On July 11, 1864, some residents cheered and others watched in horror as Confederate troops spread across the fields and orchards of Silver Spring, Maryland. Many fled to the capital while General Jubal Early's troops ransacked their property. The estate of Lincoln's postmaster general, Montgomery Blair, was burned, and his father's home was used by Early as headquarters from which to launch an attack on Washington's defenses. Yet the first Civil War casualty in Silver Spring came well before Early's raid, when Union soldiers killed a prominent local farmer in 1862. This was life in the shadow of the Federal City. Drawing on contemporary accounts and memoirs, Dr. Robert E. Oshel tells the story of Silver Spring over the tumultuous course of the Civil War.

Many Americans believe that their healthcare is second to none. Most patients, therefore, fail to appreciate the flaws and dangers present while receiving medical care. In fact, the American healthcare industry is one of the great tragedies of this country, which is now being brought to its knees by the medical industry run amuck. The Truth About Big Medicine: Righting the Wrongs for Better Healthcare divulges secrets of the industry, which keep it focused on its own economic needs to the detriment of public health. The cost of American healthcare per person far exceeds other developed countries, yet it delivers life expectancies and infant mortalities that are ranked shamefully low among developed nations. Special interest groups and weak legislation created a "tapeworm" that continues to devour the American economy and shorten the lives of hundreds of thousands each year. Using true stories throughout, the authors illustrate that it is time for the public, students, educators, and legislators to recognize medical deception and secrecy, and to consider clear solutions on how they can achieve a safer healthcare system. A rich variety of authors with experience in revealing unsafe medical practices bring recommendations for changing healthcare delivery by taking an aspect of the healthcare system, identifying its shortcomings, and proposing ways to reduce harm plus correct the injustices. Included are discussions of imaging, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, hospital practices and procedures, and medical malpractice and negligence, among other topics. No consumer of health care should ignore the dangers inherent in the system; this book helps reveal them and suggests useful remedies. The authors maintain a website at http://truthaboutbigmedicine.com/