Witches, Midwives & Nurses: A History of Women Healers

As we watch another agonizing attempt to shift the future of health care in the United States, we are reminded of the longevity of this crisis, and how firmly entrenched we are in a system that doesn't work.

"Witches, Midwives, and Nurses," first published by The Feminist Press in 1973, is an essential book about the corruption of the medical establishment and its historic roots in witch hunters. In this new edition, Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English have written an entirely new chapter that delves into the current fascination with and controversies about witches, exposing our fears and fantasies. They build on their classic expose on the demonization of women healers and the political and economic monopolization of medicine. This quick history brings us up-to-date, exploring today's changing attitudes toward childbirth, alternative medicine, and modern-day witches.

Barbara Ehrenreich is author of the "New York Times" bestsellers "Nickel and Dimed" and "Bait and Switch," and, most recently, "This Land is Their Land."

Deirdre English, the former editor of "Mother Jones," is a professor in the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley.

“"This booklet will open your eyes. Barbara Ehrenrich and Deirdre English show how, for reasons of class politics, women's suppression and naked greed, wealthy men discredited, persecuted and outright killed the wisewomen healers, leaving themselves to be the sole practitioners of their 'scientific' medicine. The information presented here gives a whole new perspective to medical history and points to some of the causes underlying our current healthcare mess."--WomanSource Catalog & Review”

Barbara Ehrenreich is the author of Blood Rites: Origins and History of the Passions of War and Nickle and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.