Medical Anthropology and the World System

As a nonacademic with a strong interest in medical anthropology, this book is exactly what I was looking for, a very broad, thorough overview of the subject, with ample history of the development of medical anthropology. It gave me many new perspectives from which to view disease and health issues. It even briefly covers aspects of New Age approaches to health. Very contemporary and up to date. Since it is written as an academic textbook for undergraduate or graduate courses, the layman will find some sections dragging, but overall very comprehensible and engaging.