From the people of ancient Greece to the tribes of the Pacific Ocean, massage has been a significant element in medicine, midwifery, folk healing, and athletics. Yet the rich presence of healing touch is rarely manifest in the telling of human history. Now, for the first time, Robert Noah Calvert offers a comprehensive history of massage that spans the globe. Starting with the healing art's ancient foundations, Calvert's History of Massage leads us through Greek temples and Middle Eastern bathhouses, Chinese martial arts traditions and Native American sweat lodges, to discover the significant role of touch therapy in the life of the world's people.

With rich use of anecdote and illustrated text, the author details the cross-cultural healing and sensual applications of massage, the development of massage technologies, and the emerging trends of massage in the twenty-first century. The History of Massage is groundbreaking work that should not be missed by anyone interested in massage and its benefits for healing.

Contents: Introduction, 1. What Is Massage?  2. Shamanic and Priestly Origins of Massage. 3. Massage in the Ancient World: Babylonia, Egypt, China and India. 4. Massage in the Ancient World: Greece and Rome. 5. Keeping the Faith: Massage from the Fall of the Roman Empire to the 19th Century. 6. Nineteenth Century Massage in Gymnastics and Movement Therapy. 7. First Steps to Credibility: Massage in Nineteenth-century Medicine. 8. Massage in Nineteenth-century Alternative. Therapeutic and Restorative Cultures. 9. Massage Tools and Mediums. 10. The Evolution of Massage Techniques. 11. The Golden Age of Massage. Epilogue. Endnotes