It really is a good book. The most striking thing about the book is Gevitz's dry factual tone regarding Osteopathy. It evolves until there is a tinge of respect, maybe even reverence. Most striking about the book is that it does an excellent job of detailing how a group of physicians, barely taken seriously by allopathic medicine a little over 100 years ago, gained complete practice rights in all 50 states and many countries. Whenever I read about all the controversy surrounding osteopathy, I remember this book. It's astounding how far DOs have come and really makes you think about the future. The book doesn't hold back any punches, as Gevitz does a fairly good job of detailing the challenges that face future DOs. It really is a must read before you fill out an AACOMAS application, even if you're just investigating the possibility of applying to an osteopathic medical school. If you're a student of medical history, it is also a good read because you can compare the trials and tribulations of allopathic medicine to osteopathy's. I think many people forget that before the Flexner Report, medical education in the U.S. was a hodgepodge system of truly excellent schools (like Hopkins) and for-profit institutions with a few proprietors loosely affiliated with a college or university. All professions go through growing pains. Furthermore, when you take Still's ideas into context with the times that he lived, you quickly see Still's genius in an age before modern medicines like penicillin. Still rejected the sometimes barbaric practices at the time and, if nothing else, recognized that there had to be a better way of treating disease. That alone is a development worth celebrating.
