The Nature of Suffering and the Goals of Medicine

Since the first edition pointed out a central problem of modern medicine in 1991 that its devotion to science and technology makes it inadequate in the face of suffering medical care has become even more dependent on technology and more concerned with the economic aspects of medicine and physicians less skilled at what were once the basics of the job: discovering the history of an illness through questioning and physical examination, and working toward healing the whole person. In his revision, Cassell (public health, Weill Medical College, Cornell U.) adds chapters on the mind-body interface and the social dimension of illness and suffering as well as on what pain is and what underlies suffering. Of interest to physicians as well as palliative care and hospice workers, psychiatrists, psychologists, and general readers interested in medicine. Annotation c2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)