A Doctor's Life: A Visual History of Doctors and Nurses Through the Ages

Shows the instruments and uniforms of actual doctors and nurses throughout history, from a Roman physician practicing in A.D. 50 to a modern surgeon

Grade 4-8-This attractive, easy-to-read book uses profiles of real doctors and nurses to describe the development of medicine from the ancient Romans to the present. Each two-page spread introduces a practitioner, tells about his or her practice, and discusses the prevailing beliefs and treatments of the time. Famous people such as Joseph Lister and Florence Nightingale are mentioned, but the book belongs to the ordinary doctors and nurses such as John Mason, a barber-surgeon in England (c. 1450) and Martha Sharpe, an untrained midwife and mother of nine (c. 1860). Most of the medical professionals are English with a few exceptions, such as Four Elks, a Plains Indian medicine man (c. 1860). Full-color photographs of models wearing period clothing and engaged in an appropriate activity appear on each spread, along with the pictures of tools of the trade like surgeons' knives, herbs, and leeches. A time line highlights important medical facts and a list of American museums to visit is included. A good pictorial supplement to Irene M. Franck and David M. Brownstone's Healers (Facts on File, 1989).
Martha Gordon, formerly at South Salem Library, NY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 3^-6. First published in Great Britain, this large-format book introduces 22 representative figures in the history of medicine, from Roman times to the present. Each figure is given a fictional persona, such as William Iron, a naval surgeon in Tudor England; Jeremiah Clinker, an eighteenth-century grave robber; and Margery Gilbert, a Birmingham district nurse, who worked about 1930. Generally, a double-page spread is devoted to each person. Although dominated by a large color photo of someone acting the part of the character, the spreads also include smaller photos of equipment and materials typical of the period. The pictures of costumed people often have a static, staged quality; however, the book offers an unusual window to the past. And despite the British focus, the text and captions include plenty of eye-opening details of medical practice through the ages. A good choice for visual learners. Extensive time line and glossary appended. Carolyn Phelan