BOOK REVIEW: AN ANTHROPOLOGY OF BIOMEDICINE BY MARGARET LOCK AND VINH-KIM NGUYEN (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010, 520 p., pbk, ISBN: 978-1-4051-1071-6)

Abstract

This review describes in detail the concepts, methodologies and theoretical approaches to the study of biomedicine, considered by American researchers Margaret Locke and Vin-Kim Nguyen. The review includes numerous examples of biotechnology research, health institutes, ethical debates about the medicalization of life and death, and critiques of human body normalization and racial classification. The issues of history, colonization, globalization and political activism related to the dissemination and use of medical knowledge were also touched upon. Despite its problematic focus on the Western model of biomedicine and the lack of an overview of biomedical systems in Asia, South America and other parts of the world, this book is a well-written and engaging text that is recommended to a wide range of readers interested in critically analyzing medicine.