Covey (College of Continuing Education, U. of Colorado at Boulder) examines the slave narratives collected by the Works Project Administration in the 1930s in order to investigate the health care experiences of slaves. He presents chapters discussing social experiences of medical care at the hands of whites, slave folk medical practices, and conjure doctors. He also provides an identification and classification of the materia medica found in the narrative, including plant and non-plant materials, that critically analyzes whether the materials would make a medical difference or not. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)