Snake Oil, Hustlers and Hambones

Ann Anderson is a freelance writer, teacher, actor and director. Her articles and essays have appeared in Stage Directions, Prevention and Health, among many other publications. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

“delightful, comprehensive, and well-documented”—Choice; “useful”—Public Library Quarterly; “well illustrated and documented, as well as entertaining”—C&RL News; “informative and entertaining...very readable...useful”—Medical History; “charming...amusing details”—Fate; “fascinating and well-written...excellent”—Journal of the History of Medicine; “complete and thorough”—The Trade Card Place; “a fascinating look at a bygone world”—Ashe Mountain Times.

• Table of ContentsForeword by Heinrich R. Falk      1. Origins and Influences      2. Colonial and Pioneer Medicine Set the Stage for the Patent-Medicine Industry      3. Patent Medicines: Good for What Ails You      4. Museums, Circuses, and the Wild, Wild West      5. Blackface and Slapstick      6. That Old-Time Religion      7. Street Corners and Big Tents      8. Medicine—Show Life and Tricks of the Trade      9. Yahoo, Hadacol!      10. The Curtain Comes Down      Appendix I: “All Run Down”      Appendix II: “Heart Failure”      Appendix III: Temperance Songs      Chapter Notes      Bibliography      Index