Charles E. Phelps provides a comprehensive look at our health-care system, including how the current system evolved, how the health-care sector behaves, and a detailed analysis of the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of the system-from technological advances (the good ) to variations in treatment patterns (the bad ) to hidden costs and perverse incentives (the ugly ). He shows that much of the cost of health care ultimately derives from our own lifestyle choices and thus that education may well be the most powerful form of health reform we can envision.