PART I: WHAT IS PUBLICH HEALTH? -- Public health: science, politics, and prevention -- Why is public health controversial? -- Powers and responsibilities of government -- PART II: ANALYTICAL METHODS OF PUBLIC HEALTH -- Epidemiology: the basic science of public health -- Epidemiologic principles and methods -- Problems and limits of epidemiology -- Statistics: making sense of uncertainty -- The role of data in public health -- PART III: BIOMEDICAL BASIS OF PUBLIC HEALTH -- The "Conquest" of infectious diseases -- The resurgence of infectious diseases -- The biomedical basis of chronic diseases -- Genetic diseases and other inborn errors -- PART IV: SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL FACTORS IN HEALTH -- Do people choose their own health? -- How psychosocial factors affect health behavior -- Public health enemy number one: tobacco -- Public health enemy number two and growing: poor diet and physical inactivity -- Injuries are not accidents -- Maternal and child health as a social problem -- Mental health: public health includes healthy minds -- PART V: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN PUBLIC HEALTH -- A clean environment: the basis of public health -- Clean air: is it safe a breathe? -- Clean water: a limited resource -- Solid and hazardous wastes: what to do with the garbage? -- Safe food and drugs: an ongoing regulatory battle -- Population: the ultimate environmental health issue -- PART VI: MEDICAL CARE AND PUBLICH HEALTH -- Is the medical care system a public health issue? -- Why the U.S. medical system needs reform -- Health services research: finding what works -- Public health and the aging population -- PART VII: THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC HEALTH -- Emergency preparednes, post-9/11 -- Public health in the Twenty-First Century: achievements and challenges.