Cecil Helman, author of prize-winning Suburban Shaman and founder of the academic discipline Medical Anthropology, entrusted this, his last work, to friends and relations before his untimely death in 2009. It is the companion work to Suburban Shaman, bringing together his personal experience of practising medicine with his unique insight into our attitudes to health and illness.

Culture, Health and Illness is the leading international textbook on the role of cultural and social factors in health, illness, and medical care. Since first published in 1984, it has been used in over 40 countries within universities, medical schools and nursing colleges. This new edition meets the ever-growing need for a clear starting point in understanding the clinical significance of cultural and social factors. The book addresses the complex interactions between health, illness and culture by setting out anthropological theory in a highly readable, jargon-free style and integrating this with the practice of health care using real-life examples and case histories. Fully revised throughout, the fifth edition has expanded its coverage of topics that are challenging both the patient and the carer's understanding of health and illness: poverty and inequality of healthcare, genetics, biotechnology, the internet and health, chronic diseases, drug-resistant infections, changes in nutrition and body image, medical care of migrants, medical technology, global pandemics such as AIDS and malaria, drug and alcohol dependence, and patients' 'languages of distress', a complex topic central to the doctor-patient relationship. In today's world of increasing cultural, religious and ethnic diversity of populations, Culture, Health and Illness is essential reading for students of medicine, nursing, psychiatry, public health, health education, international health and medical anthropology, across the globe.

Frankenstein. Werewolves. Dracula. These images aren't just imaginary creatures -- they're also powerful symbols of the body. The body can be thought of as a machine made up of parts like Frankenstein's monster, or as a creature ruled by animalistic urges, or as an entity that's vulnerable to infection from a diseased fiend. In "The Body of Frankenstein's Monster," Cecil Helman, M.D., expands our view of our bodies by exploring its cultural and artistic representations.

This is a wonderful collection of stories about doctors and patients, including many by world-famous authors who were also physicians, such as Oliver Sacks, Anton Chekhov and Arthur Conan Doyle. Always moving, entertaining and informative, and sometimes troubling, these remarkable stories will appeal to anyone with an interest in health, illness and medical care. They also provide essential core material for those studying doctor-patient communication, the literature of medicine and medical humanities. The stories, some written from the doctor's viewpoint, some from that of the patient, illuminate the warmth and compassion - but also the many problems - in relationships between doctors and patients, both in the past and today. Doctors and Patients: an anthology is enjoyable, fascinating and enlightening - for oneself, and for friends and partners, whether healthcare professionals or interested general readers.