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More from the reviews:

‘An endlessly beguiling grand tour d’horizon… Nobody could do this colossal subject better justice than Professor Porter.’

MICHAEL BYWATER, New Statesman

‘History as compulsive as this is a splendid reminder of the essential truth [of mortality]… an admirable and a richly enjoyable book’

New Scientist

‘What? Yet another compulsively readable, astonishingly encyclopaedic book from Roy Porter? The Greatest Benefit to Mankind might be his best to date: an epic, one-volume narrative history of man’s struggle with the infirmities of his body, from Aesculapius to AIDS. The author’s perceptiveness is, as usual, scalpel-sharp; his manner genially bedside; his erudition invigorating. To get the full benefit of Dr Porter’s tonic, take a dose of the book at least once a day and retire early to bed.’

SIMON SCHAMA

‘Riveting … one of the abiding impressions left by this astonishingly erudite historical survey is of the enormous intellectual effort across all cultures to try and understand the origins of illness. Another is what perilous lives we have led, especially since we created cities to live in. There is prodigious labour here, as well as generous helpings of wit… This fine book is much more than a chronicle of the rise of modern medical science. It is also a splendidly salutary reminder of the precariousness and pain of the human lot through most of our history. After reading it, anyone who has ever attended a birth, overcome an infection by taking a pill or had a pain-free operation, should be left profoundly grateful to be living in the second half of the 20th century, rather than any of the centuries before.’

JON TURNEY, Financial Times

‘Excellent … In this fine book, Porter has managed to weave together both approaches to the history of medicine. On the one hand he has drawn thumbnail sketches of the rich variety of personalities whose achievements were seminal to the slow evolution of the field. His choices are nothing if not catholic: Galen, William Harvey, Louis Pasteur and like giants were not unexpected; Jacob Bigelow, Dock and other pioneers of medical education may be less familiar; and the Egyptian healer Iri, keeper of the royal rectum is a genuine collector’s piece. Yet at the same time Porter has managed to set each stage of this complex story in its social and demographic framework. Even more remarkably, he has maintained this dualistic approach in accounts of medical practice in ancient Greece, China and India, through its Arab-Islamic period and in medieval England to the present day. Yet this massive fact-filled volume is written so eloquently, with such style, insight and humour that it is extremely difficult to put down… Porter has performed a great service to today’s (and tomorrow’s) doctors and to the community at large by placing the current medical scene in its broad historical perspective. And in so doing he has managed to write a wonderfully entertaining book. His synthesis of the modern doctor’s dilemma is spot on. All those who have the daunting task of trying to redefine the goals of medical practice for the future should read this book and then read it again. It is a magnificent achievement.’

DAVID WEATHERALL, THES

‘The richness of the historical information is matched by the vividness of his assessment of present dangers from the resurgence of disease.’

JOHN MADDOX, New Statesman, Books of the Year

‘Porter is both immensely learned and highly readable. Readers who, like myself, enjoy discovering unexpected facts will find this book a treasure trove… Roy Porter’s mammoth medical history is an extraordinary achievement; it is lively and full of fascinating information.’

ANTHONY STORR, Observer

‘A marvellous canter through 10,000 years of disease, diagnosis and death’

TIM RADFORD, Guardian

‘Big, broad-minded, compendious yet lively and extremely readable’

Scotsman

‘A bedside book which can be guaranteed to interest, educate and soothe the most disturbed insomniac. The book is amusingly – even racily written. Porter’s role as a commentator has not detracted from historical detail, as the anecdotal style with which he describes the intricacies of medical practice throughout the ages makes it blend seamlessly with his analyses of social conditions. Although doctors and patients who have lived and worked through the medical revolution of the post-antibiotic era, and all the other changes of the past 50 years, may find this book particularly fascinating, it also makes interesting reading to those who have no previous specialised knowledge in either history or medicine. The Greatest Benefit to Mankind is as much a gigantic essay on medicine as it is a textbook and is particularly effective in revealing the changes in medicine over the past 150 years, together with the social and political changes which first prompted them … Porter is particularly stimulating when writing on the history of mental disease… Readers will find enough detail to make them glad that they live in a time where there are anaesthetics, surgical teams and a sophisticated pharmaceutical industry, but the descriptions are not so gory that the insomniac who seeks relief within its covers will later fear to turn out the lights.’

