- Hardcover: 348 pages
- Publisher: Harvard University Press (30 Jun 1997)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 067427024X
- ISBN-13: 978-0674270244
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.3 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,433,836 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
John Riddle has established his reputation as a leading expert on ancient Greek pharmacology. In an earlier study, "Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance", he argued that a much more reliable knowledge of oral contraceptives existed in the ancient and medieval worlds than had previously been thought. In this book, Riddle attempts a broader but partly overlapping study, a history of abortion and contraception in the Western tradition (Europe and the United States, with a glance at the Islamic World). More specifically, he challenges the common view that oral contraception was little practiced and largely ineffective until the 18th century...Riddle argues his case with learning and perspicacity. He draws widely on the specialist literature of a number of disciplines as he discusses, among other things, the theology of ensoulment of the fetus and the demographics of early modern Europe.--Gary B. Ferngren "New England Journal of Medicine "
Product Description
The question addressed in this book is: if women once had access to effective means of birth control, why was this knowledge lost to them in modern times? The author asks what women knew about regulating fertility with herbs, and shows how the new intellectual, religious and legal climate of the early modern period tended to cast suspicion on women who employed the "secret knowledge" to terminate or prevent pregnancy. Knowledge of the menstral-regulating qualities of rue, pennyroyal and other herbs was widespread through the centuries among herbalists, apothecaries, doctors, and laywomen themselves, even as theologians and legal scholars began advancing the idea that the foetus was fully human from the moment of conception.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book presents information that could turn out to be important for theories of demographic change.
If it is accurate that knowledge about methods of contraception and abortion are not a recent discovery but have been widespread among ancient peoples (which makes sense to me), some important questions arise:
(1) how do we explain the christian-european ignorance of, even rejection of contraception and abortion that was commonplace in the euro-american world until into the 60ies? When and how did this basic human knowledge about contraception and abortion practices disappear and how might this have contributed to the steep growth of the european population in early modern times? Riddle offers some interesting answers here: he interprets the witch trials of early modern times as a strategy against specialists in matters of contraception and abortion (many midwifes were labeled witches and burned).
(2) how do we explain the surprisingly high birth rates in many socalled "development countries" and especially in the islamic world that some american strategists see as one of the major background factors of terrorism ("youth bulge")'--- how is this correlated with the history of knowledge about contraception and abortion in these countries?
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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5 reviews
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
A work of history which also excels as an herbal
24 May 2002
Format:Paperback
As a person who enjoys the study of social history (how people lived) and herbal medicine, this book exceeded my expectations on both counts.
Riddle is an historian, so the scholarship in the book is historical scholarship. He moves deftly between conflicting theories of demographics and actual family sizes, at home with his contemporaries and able to argue his somewhat novel opinion on a level playing field. Not surprisingly, historians tend to go along with modern medical thought that there were no effective systems of personal or professional health care prior to our own allopathic tradition in the past few centuries. Herbalists, homeopaths and the like are still fighting for legitimacy against exactly this mindset.
What surprised and delighted me was the thoroughness of Riddle's information on the herbs in question. It must be noted that he does NOT provide recipes for readers to use at home. He isn't playing (herbal) doctor. Regardless, a person with some experience in herbalism or access to alternate texts can easily take the list of herbs from this book and find appropriate dosage and other how to information from that other source--including the important caveat that herbs are not always safe and shouldn't be taken without professional advice or lots of research. Riddle's emphasis is on pointing out which plants have been indicated, by whom in the ancient world, and what science has (or has not) done to test for actual efficacy.
One interesting side note for readers who allow for the possible effectiveness of today's most revolutionary complementary medicine modalities is Riddle's reporting of the fact that, historically, chants (magic) were often listed together with the herbs (medicine) in any given herbal recipe. Riddle is careful and respectful of the potential for narrow-mindedness when he admits that, to our Western minds, there can be no believing in the usefulness of the magic side of the equation, but he makes no disparaging remarks and he allows for future scientific work to prove said "magic" effective. Of course, to a modern practitioner of Reiki or any other mental/spiritual healing system, it is certainly possible to suppose the intent of the healer and/or patient was a necessary or beneficent part of the ancient cures.
I expected to enjoy this book's subject matter, but I was actually delighted by how well Mr. Riddle covered both aspects of the topic, and even more so by the easy readability of his style. Any person who enjoys reading well-written history for pleasure will find this a work worth spending some time with.
21 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Brave scholarship upon the "secret knowledge" of women.
9 Aug 1998
Format:Hardcover
An outstanding work of scholarship. Riddle has gathered buried historical evidence of reproductive control through the ages. A must read for those who feel that we live in the most "enlightened" age, in regards to reproduction. Riddle will prove you wrong. Women have been in control of their reproduction for centuries. Readily available herbs have been more effective than "modern science" throughout society.
10 of 13 people found the following review helpful
awesome
19 Oct 1998
Format:Hardcover
The best book out there thus far on herbal contraception and abortion.
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