102 Book Reviews
The book. which is divided into six chapters, covers democracy issues, forms
of domination before 1990, the colonial economy of central Kenya and finally,
Kenya's political communities in a state of rapid flux in the early 19908, formed
around the shifting local, ethnic, regional and religious identities that are sometimes
manipulated from above.
It is interesting to note that author identifies the post -1990 forces which called
for a better democratic culture and respect for human rights and notes that the leftwing
voice was missing. Given the unfolding processes and brutality of the regime,
one would have been interested to know whether this voice would have changed
anything. In my view, this analysis would have been very important given the fact
that she acknowledges in the final chapter that the struggle for the control of the
state in Kenya was not a battle over any proposed fundamental restructuring of the
economy.
The strength of the book lies in its use of theatrical metaphors to illustrate why
politics of spectacle, fantasy and image-making dominate this "post-modem" era.
In this respect, the book becomes compelling reading. As correctly noted in this
book, the daily dramas of state politics inn Kenya invite artistic satire. The state as
a political theatre conveys more tragic outcomes as well: lives lost, rights denied,
poverty perpetrated.
Reviewed by Thomas Deve. Assistant Editor. Sapes Trust. Harare. Zimbabwe.
Children, Medicines and Culture, Patricia Bush, et al, Pharaceutica1 Products
Press, an imprint of The Haworh Press, Inc. (1996), New York, ISBN: 1-56024-
937-4, 420pp inc index, Price: US$39,95 (bib).
Children. Medicines. and Culture provides a multicultural, multidisciplinary look
at how children in nine European countries and the United States are socialised into
medicine use. The team of authors, comprised of social and medical scientists,
takes a sociocultural approach to understanding why the use of medicines varies
among countries. Their premise is that beliefs, expectations, and behaviours about
medicines are learned in childhood and are influenced by families and the wider
culture. Authors interviewed children and their families and discuss children's
knowledge of medicines, their autonomy in medicine use, the attitudes of children
and their parents about medicines, how children act as decision-makers, medicines
kept at home, treatment of childhood fever, and alternative therapies.
Chapters in the book represent individual country reports and cross-national
comparisons as the authors seek to understand how children are socialised into
medicine use in Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands,
Spain, the former Yugoslavia, and the United States. It would be useful for
BooleReviews 103
scholars in anthropology, social pharmacy, social sciences, community health
educators, paediatricians, and medical staff, providing a unique exploration of
children and medications supplies; cross-national comparisons of household
medicines; comparisons of the treatment of childhood fever from the child's and
parent's perspective; comparisons of children's views of the role and benefits of
medicines in health and illness; children's knowledge of medicines relative to
source, efficacy, mechanism of action, and characteristics; and the respective
advantages and disadvantages to qualitative and qualititative methods and triangulation
in cross-cultural research
The book provides health policymakers, educators and professionals with
information on which to base and plan health information for children and families.
It also provides an entertaining look at how children and families deal with
childhood illnesses in different countries, what kind of medicines families in
different countries keep at home, and how children and their parents in different
countries view the benefit of medicines and doctors in general.
What is interesting about this book is its multicultural base. Different sections
of the book explore contextual and structural factors that account for differences
in medicine use; details of the local studies; children's perceptions of illness and
medicines; and concepts of illness, childhood, medication, and family life in
different cultural settings. Authors note that underlying cultural differences shape
the way that parents and children perceive and define illness and its treatment.
Children. Medicines. and Culture is an unusual book that provides a revealing
insight into how medical anthropology can provide surprising and revealing
insights into the overly 'rational' medical world. It is also a considerable tribute to
the work of the scientists who took part and a valuable contribution to crosscultural
work in this field.
Reviewed by Nigeillali. Editor. Journal of Social Development in Africa