Description
This is the story of a man and an institution. Brock Chisholm used to be probably the most influential Canadians of the twentieth century. A world-renowned psychiatrist, he used to be the first director-general of the World Health Organization, and built it up against overwhelming political odds in the years immediately following the Second World War.
During Chisholm’s lifetime, the only other Canadians as across the world prominent were Lester B. Pearson and Marshall McLuhan. Yet today he has been in large part forgotten — most likely because he used to be so controversial. An atheist and a fierce critic of jingoistic nationalism, he supported world peace and world government and became a champion of the United Nations and the WHO.
Official histories of the WHO place the organization in a political vacuum, but John Farley makes a speciality of the battles Chisholm and his allies waged right through the early Cold War, as the USA and the Soviet Union eyed each and every other warily and the Roman Catholic Church flexed its muscle on morally sensitive medical issues. Post-1945 international politics, global health issues, and medical history intersect in this highly readable account of a remarkable Canadian.
This story of one of Canada’s most influential and controversial historical figures will appeal to readers interested in post-1945 international politics, world health, and medical history, in addition to to those interested in the life of Brock Chisholm and the history of the World Health Organization.