The United States, the richest country in the world, currently ranks 27^th in the health of its citizens. Lagging behind not only most of the rich countries, but a few poor ones as well. Fifty years ago, the US was among the top five. What happened in the past five decades to cause this decline? Bezruchka explains that an increasing stratification between the rich and the poor plays a major role. Life spans and infant mortality rates depend very much on the hierarchical structure of a society. And new research shows that half of what influences our health as adults is largely determined before the age of five. What can we learn form other countries whose citizens live longer and healthier lives?

Stephen Bezruchka is a senior lecturer at the University of Washington and works as an emergency room physician in Seattle. His particular areas of research are population health and societal hierarchy and its application to health. He is author of numerous articles and essays. His most recent contribution is to Sickness and Wealth, a collection of essays on the effects of global corporatization on health.