Radiation Evangelists: Technology, Therapy, and Uncertainty at the Turn of the Century

Jeffrey Womack earned his PhD in history from the University of Houston in 2016. He regularly collaborates with the College of Physicians of Philadelphia's Historical Medical Library and Mutter Museum. He resides and teaches in Philadelphia.

Title: Radiation Evangelists: Technology, Therapy, and Uncertainty at the Turn of the Century

Author: Womack

ISBN: 9780822946090

Binding:

Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press

Publication Date: 2020-09-30

Number of Pages: 228

Weight: 0.4311 kg

Although much has been written about the history of X-ray diagnosis, relatively little has been written about early radiation therapy. This impressive book helps to fill that gap. Drawing from a rich array of sources, Jeffrey Womack shows how early adopters navigated an uncertain world and used their experiences to argue for skepticism in the face of new technology. -Joel D. Howell, University of Michigan

This careful and clever study of radiation's evangelists casts a penetrating light on everything from geopolitics to medical professionalization. Womack has found voices from the struggle for acceptance of radiation therapy both familiar and underappreciated, and put them in service to a narrative that will be of great interest to historians of science, medicine, and technology. -Matthew Lavine, author of The First Atomic Age: Scientists, Radiations and the American Public, 1845-1945