Investigating health, welfare and poverty Book

I liked this book very much. It is thoughtful, well-researched, and offers a stimulating take on the history of psychosomatic illness. I detracted a star for two reasons. Firstly, the author seems to be unnecessarily biased against somatizing patients who refuse to consider psychological explanations. Secondly, the basic hypothesis, namely that a large number of physical complaints throughout modern history are due to psychological influences, needs a much more thorough argumentation, with a firmer basis in psychology, to be entirely convincing. But well worth a read despite these drawbacks.