Perilous Modernity is a collection of essays relating to the notion of modernity in the nineteenth century Ottoman Empire. The authors pay special attention to the rise of modern science and scientific methods and to changing attitudes toward public health and hygiene. Medicine took a central place in the debate on modernity in the Ottoman Empire, and several of the case studies address how medical advances were introduced. The study of Ottoman modernity is not new, but the approach taken in Perilous Modernity, looking at science and medicine, is innovative and insightful.