The History of Cancer - (Bibliographies and Indexes in Medical Studies) Annotated by James Olson (Hardcover)

About the Book

Historian James. S. Olson has prepared a comprehensive, annotated bibliography of the history of cancer. The emphasis of this work is not so much on the medical aspects of cancer as it is on the historical documentation of the disease: its etiology, pathology, epidemiology, forms and manifestations, and the men and women who have distinguished themselves in the study and treatment of the disease.

The book opens with a section devoted to the historical background of our knowledge of cancer and important medical/nonmedical personalities. The next section deals with the etiology of cancer--its genesis, epidemiology, pathology, and research and control. The largest part of the bibliography is devoted to the individual malignant diseases. Olson concludes with sections on the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, clinical services, and cancer institutions. The citations include books, articles from scholarly and general periodicals, medical and government publications, and primary and secondary sources. The annotations are descriptive. An important contribution to the study of medical history, Olson's bibliography will be of interest to scholars, students and those involved in the medical and scientific study of cancer.

Book Synopsis

Historian James. S. Olson has prepared a comprehensive, annotated bibliography of the history of cancer. The emphasis of this work is not so much on the medical aspects of cancer as it is on the historical documentation of the disease: its etiology, pathology, epidemiology, forms and manifestations, and the men and women who have distinguished themselves in the study and treatment of the disease.

The book opens with a section devoted to the historical background of our knowledge of cancer and important medical/nonmedical personalities. The next section deals with the etiology of cancer--its genesis, epidemiology, pathology, and research and control. The largest part of the bibliography is devoted to the individual malignant diseases. Olson concludes with sections on the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, clinical services, and cancer institutions. The citations include books, articles from scholarly and general periodicals, medical and government publications, and primary and secondary sources. The annotations are descriptive. An important contribution to the study of medical history, Olson's bibliography will be of interest to scholars, students and those involved in the medical and scientific study of cancer.

Review Quotes

?. . . Olsen has performed a great service for physicians or historians interested in the history of cancer; The History of Cancer: An Annotated Bibliography will serve as a quick and handy reference and is a welcome addition to library shelves.?-Bulletin of the History of Medicine

?. . . Those interested in the history of medicine will find this a useful contribution, and practitioners and researchers might benefit from the author's historical perspective on their science.?-ARBA

?For answering such questions as when a particular --oma' was first described, what the history is of various kinds of cancer treatments, which famous persons are associated with cancer, or what recorded epidemiologies of cancer exist, this book will will be invaluable. The author, a published historian, began compiling this bibliography after the appearance, eight years ago, of his own cancer, whose course was troublesome and required, finally, radical surgery. References to about 3,000 articles--in all languages, most written since 1945--are arranged under 30 separate categories. Entries are accompanied by carefully written abstracts. Because the articles are themselves the results of historical research and are not original documents, they could be readily acquired in their entirety. Cross-referencing from one chapter to another is meticulous. Author and subject indexes complete this reference book, which is highly recommended for any academic or public library where interest would warrant purchase.?-Choice

?This bibliography is a compilation of approximately three thousand citations of books and articles on the history of cancer. Although hardly an encyclopedic list of sources, it does exhaustively review the recent world literature. . . . An especially useful feature is the inclusion of abstracts for most of the citations. Because some of the citations are from obscure sources and are in unfamiliar languages, the inclusion of English abstracts greatly increases the value of the bibliography. . . . Olsen has performed a great service for physicans or historians interested in the history of cancer; The History of Cancer: An Annotated Bibliography will serve as a quick and handy reference and is a welcome addition to library shelves.?-Bulletin of the History of Medicine

." . . Olsen has performed a great service for physicians or historians interested in the history of cancer; The History of Cancer: An Annotated Bibliography will serve as a quick and handy reference and is a welcome addition to library shelves."-Bulletin of the History of Medicine

." . . Those interested in the history of medicine will find this a useful contribution, and practitioners and researchers might benefit from the author's historical perspective on their science."-ARBA

"This bibliography is a compilation of approximately three thousand citations of books and articles on the history of cancer. Although hardly an encyclopedic list of sources, it does exhaustively review the recent world literature. . . . An especially useful feature is the inclusion of abstracts for most of the citations. Because some of the citations are from obscure sources and are in unfamiliar languages, the inclusion of English abstracts greatly increases the value of the bibliography. . . . Olsen has performed a great service for physicans or historians interested in the history of cancer; The History of Cancer: An Annotated Bibliography will serve as a quick and handy reference and is a welcome addition to library shelves."-Bulletin of the History of Medicine

"For answering such questions as when a particular --oma' was first described, what the history is of various kinds of cancer treatments, which famous persons are associated with cancer, or what recorded epidemiologies of cancer exist, this book will will be invaluable. The author, a published historian, began compiling this bibliography after the appearance, eight years ago, of his own cancer, whose course was troublesome and required, finally, radical surgery. References to about 3,000 articles--in all languages, most written since 1945--are arranged under 30 separate categories. Entries are accompanied by carefully written abstracts. Because the articles are themselves the results of historical research and are not original documents, they could be readily acquired in their entirety. Cross-referencing from one chapter to another is meticulous. Author and subject indexes complete this reference book, which is highly recommended for any academic or public library where interest would warrant purchase."-Choice

About the Author

JAMES S. OLSON is Professor of History at Sam Houston University, Huntsville, Texas. His earlier works include Dictionary of the Vietnam War, Historical Dictionary of the New Deal: From Inauguration to Preparation for War (Greenwood Press, 1988, 1985), Herbert Hoover and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, 1931-1933, The Ethnic Dimension in American History, Native Americans in the Twentieth Century, and numerous articles.