History Book Reviews Example

History of Medicine

Summary
Opinion
Reading the book, one can easily lose the interest in reading the initiatory pages of it. Nevertheless, as I read closely and continuously, I developed the interest to continue reading it. I realized that the book written by James Walsh talks is a form of a biography of different individuals and their contributions to the development of medicine. As such, I was intrigued in the manner that Walsh presents information on various individuals from time to time concerning their role in medicine. The elemental aspect of it all is that Walsh chooses his characters chronologically and excellently because he talks of individuals in a manner that is succinct and intriguing to the readers.

Facts

James Walsh talks about the facts of the presentation of the biographical information concerning his characters. The facts remain within the scope of the development of medicine. In addition, the attention of Dr. Walsh in the recent years has shifted considerably to the treatment of significant social problems of time. With the belief and conception that the next probable was will occur within and not between nations, Dr. Walsh has taken up the role of medical directorship with the ideas being succinctly articulated in his works. Walsh talks about the history of medicine by defining the concepts of development of medicine through various figures in time. The facts of the book lie in the information on each of the individuals who played a significant role in the history of medicine. For instance, each of the characters in the book played a role in medicine and held a certain position in the field of medicine as presented in the work by James Walsh. He picks his characters, analyzes their biographical information and gives their significance in the field of medicine over time. The reason for the inclusion of the biographical information of these individuals is to provide an explanation of the impact of their experiences in life to the development of medicine.

Quotes

There are different quotes made by Walsh in his book. These quotes are relative to each of the characters that he chooses for his book. For instance, when talking about William Francis Campbell, James Walsh says that, “No man holds a more respected name among brethren of the Medical Profession in Brooklyn than does William F Campbell, a place he has won for himself by sterling qualifications of heart and mind.” With this quote, Walsh intended to introduce the character to his readers and let them understand that this individual was phenomenal in the field of medicine. He uses most of his quotes at the beginning of the discussion of an individual. As such, evidenced by the quote on William Francis Campbell, he uses these quotes in the introductory part as an anecdotal approach to capturing the attention of his readers.
When talking about Louis Michael, Walsh begins by saying that, “Among the front ranks of the general practitioners in Brooklyn, and much sought after in obstetrical cases, Dr. Dusseldorf has an enviable reputation in his community.” From this statement, Walsh uses such words throughout his book to enable the readers to understand that his focus is on the individuals whose influence on the development and history of medicine was phenomenal. In addition, he constantly mentions Brooklyn, which suggests his area of focus while discussing different individuals in his book.

Authors Composition

James Walsh presents his work in an organized manner. First, he introduces the characters by providing the names of these individuals. He then introduces these individuals with an anecdotal segment that illustrates the significance of these individuals in the field of medicine. After the introductory part, Walsh proceeds to the biographical information of these individuals. In this section, he also organizes his work accordingly. He begins with the date and place of birth of these individuals. He then gives information on their early and life, education and their profession. Walsh organizes his work to give the readers insights into the contribution of his characters in the field of medicine. This form of organization, which is becomes easily predictable as one reads through the book, is a avenue that the author uses to engage his readers who anticipate for the next chapter or the next individual to be discussed by the author.
There are minimal instances of translation in the work of the author, but he avoids bias by focusing on Brooklyn as a region of importance to his work. That is, by focusing on a single area and a single field of discussion, the author eliminates all instances of bias that would otherwise arise from favor had he included a diversified field. In addition, he is careful not to favor or praise while condemning some of the characters. As such, he also minimizes biases by having a common stand concerning his characters. The author maintains the same tone across all the characters and uses the same organization when discussing his characters.

Authors Biography

Early Life and Education
Dr. James Walsh was born on April 12, 1865 at in Pennsylvania. Walsh received his initiatory schooling in a country school with all grades being represented in a single room. At age twelve he attended the parochial school of Sisters of Mary in Wilkes-Barre to prepare for boarding school. His did his work in high school at the St. John’s College in Fordham and completed college work in 1884. He received his A.B degree at when he as nineteen years of age. He proceeded with studies, did his graduate work, and received a Master ’s Degree in Arts the following year from Fordham. He was conferred with the Doctorate of Philosophy for his work at the Frederick and Woodstock College in Maryland in the subsequent years. Walsh received a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1895 from the University of Pennsylvania and spent the following there years in Europe. The first was in France at the Pasteur and Salpetriere Institute, two semesters at the University of Berlin, and a semester in Vienna.

Profession

On his return to the United States, Dr. Walsh became an assistant editor for the Medical News. He had been a foreign correspondent for various journals of medicine during his study years in Europe. For instance, he reported the Moscow International Medical Congress for the New York Medical Record. He also secured several clinical articles for International Clinics. Some of these articles attracted the attention of many individuals. As such, Walsh had begun his career as a writer in the field of medicine.
Walsh’s work as a teacher started in 1899 at a clinic of Professor Katzenbach. He was an assistant at this clinic, which was at the New York Polyclinic. In the following year, he became the instructor in Medicine and an Adjunct Professor in the year 1904. He resigned from this position later on and became an Acting Dean and a Professor of Neurology at the Medical School of the Fordham University, which had been founded recently in 1907. The medical school grew rapidly with its attendance doubling each year for six years considerably. For this reason, it gave the evidence for appreciating the efforts that were being put in the organization of the school.
Dr. Walsh maintained his focus and devoted attention to two significant departments, including the History of Medicine and the impact of the minds on the bodies of individuals. He established the initiatory regular lectures about the History of Medicine for the medical students. In addition, he organized special courses in Physiological Psychology whose aim was to enable the medical students comprehend and use the mental influences in the practice of medicine. In 1907, Dr. Walsh became a Professor of Physiological Psychology at the Cathedral College in New York City. His contribution in the field of medicine at various schools has been phenomenal over the years.