Remaking the American Patient

“A fluent and immensely readable chronology, minutely referenced, instructive and ruefully entertaining. . . . [The] last chapter is a particular tour de force, a virtuoso summary of our present circumstances as we find ourselves both far better off, healthwise, than we have ever been and yet somehow right back where we began.”—New York Times

“This fascinating book . . . will intrigue health care professionals and policymakers as well as interested lay readers.”—Library Journal, starred review

“A sweeping book that is thoughtfully researched and meticulously documented . . . [and] disproves several reigning myths about the current culture of medicine in the United States.”—Health Affairs

“Casts the history of American medicine in a new light and helps explain the roots of contemporary patients' and physicians' predicaments.”—American Historical Review

“Tomes successfully derives valuable insights into current concerns from her historical analysis of the fading distinction between medical professionalism and commerce.”—CHOICE

“An even-handed account, noting that patients have long maintained unrealistic expectations of medicine, fueled in turn by advertising puffery.”—Bulletin of the History of Medicine

“Tomes is the first to longitudinally examine patient consumerism—and the capacity of laypeople to stand back, examine, and critique medical care — from the 19th century to the present day.”—Perspectives in Biology and Medicine

“Strongly recommended for scholars of medical history, for use in graduate and advanced undergraduate classes, and for anyone interested in health care reform.”—Canadian Journal of History

“This is truly a comprehensive and detailed analysis of twentieth-century healthcare. . . . Remaking the American Patient is a wonderful book; having the opportunity to review it in the midst of some of the most vitriolic political debate about health care in modern memory was a distinct pleasure.”—Charlotte Borst, Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences

“All this is written in a vivid and engaging style, which makes a complex history easily available to lay readers and satisfying for specialists. Tomes moves with ease between pithy anecdotes, artifacts of popular culture, vignettes of earnest advocates or self-righteous doctors, and the high politics of health care. The result is a narrative with pace and direction.”—Reviews in History