Author: Daniel A. Pollen © 1993, 1996.
Format: Paperback. Size: about 15.6cm W x 23.4cm H x 2.1cm T. Pages: xvi + 310. Notes. References. Index.
Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks - Oxford University Press, U.S.A.
ISBN: 0-19-510652-0
Status: New

Contents page

Cover notes about this book and its author:
   A warmly engaging self-portrait of the fourth woman in history to receive the Nobel Prize in Medicine.
 
'This chronicle of the discovery of NGF is an exciting one. No less exciting is Rita Levi-Montalcini's life work.'
Richard Restak, Washington Post Book World.
 
An arresting story of someone who insisted on being herself rather than someone else's idea of herself ... With great immediacy, she shows us how she has constructed her life.'
Victor K. McElhany, New York Time Book Review.
 
This is a personal account by one of the great protagonists of the most glorious episodes in the modern history of neuroscience ... The story is told with great modesty and charm; it is a book to read and savour ... It also raises questions of wider significance.'
A.D. Smith, Neuroscience.
 
RITA LEVI-MONTALCINI founded the Laboratory of Cell Biology of the National Research Council in Rome. She shared the 1986 Nobel Prize in Medicine with Stanley Cohen for their discovery of Nerve Growth Factor.

Editor: Natalia Berger
Format: Hardback, board colour: . Dust-jacket. Plain endpapers, colour: . Size: about 22.9cm W x 29.6cm H x 2.2cm T. Pages: 275. Copious monochrome and colour illustrations. List of contributors, each with a biographical note. List of photographic credits.
Publisher: The Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A.
ISBN: 0-8276-0644-3
Copyright: Beth Hatefutsoth - The Museum of the Jewish Diaspora © 1995
Status: New
 
The book has been published on the occasion of the exhibition Therefore Choose Life .. Jews and Medicine: Religion Culture Science organised by Beth Hatefutsoth - The Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, Tel Aviv, June 1995 - December 1995.

Contents page

Dust-jacket notes about this book:

FRONT FLAP: Since the Middle Ages, Jews have regarded medicine as one of the most honorable professions to pursue. Indeed, Jews have been represented in medicine in much greater numbers than their percentage in the population would seem to warrant.

Jews and Medicine examines the special relationship between Jews and medicine both intrinsically, from within, and historically, from without. Two questions were posed: first, does Judaism in itself foster a special attitude toward medicine, and secondly, to what extent did life in the Diaspora influence the Jewish contribution to medicine? The book chronologi­cally traces the most significant points of encounter between the history of the Jewish people and the history of medicine, beginning with the Bible and ending with the modern world and the State of Israel. The motto of the book, "Therefore choose life. . ." (Deut. 30:19), establishes the basis of the Jewish attitude toward medicine, while the subtitle, Religion, Culture, Science, conveys the idea that there has never been ". . . Jewish med­icine per se. Rather, Jews have always adopted the medical teachings of the prevailing cultures in which they lived, and proceeded to enhance them through their own significant contributions."

REAR FLAP: Jews and Medicine is sprinkled with full-color photographs of manuscripts, posters, postcards, photographs, and sketches that trace this unique relationship from biblical times to the present. It includes eleven essays on such topics as "Healing in Jewish Lore and Law," "Jewish Folk Medicine," "Jewish Women in Medicine," and an essay by Peter Gay on Sigmund Freud. Jews and Medicine also highlights the special interest of Jewish physicians in medical ethics.

   This beautiful book is a unique combination of information and artifact, history and philosophy, and is a perfect gift for any doctor, rabbi, or anyone else interested in the long and noble relationship between Jews and medicine.