Any reader who needs reminding of why the NHS was established should immediately seek out this book. Those familiar with Julian Tudor Hart's work will know him to be a passionate believer in the enduring values and principles of the NHS, which he calls a “gift economy.” In this book he takes government to task for embracing wholesale the “marketisation” of health care and for dismantling a unique public service. His critique is wide ranging and questions whether political parties in contemporary life are any longer capable of providing leadership towards a future that does not entail the subordination of public services to global markets and rapacious multinational companies.

Tudor Hart's purpose in writing the book is to provide a big picture for students of health and health care, so that they may appreciate the wider context in which they work. What he really wants to achieve is an end to the “political illiteracy of most doctors.” The …