In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Acknowledgments Many people in di√erent ways have helped to make it possible for me to write this book. The Department of History at Case Western Reserve University, where this project began as a doctoral dissertation, was a particularly rich place to engage in this sort of inquiry, and in particular the mentorship of a number of faculty members at Case has been crucial. When I entered the program, David Hammack urged me to pursue research related to my experience working as a nursing assistant in the geriatric wards of hospitals, and that good advice set me on the course that ultimately led to this book. My dissertation adviser, David Van Tassel, who died shortly after I graduated from Case, was a supportive mentor, patiently guiding me through the early stages when it seemed this project would never be started, let alone completed. More than this, he was an inspiring model of professional integrity and graceful collegiality for which I am grateful and to which I shall always aspire. Jonathan Sadowsky has been an important intellectual influence throughout this long process, always willing to hear my ideas out, urging me to sharpen and push them further, and pointing to fruitful connections with broader scholarly discourses. Alan Rocke’s careful reading and critique helped sharpen my thinking on many points. Beyond the Department of History, indeed beyond the disciplinary boundaries that constrain most scholars, Peter Whitehouse’s mentorship has been integral to bringing this project to fruition. Through our collaborative work, he provided me with tremendously valuable opportunities to creatively explore this topic in interaction with some of the leading figures in various aspects of Alzheimer’s disease research. Beyond this, his spirit of critical inquiry into the past and possible future of this disease and deep understanding of the significance of dementia as a human problem have been a touchstone at every step of the way. An Andrew W. Mellon dissertation fellowship provided some financial support at a crucial point. Much more important, it gave me the opportunity to interact with a group of dedicated young scholars from around the university through xvi acknowledgments the Mellon fellow seminar, organized by Martha Woodmansee and Jonathan Sadowsky. The supportive community of many of my fellow graduate students at Case was also instrumental in the formative stages of this project. The members of the Department of History’s Works-In-Progress group read early drafts of several chapters and provided many helpful suggestions and much encouragement . When I was ready to quit, Tasslyn Frame, Dan Kerr, Bernie Jim, and everyone in the ‘‘Graduate Burial Society’’ reawakened my faith in the larger purpose of this endeavor and the ideals of the academy that we must struggle to keep alive. Marty Gibbons and Sue Horning provided encouragement late in the game. Most of all, I would like to thank Pat Ryan for helping me think through this project at every step of the way and for spurring me on when the going got toughest. I am very grateful to Randall Packard and the Institute of the History of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University for the support of a generous postdoctoral fellowship. Faculty and graduate students at the institute provided an inspiring community of dedicated scholars and o√ered many helpful ideas and suggestions on portions of the book. In particular, I would like to thank postdoctoral fellows Laura McGough and Gretchen Krueger for their support, and Gretchen in particular for reading late drafts of several chapters. I am also thankful to Constantine Lyketsos and Peter Rabins of the division of geriatric psychiatry and neuropsychiatry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine for their interest in the work of a historian and their willingness to share their time and experience. Jackie Wehmueller of the Johns Hopkins University Press has been a wonderful editor to work with and has provided helpful advice throughout this project. Anonymous reviewers for the press provided comments on both the proposal and final manuscript which helped me improve the book in many ways. I have not understood until now why this disclaimer is so often made, but when I look back at the collective wisdom of all those who have read parts of this book in light of my own inability to integrate fully their good advice, I feel compelled to state the obvious: the shortcomings that remain are wholly my own. I thank my new colleagues at Pennsylvania State University’s Science, Technology and Society Program, and in...

Share