"What will this book do for me?" or to paraphrase Ben Franklin, "Can it bring me health (which is really wealth), happiness, and wis- dom?" It can, for many reasons.
A growing number of books for laymen on the subject of health have appeared in the past decade. Never before has there been such widespread popular interest in medical science.
Much of this interest has been motivated by the unprece- dented advances in medical research that have been made in our time.
One discovery has led rapidly to another and many old views are radically changed.
New information, new diag- nostic tools, and new drugs have provided new answers to many old problems that were believed to be without solution.
Even the practicing physician cannot always keep abreast of these swift developments in medical progress.
He cannot take time from treatment of his patients to evaluate all reports of new findings and new products that daily flood his office.
At the same time, he cannot shirk the traditional responsi- bility of the physician to teach the public how to prevent illness and how best to treat it when it occurs.
