A vital and beautifully narrated history of American medicine that arrives at precisely the right moment. With elegance, moral clarity, and extraordinary archival depth, Downs recovers the forgotten worlds of enslaved healers, midwives, caregivers, activists, and ordinary citizens whose labor, knowledge, and courage shaped the very foundations of American healthcare.—Jonathan M. Metzl, author of Dying of Whiteness

A breath of fresh air. Part medical narrative and part cultural history, Medicine by the People heralds the foresight and courage of marginalized people who demanded that American medical care be rooted in cultural competency, compassion, and harm reduction. This is a critically important book. —Deirdre Cooper Owens, author of Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology

Deeply-researched, with detail that brings the people of the past alive, each chapter shows how everyday people innovated medical science, public health, and the response to epidemic crises. Downs is at his finest as a powerful public intellectual, and Medicine by the People is a historical guidebook for navigating the future of American health care. —Jacob Steere-Williams, author of The Filth Disease

A fascinating window into history’s unsung innovators of health. Brilliantly weaving together stories of ordinary and extraordinary men and women, Downs shines much-needed light on the enduring challenge of making a system that serves the people.—Keith Wailoo, author of Pushing Cool: Big Tobacco, Racial Marketing, and the Untold Story of the Menthol Cigarette

A must-read for anyone who has ever felt excluded from the U.S. healthcare system, Medicine By the People chronicles the extraordinary role ordinary people have played in shaping what we understand medicine can or should be. Take this short walk through four centuries of American history, with Downs as your guide, and you might catch along the way a glimpse of a future that would merit your trust. —Jeremy A. Greene, author of The Doctor Who Wasn’t There