Alternative medicine is commonplace in today's world3. This text brings combines the fields of American history, history of medicine, anthropology, sociology, and politics to counter the view that alternative medical therapies fell into disrepute in the decades after physicians established their institutional authority during the Progressive Era.

From grocery store to doctor's office, alternative medicine is everywhere. A recent survey found that more than two in five Americans uses some form of alternative medicine. The Politics of Healing brings together top scholars in the fields of American history, history of medicine, anthropology, sociology, and politics to counter the view that alternative medical therapies fell into disrepute in the decades after physicians established their institutional authority during the Progressive Era. From homeopathy to Navajo healing, this volume explores a variety of alternative therapies and political movements that have set the terms of debate over North American healing methods.

This collection of essays is remarkably even in both quality and perspective...Even though alternative medicines encompass a strong leftist countercultural component, the essays in this volume poignantly demonstrate the many instances in which alternative medicides have forged connections with oppositional subcultures on the political or cultural right.. This openness to nuance and complexity makes this volume an essential reference work for anyone interest in understanding more clearly why more than 40 percent of adult Americans now use at least one form of Alternative medicine. -The Journal of American History