Introduction

Abstract

To state the obvious, pain is an unpleasant subject. Large numbers of people in every country on earth have to endure frequent, even incessant pain; still larger numbers are obligatory spectators of the pain endured by those they love. These people may turn with interest to a book about pain, which should bring a sympathetic consideration of the problems it poses. We trust that they will not be disappointed, for we have kept them very much in mind while writing this book. But they may also feel, understandably, that living with pain is bad enough without also reading thousands of words about it. Perhaps a book on this unpleasant subject will itself be merely unpleasant and depressing.