Stephen Kunitz's work raises crucial issues for public policy in the medical field, and will be valuable for social scientists, physicians, and health professionals concerned with the social context of public health and other medical facilities.

Stephen J. Kunitz is Associate Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health at the University of Rochester School of Medicine.

"This book is based on data accumulated during the author's long-term research on Navajo Indian epidemiology, but its message is considerably broader. Kunitz is not alone in seeing a future challenge to medicine in dealing with the degenerative and man-made diseases, as contrasted with its past successes in controlling infectious diseases."—Katherine Spencer Halpern, Anthropology Quarterly

"An insightful book about the role Western medicine has played among the Navajo people. . . . Through examination of this medical microcosm, it can be seen that the role of Western medicine presently needs review, clarification, and perhaps redefinition in today's complex social milieu."—Christian Meuli, Journal of the American Medical Association

"The wealth of information and its in-depth analysis make this book a valuable contribution to the growing literature on cross-cultural health-care."—H. Jay Paulsen, Journal of the History of Medicine

"An important statement about the social role of medicine."—Russell Thornton, Contemporary Sociology