
A substantial contribution to the ongoing debate about government participation in the delivery of medical care, this volume offers historical, cross-national comparisons of the performance of medical systems in Britain, France, Sweden, and the US over most of the last century. At a time when many call for "privatization," the findings and data analyses strongly suggest that the role of state intervention has been, by and large, a positive one. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)