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Medical history book reviews and notices from British Society for the History of Medicine |
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Raymond Hurt. The Royal Society of Medicine Press (2008), London. Pp. xx + 294. ISBN 978-1-85315-765-3
George Guthrie was born in London on 1st May 1785, the only son of a successful Scots-Irish businessman. Educated privately Guthrie entered into an apprenticeship to Mr Phillips, a surgeon, at the age of 13 years; later he would also be apprenticed to William Hunter, the famous anatomist.
At the age of 15 years he was successfully examined for membership of the College of Surgeons and in March 1801 he was appointed to be Assistant Surgeon, 29th Regiment of Foot. (He had concealed his true age to achieve this). He immediately gained a good reputation as an army doctor and within five years was promoted to Surgeon. During this time Guthrie was serving in Canada but in 1808 his regiment embarked for service in the Peninsular Campaign. Guthrie found himself with his regiment in many of the great battles fought by the British army against Napoleon. During the battle of Vimeiro he was himself slightly wounded in both legs. Not content with doctoring, Guthrie also captured an enemy artillery piece single handed.
During the campaign casualties treated by the doctors of Wellington's army were on an immense scale; after Talavera there were 6,000. Guthrie was not slow to lay blame on his superiors for their inefficiency when he was left in sole charge of the treatment of the sick and wounded, whilst he himself was suffering from Malaria. During the many engagements involving Guthrie his dexterity as a surgeon and ability as an administrator were always to the fore as his reputation grew.
Placed on Half Pay, Guthrie retired to England in 1814 and attempted to establish himself in London. He attended lectures but it became apparent that his lecturers, despite being eminent men, were in fact outdated. This inspired him to write his first text-book, A Treatise on Gunshot Wounds of the Extremities, published in 1815. It was also in 1815 that he was recalled to the army as Wellington's army once again faced Napoleon and the French army.
Guthrie did not arrive in Belgium until twelve days after the battle of Waterloo but his skills were still much in demand to perform surgery on the many thousands of wounded resulting from the battles of Quatre Bras and Waterloo. The story of Guthrie's early years up to his final retirement from the army is dealt with in the first part of this excellent book. His life after military service is dealt with in the second part. Also in the latter half are chapters discussing his contributions to surgery, including surgery of the war, his Presidency of the Royal College of Surgeons and various obituaries which appeared after his death. For a surgeon who made such an important contribution to military surgery it has long puzzled many why his life has never been chronicled before so we should be grateful to Raymond Hurt for filling such a large void in military medical history.
This book is highly recommended to both medical historians and those with an interest in military surgery.
Harvey White. £19.95, ISBN 978-1-85315-679-3, 304pp, Paperback, Published October 2007 by RSM Press Ltd
Harvey White, a distinguished surgeon and medical historian, has produced an immensely readable, amusing account of the London Clinic’s maturation from its foundation in 1932 to its current prestigious status as a provider of medical and nursing care. He has provided a very personal account of the main players: administrators, doctors, nurses and patients. For those connected to the clinic it will be a delight, and for other medical professionals, of great interest. To view the development of medical excellence is a joy for all of us in the caring professions, and the London Clinic is continuously pro-active as shown by the recent building of its comprehensive cancer unit.
Many of the great names of British medicine, such as the Lords Moynihan, Dawson and Horder, Sir James Paterson Ross, Sir Clifford Naunton-Morgan and a host of others, appear in the book, yet the list of patients is even more glittering. Royals both home-grown and foreign, politicians of all parties, such as Ernest Bevin and Anthony Eden, stars of stage, screen and the sports field, such as Charlie Chaplin, Richard Tauber, Shirley Bassey, Jacqueline du Pre and Harold Larwood are mentioned, often with witty anecdotes.
The book is supplemented by a well-researched series of appendices including lists of past chairmen, governors, trustees, specialty user groups, along with items on committee structure, charitable status, the LCMJ, explosive ordnance threat assessment, and an archaeological evaluation report. An excerpt from Lord David Owen’s lecture on the effect of Anthony Eden’s illness on his decision-making during the Suez crisis completes these.
This book is rightly entitled a celebration. It does not really consider the dichotomy between private and state-funded care. From its beginnings the Clinic was intended to be used by the well-to-do, the well-insured and foreign visitors, particularly from the Middle East. It serves all these groups well. Although there are occasional contrasts made between the NHS, where patients can be made to feel grateful for gaining admission, and the atmosphere in the London Clinic, the tensions which have existed from the start of the Health Service, particularly with regard to consultants working both privately and publicly, are not explored. Mention is made, however, of current co-operation between the London Clinic and the NHS.
Harvey White has succeeded in presenting a narrative history of a health care provider of which he is rightly proud. He has given us a wealth of interesting material about an institution providing excellence for its fortunate patients.
Born in South Africa in 1923 - where he trained and practised as a physician and from which he was banned for his anti-apartheid activities in 1966 - Raymond (Bill) Hoffenberg was to become a familiar and highly respected figure in the worlds of academe and medicine in the UK.
This well researched biography charts Hoffenberg’s life from early childhood in Port Elizabeth. It includes a revealing account of the time he served as a stretcher bearer in the South African army through to his medical and research career. He became president of both the Royal College of Physicians of London and Wolfson College, Oxford - posts which for a time he held simultaneously.
The publishers Boydell and Brewer offer a discount of 25% on this book by Jonathan Reinarz to members of affiliated societies. See details of book.
Orders can be placed for the 25% discount price (£45.00 rather than £60.00) by phoning 01394 610600, faxing 01394 610316, ordering by email at trading@boydell.co.uk or ordering securely on-line by going to: www.boydell.co.uk/souk.htm. Postage = £3 UK, £6.50 Europe (up to a maximum of £26.00) and £10.00 per book outside Europe. Offer reference: 09344 (If an order is placed using the secure site, the offer reference number should be written in the box at the bottom of the page where it says "Please use this space to add any notes or special instructions".) Offer ends: 31st March 2010.
Copyright 2010 David Hawgood and the British Society for the History of Medicine
This page by David Hawgood
was amended 21 Feb 2010