This book examines the problems of public health provision in historical perspective. It outlines the development of public health in Britain from the ancient world, through the medieval and early modern periods to the modern state.

This book examines the social, economic and political issues of public health provision in historical perspective. It outlines the development of public health in Britain, Continental Europe and the United States from the ancient world through to the modern state. It includes discussion of:
* pestilence, public order and morality in pre-modern times
* the Enlightenment and its effects
* centralization in Victorian Britain
* localization of health care in the United States
* population issues and family welfare
* the rise of the classic welfare state
* attitudes towards public health into the twenty-first century.

'An absolutely fascinating book. The issues raised are timely and unsettling, largely unaddressed as they are by contemporary public health professionals.' - British Medical Journal