"A classic ethnographic study of face-to-face interactions between paediatricians, in both the UK and the USA and parents of children thought to be neurologically handicapped. Strong used this work to systematize and develop the often chaotic ideas of Erving Goffman, to explore the connections between micro and macro analysis in sociology and to reflect on the nature of medical practice in modern liberal societies. The book also stands as a testament to Strong's pursuit of methodological rigour in qualitative sociology and his discontent with empathetic ethnography where the observer's impressions take precedence over the organized presentation of evidence. This edition includes a new introduction by one of Strong's students, which defines its continuing relevance to the study of health care delivery in advanced societies, to the practice of qualitative research and to wider debates about how to study social interaction."--BOOK JACKET.