This volume is the latest in a spate of edited collections dealing with various aspects of public health in Asia. Some of these volumes are regionally specific—focusing predominantly on South or East Asia—but others attempt a wider geographical coverage. Science, Public Health and the State in Modern Asia falls into the latter category, including chapters on East, South East, and South Asia (Sri Lanka). The editors are well qualified for the task, having impressive track records in East Asian history, Western cultural expansion, and the history of public health. But what does their collection add to the large corpus of work that already exists?
