A survey found that more than two in five Americans uses some form of alternative medicine. The "Politics of Healing" brings together top scholars in the fields of American history and the history of medicine who discuss issues in this topic.

Takes on controversial issues like alternative treatment for cancer and research funded by pharmaceutical companiesExplores the historical roots of anti-vaccination movementsExamines the role of food in alternative medicine and the health food movement of the mid-20th century

This collection of essays is remarkably even in both quality and perspective...Even though alternative medicines encompass a strong leftist countercultural component, the essays in this volume poignantly demonstrate the many instances in which alternative medicides have forged connections with oppositional subcultures on the political or cultural right.. This openness to nuance and complexity makes this volume an essential reference work for anyone interest in understanding more clearly why more than 40 percent of adult Americans now use at least one form of Alternative medicine. -The Journal of American History