The Care of Strangers: The Rise of America's Hospital System

by Charles E. Rosenberg

For physicians, social scientists, and lay readers, a history from the time of Thomas Jefferson's administration, when hospitals were largely charitable organizations dedicated to care of the worthy poor, through the 20th century, when they became centers of learning and research as well as the primary care site for most Americans. Originally published in hardcover by Basic Books, 1987. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Health Care, History Of Medicine, Sociology, Hospitals, Reference

456 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Todd]

Informative account of the American hospital's development out of its charitable care origins. A slow read due to the author's voice and expository style.

[Vincent Fong]

As a nursing student, I found the concepts still relevant in today's ward practices.

Good sidenote to American History.

[Emg]

Learned a lot but was not very entertained. Writing was not energetic but if I think back to my college days, none of the texts were very lively.

[Derek]

By far, this book took me longer to read than any book I've read in *years*. While part of problem was some life craziness which lead to some stretches of minimal reading time, much of it was simply the voice of the author. The subject was one I was curious about, but I could not stay absorbed in the text. And I've read some dense, less than dynamic work before. There was some good information about the development of disease models and how they impacted health care in society, the rise of nursing as a discipline, the process by which people entered the medical profession over time, and other things. I suppose I'm glad I finally got through it after months of on-and-off reading, but I hope I can find a more engaging author on the subject in the future.

[Emily Brown]

excellent book about the development of public hospitals and the training of medical doctors.

[Josh]

This book got me interested in medical history in the United States.