1 comments about Life on the Line.

1. I read this book as an assignment for an Urban Affairs class in college. The size of the book was daunting, at first. However, it was very easy to read. There was a bit of a lull in the middle portion, but overall was an excellent story.

No comments about Questions of Life: Diary of an Old Physician (Resources in Medical History).

No comments about African American Medical Pioneers.

1 comments about Adventures of a 19th-Century Medic: The Life and Times of Dr. William Hunt, 1810-1882.

1. His medical education at Transylvania, experiences in the Cherokee removal to Oklahoma, the Mexican War, the Gold Rush and the Civil War make this biography of William Hunt, M.D. most interesting reading. Having just heard Alice Hunt Lynn Howell speak and having read the book, I can recommend it to anyone interested in Civil War era medicine or the divided loyalties in East Tennessee. Some say sentiments in East Tennessee were the most equally divided of any section in the nation. Dr. Hunt's imprisonment in Tuscaloosa when he was a suspected conspirator in the Lincoln-approved Bridge Burning incident in 1861 was a highlight. Since he was a brother-in-law of "Parson" Brownlow, editor of the Knoxville Whig and post-war Governor of Tennessee, who mentioned him often, and since he was quite literate himself, Dr. Hunt left a paper trail that enabled his descendant to write this highly recommended book. The well-chosen illustrations, references and comprehensive index make it a useful tool for the professional historian.

No comments about The True Value of Suffering.

No comments about Oliver Wendell Holmes in Paris: Medicine, Theology, and The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table (Becoming Modern: New Nineteenth-Century Studies).

No comments about Silverstein, Levy, Lane.

No comments about The Life and Career of P.A. Mc Hugh, 1859-1913 (Maynooth Studies in Local History, No. 26).

1 comments about The Compassionate Surgeon.

1. This book offers a wonderful primer for patients assessing the possibility of surgery. It is marvelously readable, informative, and Dr. Joop Schokker's compassion and skills in communication stand as beacons in rational ealuative processes. The guide exhibits drama from patient experiences, a soap opera like feeling of competitiveness with some professionals, choices and their consequences, and tantamount exists the need for clear understanding on the part of patients in expectation and reality. This text holds data on surgeon certification, trauma centers, and the continuing education of surgeons - including dealing with old school mentality.
   
   Initially thinking the book might be dry, this proved not at all the case. He has a terrific approach to children being kept in the information loop because "they are little people." One forgets that these highly skilled professionals encompass all types of human beings, too. It was a surprise to learn of the change in relationships between doctors, competition that may exist, and hurt feelings from referring physicians.
   
   Our litigious society makes malpractice the norm and Dr. Schokker's courage of convictions and strength of character shine impresseively. It is comforting to know that surgeons discipline themselves regarding poorly practicing members.
   
   The fascinating array of stories covers cancer and the fear it immediately produces, handling the stages of grief after bad news, and pain control for terminal patients. One point about the indigestibility of the cranberry coat was a total surprise. Having worked as an EMT, it proved was shocking and amazing to see how little prepared for emergencies general practitioners and nurses were in the field.
   
   No matter how slightly or highly invasive the surgery propose, it still looms as a frightening ordeal - from anesthesia, movement and breathing, to pain control, the need to change medications, and even diet.

No comments about Forty Years of American Life.