ISBN-13: 9780198234098 / Miękka / 2000 / 296 str.
This book is a study of a serious illness in a New Guinea village. It records the failure of local treatments and Western medicine, and of a communal ritual to bring a spirit to heal a man; it also shows how cultural beliefs and assumptions may influence events. The author, an anthropologist and medical doctor, focuses on how those closely involved maintained their hope and beliefs, and how they faced the realization of failure.