Voices in Medical Sociology: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives is a reader for students of health care. The collection of articles written by sociologists, health care providers, public health professionals, lawyers, and students addresses the most salient issues in the field of medical sociology today. These readings cover epidemiology, maternal health, children’s health, legal aspects of health care reform, and the lack of health care for incarcerated women. Additionally, the book addresses controversial topics such as fracking, female genital mutilation, alternative medicine, and the social construction of illness. This material familiarizes students with long-standing concerns in the field of health care, and also exposes them to new issues that are relevant today. Voices in Medical Sociology is an interdisciplinary text that provides important information for students without relying on the standard textbook form. Rather, it makes use of diverse materials including legal cases, personal memoirs, and book reviews. It also includes previously published and new articles. The variety of the original writings and the different voices of the writers serve to discuss and define the many diverse aspects of contemporary health care.

Cynthia T. Cook earned her Master’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Chicago, and her Ph.D. from Texas Woman’s University. Currently she is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Florida A & M University, where she teaches medical sociology and population problems. Her area of specialization is medical sociology, demography, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Women’s Studies with a concentration on global and domestic health disparities. She is co-editor of Cultural Proficiency in Addressing Health Disparities, Voices in Sociology: an Introduction to Core Concepts, and the GRIOT (the official newsletter of the Association of Black Sociologists). Dr. Cook has published articles in the Journal of the National Medical Association, Program Planning and Evaluation, Law and Medicine, and the Journal of Black Studies.