No Magic Bullet: A Social History of Venereal Disease in the United States Since 1880 (Oxford Paperbacks) - Softcover

Brandt, Allan M.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195042379 ISBN 13: 9780195042375

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1987

Synopsis

From Victorian anxieties about syphilis to the current hysteria over herpes and AIDS, the history of venereal disease in America forces us to examine social attitudes as well as purely medical concerns. In No Magic Bullet, Allan M. Brandt recounts the various medical, military, and public health responses that have arisen over the years--a broad spectrum that ranges from the incarceration of prostitutes during World War I to the establishment of required premarital blood tests.

Brandt demonstrates that Americans' concerns about venereal disease have centered around a set of social and cultural values related to sexuality, gender, ethnicity, and class. At the heart of our efforts to combat these infections, he argues, has been the tendency to view venereal disease as both a punishment for sexual misconduct and an index of social decay. This tension between medical and moral approaches has significantly impeded efforts to develop "magic bullets"--drugs that would rid us of the disease--as well as effective policies for controlling the infections' spread.
In the paper edition of No Magic Bullet, Brandt adds to his perceptive commentary on the relationship between medical science and cultural values a new chapter on AIDS. Analyzing this latest outbreak in the context of our previous attitudes toward sexually transmitted diseases, he hopes to provide the insights needed to guide us to the policies that will best combat the disease.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

This book is devoted to tracing the historical record of this distinctive set of infectious diseases from the late nineteenth century to current epidemics of herpes and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

About the Author:

Allan M. Brandt is Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Kass Professor of the History of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1987
• ISBN 10: 0195042379
• ISBN 13: 9780195042375
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304