THOMAS STUTTAFORD, The Times

‘Most impressive… a titanic 800-pager which ranges from pre-history to the present… Porter is the master of the telling quotation… He is also the first historian to tackle the complexities of medicine’s recent past, with the extraordinary therapeutic revolution of the post-war years.’

JAME SLEFANU, Daily Telegraph

‘An impressive sweep from the Greeks to the present day… [The Greatest Benefit to Mankind] bears endless dipping into. It is a unique reference book, mixing an abundance of factual material with lively sociological insights. Certainly no medical student should be without it’

JOHN CORNWELL, Sunday Times Christmas Books 1997.

‘I intend to keep this book within reach for years to come… text book history at its best… Porter matches strong opinions to his mastery of the facts.’

ALFRED W CROSBY, Nature

‘This book is so stimulating and thought-provoking that, frankly, by the time I’d finished it I was in such a brain-overloaded anxiety state that I had to resort to one of modern medicine’s great innovations – a Valium pill.’

VAL HENNESSY, Daily Mail

‘Excellent’

Evening Standard, Christmas Books

‘To combine enormous knowledge and a delightful style and a highly idiosyncratic point of view is Roy Porter’s special gift, and it makes his new book alive and fascinating and provocative on every page.’

OLIVER SACKS

‘Sprawlingly compendious, encyclopaedically detailed and utterly free from any sort of triumphalist condescension about present achievement and past superstition… Every clinician, every aspirant clinician, every patient should read this wise book.’

BRIAN MORTON, Scotland on Sunday

‘Mr Porter, a formidably learned man, seems in this history to have omitted no discovery and no medical scientist of any importance… this account is completely without the cynicism which disfigures so much recently written medical history.’

Economist

‘Only the unique artistry or Roy Porter could have created this panoramic and perfectly magnificent intellectual history of medicine. It makes no difference whether one reads it for its wisdom, insight, inimitable perspective, or simply for its plenitude of information – this is the book that delivers it all, plus the sheer joy of hearing the distinct voice of one of today’s most fascinating commentators on the development of the ancient art of healing.’

SHERWIN B. NULAND

‘Intelligent and highly readable’

AMANDA FOREMAN, Independent

‘Intelligent analysis… Porter stresses at the beginning and reiterates powerfully throughout his captivating text, the authority and legitimacy of scientific medicine in Western society has lain only in small measure in its ability to cure the sick… interesting and provocative.’

LARA MARKS, History Today

‘Everything he writes is highly readable and his erudition is formidable.’

ANTHONY DANIELS, Sunday Telegraph

‘The solid virtues of The Greatest Benefit include clarity, calm and expertise in the art of the compressed anecdote: as in this sentence which concludes the career of the laughing gas pioneer: ‘Wells lost medical support, grew depressed, became addicted to chloroform, and after arrest in New York for hurling sulphuric acid at two prostitutes, committed suicide in jail’. The quotes are often very funny or very sad.’

ERIC CHRISTIANSEN, Spectator

‘Interesting… abounding in titbits of curious information.’

WILLIAM H. McNEILL, TLS

‘This huge book is an amazing achievement’

Irish Independent

‘A hugely enjoyable exploration of medicine and history. From hunter-gatherer to heart transplant, a matrix of ideas and events is woven, seamlessly incorporating medicine, philosophy, science and history. A seductive spell is cast… the prose flows effortlessly, the material well-organised and anecdotally fascinating… A great read.’

ALAN MUNRO, British Journal of General Practice

‘Wonderful… A powerful overview’

British Medical Journal

‘In this excellent book, Porter combines the presentation of full details concerning the science, art and practice of medicine through the ages with a refreshingly critical approach… readable and accessible to a wide audience, outshining other more traditional histories of medicine… truly a major achievement.’

International History of Nursing Journal