The UK National Health Service is always in crisis, yet it has been shown, time and time again, that the public value it more highly than anything else in British society. This book is a good news story about the service, and in particular, about its core - its 7 000 general practices.

Between 1974 and 2006 UK general practice underwent an astonishing evolution, moving from the baggage train of the NHS to become its vital, influential spearhead. The book explains how and why these changes came about. It is the first such account written by a GP whose career spanned that time, and...