The Living Brain

which includes the medicine of primitive peoples today, "Ancient Egypt," and "Mesopotamia." A remarkable linguist, Sigerist has used original documents most extensively. Because of language barriers, few other historians in any field could employ as wide a range of sources as Sigerist has. Moreover, he has interpreted his sources in a truly historical manner. Most histories of medicine are of the "cut-and-paste" variety which treat medicine as an activity having no relation to history in general. Not so this volume. Sigerist discusses developments in medicine as part of man's social and intellectual history. Although it has been said with justification concerning Sigerist's earlier works that "the Marxist interpretation of history appeals very much to him," there is no Marxist interpretation in this volume. No other work on medicine in Egypt and Mesopotamia approaches this volume in either completeness of coverage or excellence of historical interpretation. When Sigerist has completed the remaining seven volumes, he will have made an unequalled contribution to the history of medicine.