Focusing on the social, intellectual, and political context in which medical education took place, Thomas Neville Bonner offers a detailed analysis of transformations in medical instruction in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the United States between the Enlightenment and World War II. From a unique comparative perspective, this study considers how divergent approaches to medical instruction in these countries mirrored as well as impacted their particular cultural contexts. The book opens with an examination of key developments in medical education during the late eighteenth century and continues by tracing the evolution of clinical teaching practices in the early 1800s. It then charts the rise of laboratory-based teaching in the nineteenth century and the progression toward the establishment of university standards for medical education during the early twentieth century. Throughout, the author identifies changes in medical student populations and student life, including the opportunities available for women and minorities.

Although there are many books on the mechanics of doctor-patient interaction, none has previously confronted the philosophical and psychological issues of power and trust that bind these figures. One consequence of their changed relationship, Furst asserts, has been the decrease of interest in patients as individuals. In this time of impersonal HMOs and spiraling health-care costs, she hopes that doctors and patients can learn from the past and eventually find a mutually beneficial balance of power that will see medicine as both a science and an art and will recognize human understanding as an integral element of healing.

Animal law is a growing discipline, as is animal ethics. In this wide-ranging book, scholars from around the world address the intersections between the two. Specifically, this collection focuses on pressing moral issues and how law can protect animals from cruelty and abuse. A project of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, the book is edited by the Oxford Centre’s directors, Andrew Linzey and Clair Linzey, and features contributions from many of its fellows. Divided into three sections, the work explores historical perspectives and ethical–legal issues such as “personhood” and “property” before focusing on five practical case studies. The volume introduces readers to the interweaving between these subjects and should act as a spur to further interdisciplinary work.