In every book chapter, the author provides compelling evidence for the various ways in which medicine is used to accomplish not only physical health goals, but also economic and social ones. Each individual uses the medical direction he or she deems to be most appropriate to his or her specific social and economic concerns. At the start of the book, for example, the Western doctor and his medicine were used to get closer to the Methodist church leader and potential membership in this church. Although I do feel the book makes its point well, I do not believe that medical systems really merits their status as primary vehicle towards secondary goals. Instead, there is an entire networks of primary and secondary resources to accomplish both. I feel the book could have paid more attention to the integration of factors rather than focusing only on the one profession as the basis of all else. Surely there are those without physical ailments search for the help of the church or to enter education, for no less secondary resources than those searching out the medical profession....
While the research does have significant value in terms of how medical resources are used, and for what reasons, I do feel that it is somewhat narrow in its viewpoint, implying that the medical profession is at the root of all other goals and accomplishments. A further point of attention the book could have given to its subject matter is a comparison with more modern ways of being and doing in the Kachitu. The 1970s, for today's perspective, is some 40 years in the past, which means significant developments must have taken place in Kachitu in terms of both its cultural climate, technological resources, and education. These points might be taken into consideration for future study or for new editions of the same study. In general, however, I do feel that the research has been put together in a clear and concise way, while also accomplishing the goals it set out to accomplish.
References
Crandon-Malamud, L. (1991). From the Fat of Our Souls: Social change, Political Process, and Medical Pluralism in Bolivia. The Regents of the University of California.
