'Elise Young's examination of the politics of women and health in Palestine and Jordan shows that conventional historiographies are not adequate for interpreting historical developments in the region. She provides a unique analysis of how British health campaigns in Palestine and Transjordan served British imperial interests. This book is important for the nuanced understanding it provides of the way in ... Read morewhich changing definitions of health and health care systems in the period of modern nation state building were impacted by Western imperialism and colonialism. Young brings that process alive by bringing indigenous voices into her portrayal of a harrowing period in Palestine and Transjordan-especially for refugee midwifes.' - Elaine Hagopian, Professor Emerita of Sociology, Simmons College, Boston; 'Elise Young's book is a thought-provoking and pioneering work in valuing the stories of silenced women in an Arab neocolonial context. It presents a forgotten and silenced history of dayat in Jordan and Palestine: those I heard my grandfather, a doctor, refer to as the wise women, the birthers of the modern nations of Palestine and Jordan. Young foregrounds the voices of women of strength and knowledge, offering a narrative fragmented and devalued in a century of perpetuating neo/colonialism. Her work represents a daring kind of research in contested terrain still rarely explored in the history of postcolonial Palestine and Jordan. Young's book should be required reading not just for students of history but, more importantly, as a resource for feminist scholars who are still far from engaging with other women in Arab contexts. It will also be a valuable source for Jordanian/Palestinian scholars of history, public health, women's studies and education.' - Manal Hamzeh, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Women's Studies, New Mexico State University Show Less