one of Jutte’s own interests) is not forgotten, and key notions such as medicalization, professionalization and retrospective diagnosis are examined. The short chapters cover an enormous amount of material, quickly equipping the reader with a basic but solid grounding in often complex concepts. As can be expected from authors of Eckart and Jutte’s background and experience, each chapter concludes with a succinct bibliography to take matters further if needed or desired. Most interestingly, this book does not limit itself to covering the above-mentioned basics, but also offers something akin to career guidance to budding medical historians. An entire section (‘Aus- und Fortbildungsmoglichkeiten’, pp. 129–33) is dedicated to the availability of training in history of medicine, both in Germany and abroad, while another section (‘Fachbibliotheken und Medizinhistorische Institute’, pp. 102–11) lists relevant libraries and research institutes, highlighting their respective interests and strengths. In summary, this remarkable volume is something of a departure from the traditional introductory textbook, less a replacement than a perfect companion to the old stalwarts, aimed at those who realize that their path lies in history of medicine, and are casting around for a metaphorical hand to hold while delving deeper into the thickets. The addition of practical guidance on career options and relevant institutes adds and builds on the strengths of Robert Jutte’s Institutes for the history of medicine and health in Europe: a guide (Sheffield, 1997). Both theory and practice are thus tightly woven together to provide a tome that will doubtless prove a boon to students and enthusiasts of the history of medicine for years to come. The only fly in the ointment is that, as often happens in this field, the book is inaccessible to those without a good knowledge of German. Maybe someone will take up the reins and provide a pan-European volume on the back of this, but until that time a good dictionary remains essential.