Katherine Ott

Katherine Ott frames consumption/tuberculosis/the white death/the wasting disease in a cultural context in this overview of the disease. " Cultures give form and meaning to what happens within our bodies," she says in her introduction. The result is a fascinating and thoughtful book with a moderate amount of clinical information (but not overwhelming for those of us not inclined in that way). TB/Consumption (which, as we learn, is not exactly the same thing) has been frequently redefined over the centuries, and we follow the history of the disease from the 19th century when doctors thought the origin of the disease as excessive intellectual work, masturbation, disturbed electrical energy and living on wet soil (to name a few) to its construct today as a clear and emphatic biomedical diagnosis involving bacteria. Along the way we see how our culture has viewed and responded to the disease. Really, it's fascinating.… (plus d'informations)