First published in 1981, The Sociology of Health and Illness: Critical Perspectives has become an essential resource for anyone interested in health and health care. In this best-selling anthology, Peter Conrad brings together a wide array of critical and sociological perspectives that highlight the integral relationship between health, illness, and society. Fully updated, the eighth edition includes a new section on the uninsured as well as 10 new readings examining topics such as the failures of health care reform, new trends in medicalization, the growing power of the drug industry, and the determinants of media attention to disease. Provocative and wide-ranging, The Sociology of Health and Illness continues to provide students with an integrated analysis of the most important issues regarding health care today. Book jacket.