This book provides a narrative on the foundations of primary care. An ambitious book, it covers a diverse range of topics in 217 pages including historical and philosophical perspectives of medicine, the social function of medicine, and medicine in the community.

Each chapter provides dot-point summaries that would be useful for teaching medical students about primary care. However, the enormous breadth of topics covered in such a short space means that readers get a rather limited view. For example, the chapter on the philosophical fragments on science gives only one or two pages each to science, truth, paradigms, and knowledge. The reader is urged to read elsewhere by delving into the suggested readings.

Parts of the book describe aspects of primary care very well. There is a good thumbnail sketch of what governments and people want from primary care, and how generalists’ medical care fits with primary care. Unfortunately, the crisp style of writing means different sides to an argument are often not presented. For instance, Sturmberg argues evidence-based medicine (EBM) is merely a matter of taking a reductionist perspective and finding evidence in the form of randomised controlled trials or Cochrane reviews. Counter arguments are not considered: perhaps the problem is not a matter of finding arbitrary evidence outside a consultation. Rather, it’s about finding the best information to answer a question that arises in the context of a consultation. Often EBM requires finding qualitative studies that inform these questions.

I would have liked an explanation for the title phrase “daring to be different”. There was no discussion on why general practice dared to develop in the early part of the 20th century, when specialist care was so spectacular in its success.

I recommend this book to those readers who have not previously thought about primary care.