Focusing on the history of one medical field—rehabilitation medicine—this book provides the first systematic analysis of the underlying forces that shape medical specialization, challenging traditional explanations of occupational specialization.

Glenn Gritzer is Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Long Island University. Arnold Arluke is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Northeastern University, Boston.

"Gritzer and Arluke persuasively argue that the development of rehabilitation medicine has as much to do with the governmental and medical marketplaces as it does with scientific advancements. Specialization, in other words, does not reflect the inevitable logic of science so much as the perceived ability of a group of doctors to meet current needs. . . . Provocative and informative."—Edward D. Berkowitz,Contemporary Sociology

"A well-researched history of rehabilitation medicine and the hierarchical relations between physicians, physiotherapists (or physical technicians) and occupational therapists."—Christopher Lawrence, Bulletin of Historical Medicine

"While concern with the division of labor is fundamental to the discipline of sociology, few studies have analyzed the links between that process and specific social conditions. Gritzer and Arluke begin to fill this gap by identifying precisely the influence of technological developments, political conditions, and historical incidents on the evolution of specialties among physicians and allied health workers concerned with rehabilitation."—Raymond de Vries, Work and Occupations

"For anyone interested in rehabilitation or the history of U.S. medicine, this book will be a good source of information."—Susan Irwin, Medical Anthropology Quarterly

"The Making of Rehabilitation provides a wealth of information to anyone interested in the history of physiatry and physical or occupational therapy. It also makes a strong case for recognizing the marketplace as an important arbitrator in determining the success or failure of occupational therapy as a viable discipline."—Kathlyn L. Reed, American Journal of Occupational Therapy