Books by John M. Riddle

Riddle uncovers the obscure history of contraception and abortifacients from ancient Egypt to the 17th century with forays into Victorian England. He explores whether it was possible for premodern people to regulate their reproduction without resorting to dangerous surgical abortions, the killing of infants, or the denial of biological urges.

In this culmination of over twenty years of research, the author employs modern science and anthropological studies innovatively and cautiously to demonstrate the substance to Dioscorides' authority in medicine.

This text covers the Middle Ages from the classical era to the late medieval period. Riddle provides a cogent analysis of the rulers, wars, and events-both natural and human-that defined the medieval era. Richly illustrated with color plates, this lively, engaging book will immerse readers in an era that shaped the foundation for the modern world.

In Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance, Riddle showed that women from ancient Egyptian times to the fifteenth century had relied on an extensive pharmacopoeia of herbal abortifacients and contraceptives to regulate fertility. Here, he explores why knowledge of these methods was lost in modern times.

Explores the history of drugs with the hypothesis that ancient and medieval medicines were effective, arguing that our ancestors had discovered and made effective use of many of the drugs used in medicine today, from antiseptics to oral contraceptives, even chemotherapy for cancer.