Every discipline has its legends and lore, but medicine has a series of inspirational moments in which someone, be it Lister and his carbolic acid wound dressing or Donald Wilson and his efforts to open medical education to minorities, saved lives. Eugene Straus (medicine emeritus, State U. of New York Health Science Center) and editor Alex Straus make complex principles and notions accessible to the general reader but still satisfy those with more medical background in the details. They cover medicine and surgery from Galen to the most recent issues in research, clinical trials and patient advocacy. They include the ideas that went wrong but led to improvements in treatment and diagnosis, and focus on medicine within the contemporary social and cultural context. They are also unflinchingly honest about the personalities involved. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)