As the technology of medicine becomes ever more impersonal, concern about the human side of medical practice is not surprising. Caution about the dangers of uncoordinated specialized care is still practiced in the context of "body as machine" rather than "patient as person." Concern about the physician-patient relationship—the so-called "bedside manner"—is often belittled as irrelevant to contemporary practice. In fact, medical training socializes future practitioners to let go of their human tendency to identify with the patient. Is this rejection merely an enactment of machismo or the performance of a high-status identity?

More and Milligan have brought together an impressive group of physicians and social scientists to consider these questions. The 13 papers in this book present various perspectives on the place of empathy in medical practice and its gendered nature. The papers fit together well without redundancy, often citing one another; the editors have done an outstanding job of coordinating the authors. Empathy is discussed without romanticization. Besides analyzing the benefits of appropriate empathy, the authors also discuss the dangers of misplaced empathy in relationships of unequal power.

The practice of empathy tends to differ according to the sex of the physician but not according to the sex of the patient. Gender expectations that patients bring to the examining room and differences between the sexes in nonverbal communication contribute to these differences. Concerns about status identity and feelings of vulnerability also seem to play a role. Training can often correct "empathy deficits."

Unfortunately, although the need for a holistic, empathic, and egalitarian respect for patients can be documented, changes in the organization and financing of medical care may be making this need increasingly difficult to satisfy.