An edition of No magic bullet (1983)

No magic bullet

a social history of venereal disease in the United States since 1880

Expanded ed.
  • 0 Ratings
  • 6 Want to read
  • 0 Currently reading
  • 0 Have read

My Reading Lists:

Create a new list

Check-In

×Close
Add an optional check-in date. Check-in dates are used to track yearly reading goals.
Today

  • 0 Ratings
  • 6 Want to read
  • 0 Currently reading
  • 0 Have read

Buy this book

Last edited by MARC Bot
December 9, 2023 | History
An edition of No magic bullet (1983)

No magic bullet

a social history of venereal disease in the United States since 1880

Expanded ed.
  • 0 Ratings
  • 6 Want to read
  • 0 Currently reading
  • 0 Have read

From Victorian anxieties about syphilis to the current hysteria over herpes and AIDS, the history of venereal disease in America requires us to examine social attitudes as well as purely medical concerns. This brilliant study is the first book to chronicle the range and direction of American reactions to the VD problem over the last hundred years. As the author makes clear, the medical promise of "magic bullets"--Drugs that would rid us of disease- is, in the case of VD, a promise unfulfilled. Despite dramatic advances, these diseases continue to exist in epidemic proportions. Focusing on this paradox of effective medicine and persistent disease, the author recounts the assorted medical, military, and public health responses to the problems that have arisen over the years; these have ranged from the widespread incarceration of prostitutes during World War I to the legal requirements for premarital blood tests. In the author's view, American concerns about venereal disease have been inextricably tied to a set of social and cultural values relating to sexuality, gender, ethnicity, and class. He shows how plans to combat sexually transmitted infections have typically emphasized the regulation of individual conduct. At the heart of such efforts, Brandt argues, is an ongoing tendency to see venereal disease as both a punishment for sexual misbehavior and an index of social decay. The tension between medical and moral approaches to VD has significantly impeded efforts to control these infections, for it has been too often assumed that merely controlling behavior is the answer. In tracing the social history of VD, this book offers a lucid, perceptive commentary on the relationship between medical science and cultural values, between sexuality and disease. -- from Book Jacket.

Publish Date
Language
English
Pages
266

Buy this book

Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: No Magic Bullet
No Magic Bullet: A Social History of Venereal Disease in the United States since 1880- 35th Anniversary Edition
2020, Oxford University Press, Incorporated, Oxford University Press
in English
Cover of: No magic bullet
No magic bullet: a social history of venereal disease in the United States since 1880
1987, Oxford University Press
in English - Expanded ed.
Cover of: No magic bullet
Cover of: No magic bullet
Cover of: No magic bullet

Add another edition?

Book Details


Published in

New York

Edition Notes

"Manuscript sources": p. [207]-208.
Bibliography: p. 210-258.
Includes index.

Series
Oxford paperbacks

Classifications

Dewey Decimal Class
362.1/9695/100973
Library of Congress
RC201.47 .B73 1987, RC201.47.B73 1987, RC201.47 .B73 1985, RC201.47.B73 1985

The Physical Object

Pagination
x, 266 p., [10] p. of plates :
Number of pages
266

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL2444121M
Internet Archive
nomagicbulletsoc00branrich
ISBN 10
0195042379, 0195034694
LCCN
87139908, 84018991
OCLC/WorldCat
11157372
Library Thing
404472
Goodreads
198612
3642291

Links outside Open Library

Community Reviews (0)

Feedback?
No community reviews have been submitted for this work.

Lists

This work does not appear on any lists.

History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON / OPDS | Wikipedia citation
December 9, 2023 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
March 7, 2023 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
January 17, 2023 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
January 9, 2023 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
April 1, 2008 Created by an anonymous user Imported from Scriblio MARC record.