Reviews for Healing Ways: Navajo Health Care in the Twentieth Century

The average rating for Healing Ways: Navajo Health Care in the Twentieth Century based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-12-02 00:00:00 Bill Hockley This book starts with a bang, and goes out with a fizzle. The intro is excellent, exciting, and clear. The rest felt belaboured. Maybe that was the plan though. In any case, here is what I found valuable, perhaps with a little extrapolation of my own in language: There is no coherent objective basis for human dignity (and therefore universal human rights) from a secular perspective. Nietzsche declared this, and nobody has shown cohesive evidence otherwise. As humans, we have a tradition of considering certain groups as less than "truely" human, and this leads to all kinds of "crimes against humanity" again and again throughout history; even very recent history. This degradation of the value of human life might sound distant, or obviously wrong, but is an ever real threat in every society. As we make, revise, and interpret laws which are based on a seemingly unfounded assumption of human dignity, there is a need to be honest and explicit in our dialogue. Perhaps at the center of this discussion is article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights regarding the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; especially since Perry argues that the inviolability of human life is an inescapably religious principle.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-01-30 00:00:00 Nonyo Bizness I'm slightly unsure on how to properly rate/critique a piece that isn't fiction or a creative work, but I'll do my best. I read this book for a human rights course, and as a student, I found that the questions Michael Perry brought up were fundamental to building a foundation of any theory of human rights. However, sometimes the points he made when addressing the questions were difficult to follow because he repeated himself quite a bit. I also disagreed with his stance in the first chapter ("Is the Idea of Human Rights Ineliminably Religious?"). His view is very biased in the beginning (and he does address it), but he does make some good points (when you understand them). In general, my rating is based on the execution/way it was written more than the actual content. I will add, however, that about a third of this book is footnotes/citations, so while it is clear that he did his research, I do question the originality of the work.