Reference Reviews

Doug's Student Reference Room

Medicine. Edited by Louise I. Gerdes. Detroit, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2008. 222 p. ISBN 13: 978-0-7377-3759-2; ISBN 10: 0-7377-3759-X. $36.20.

Part of the Opposing Viewpoints series, this volume offers pro and con essays organized around four major themes related to medicine: current challenges, alternative medicine, medical technologies, and future issues. The first chapter, “What Challenges Confront American Medicine?” offers opposing viewpoints on the impact of racism in the treatment patients get, the extent to which malpractice litigation should be limited, the viability of universal health care, and the quality of care received by U.S. soldiers injured in the Iraq war. The last two of these topics are sure to surface repeatedly in the current presidential campaigns, while the first two have been the focus of ongoing discussion for more than a decade. Chapter two looks at alternative medicine, with opposing essays on the global question on alternative medicine’s effectiveness, followed by arguments for and against homeopathy and medical marijuana as treatments. Chapter three’s focus on new medical technologies examines the question of mandating human papillomavirus vaccination for girls and the potential benefits of embryonic stem cell research. The final chapter, “What is the Future of Medicine?” explores the potential power of intercessory prayer on healing, the promises and pitfalls of genetic testing, and the implications of biological and genetic human enhancement. Like other volumes in this series, each chapter includes a two or three page preface, and each essay begins with a concise abstract and a few guided questions to focus readers on central issues. The chapters conclude with a brief periodical bibliography offering a few more articles on each topic for further research. The volume also includes an annotated list of relevant organizations, a short bibliography of books, and an extensive index. This volume maintains the standard set in the Opposing Viewpoints series for high quality articles that present the strongest arguments on each side of a topic and is recommended for high school and college libraries.

—Doug Achterman