[Book review] Health, plague and society in early modern Malta

Abstract

In his book "Historical Research: A Guide" (2002), W.H. McDowell defines historical research as representing: "... ... a systematic enquiry into the past and an attempt to separate true from fictionalized accounts of historical events, based upon the examination of a wide range of relevant source material. " Prof Cassar with his recent academic work "Health, Plague, and Society in Early Modern Malta" has given us another excellent view into the past. His book serves as an effective time-machine taking the reader back to a period when medical science was striving to break the bonds of Medieval restrictive thought and embrace the freedom of thought which was brought about by the Renaissance. Medical concepts at the beginning of the sixteenth century were still rudimentary being based more on a philosophical perspective of Galenic Theories with very little being based on scientific observation and experimentation. There was certainly no 'evidence-based medicine' which today serves as the buzzword for medical research and practice.