Visualizing Fascism: The Twentieth-Century Rise of the Global Right ed. by Julia Adeney Thomas and Geoff Eley (review)

Abstract

medical doctors, ironically deepened public interest in Chinese herbal medicine. Chapter 6 reveals the decline of Chinese medicine in the United States in the middle decades of the twentieth century. The Great Depression and the shortage of herbs during World War II squeezed Chinese herbalists’ business. The partnership between biomedical research and U.S. military and the competition with the Soviet Union further highlighted the importance of science. Meanwhile, the Chinese descendants began to pursue careers in licensed medical professions instead of Chinese traditional medicine. Chapter 7 argues that these conditions causing the decline of Chinesemedicine in theUnited States unexpectedly paved the way for its revival. In the 1970s, the countercultural backlash and the warming relation between China and the United States sparked the public interest in Chinese medicine again, especially in acupuncture. Now, as the epilogue shows, it is part of integrative medicine. Herbs and Roots demonstrates such a fascinating story of the ups and downs of Chinese medicine in the United States. The questions to be answered are why does the renaissance of Chinese medicine since the 1970s focus on acupuncture while the previous six chapters tell a story of herbs? What happened in the United States that caused this abrupt turn of public interest? Notwithstanding these questions,Herbs andRoots is captivating, fastpaced and gracefully written book that fills a major gap in the history of medicine. The book excels at story-telling and engages with a variety academic fields such as history of medicine, race and environment.