(Cambridge History of Medicine.) Edited by Virginia Berridge and Philip Strong. 284 pp. New York, Cambridge University Press, 1993. $54.95. ISBN 0-521-41477-6. By Arthur D. Kahn. 236 pp. Philadelphia, Temple University Press, 1993. $27.95. ISBN 1-55639-018-4.
For some, the concept of contemporary history is not only anoxymoron, but also a dangerous mistake. A history of the presentcannot possibly be based on the perspective provided by thepassage of years or a thorough examination of archival material.According to this view, the very immediacy of the urge to chroniclethe present guarantees that the effort will fall victim to thedistorting influence of contemporary politics. Despite suchdifficulties, historians in increasing numbers have been luredinto applying their craft to the understanding of the recentpast, and even the present. A desire to be relevant, . . . [Full Text of this Article]
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