Limits to Medicine

So begins Ivan Illich's spirited and reasoned attack upon the mythic prestige of contemporary medicines, examining the customs and rituals conducted by the medical profession. Relentlessly and with full documentation taken from recognized medical sources Illich proves the impotence of medical services to change life expectancy, the insignificant of most contemporary clinical care in curing disease, the magnitude of medically inflicted damage to health, and the futility of medical and political counter-measures. Illich's deeply shocking analysis into the clinical and social reality of doctor-made illness examines the culture of health, sickness and suffering and includes an historical examination of the concept and image of death. Only by recognizing and insisting upon the essential ingredients personal health, Illich argues, can individuals recover the integrity of their bodies and lives. 'People need no bureaucratic interference to mate, give birth, share the human condition, and die. Man's consciously lived fragility; individuality and relatedness make the experience of pain, of sickness and of death an integral part of his life. The ability to cope with this trio autonomously is fundamental to his health'. -- Back cover.