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The Conquest of Cholera, America's Greatest Scourge

The Conquest of Cholera, America's Greatest Scourge present. The author gives 1832 as the date of the first invasion of the New World by this dread disease, and 1892 as the final conquest of it as far as America is concerned. The author has derived his material from what is evidently a very careful study not only of official documents in the possession of the government, but also from contemporary newspapers and private records. Incidentally, he gives a very good history of steamboat travel on our great rivers and the part they played in spreading the disease from town to town. Stage coaches, emigrant parties, and individual travelers also played a part in carrying the disease to new areas. A good deal of bacteriology outside of that of the disease under discussion is mixed in. There are graphic accounts of a number of the best known epidemics such as those of 1833, 1866, 1873, etc. The Gold Rush of '49 and its contribution to the spread of the disease is also well described. The book is well documented and the author has evidently given a great deal of careful investigation to the subject on which he writes. It is a fascinating and often gruesome story, and a real contribution to the history of cholera. One finds it hard to realize the dense ignorance of the cause of cholera so short a time ago. Miasma loomed large in the minds of the medical profession as well as the laity in those days. As far as we know, it is the most complete history of the disease in this country. The author speaks of it as an "evening fireside concoction, compounded of an homeopathic dose of medical lore in a generous draught of cholera history as a vehicle." The illustrations are excellent and fairly abundant. A number of them are of the great doctors of those times and the frontispiece is a portrait of Dr. Daniel Drake. The style is fluent and easy so that the book makes excellent reading, entirely apart from its historical value. It can be heartily recommended. MAZYCK P. RAVENEL Legal Medicine and Toxicology -By Thomas A. Gonzales, M.D., Morgan Vance, M.D., and Milton Helpern, M.D. New York: AppletonCentury, 1937. 754 pp. Price, $10.00. Out of their extensive experience in the Medical Examiner's Office in New York City, the authors of this monumental work have produced an eminently practical text on the duties and activities of coroners and medical examiners, and the technics employed by them. Thus, in 39 chapters, they discuss identification, autopsies, differentiation of various mortal injuries and types of homicide, sex crimes, blood tests, and the many aspects of toxicology and poisons. The book is illustrated with about 250 excellent, useful, and often gruesome photographs of actual cases selected from the 15.000 [658) http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png American Journal of Public Health American Public Health Association

The Conquest of Cholera, America's Greatest Scourge

American Journal of Public Health , Volume 28 (5) – May 1, 1938

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Publisher
American Public Health Association
Copyright
Copyright © by the American Public Health Association
ISSN
0090-0036
eISSN
1541-0048
Publisher site
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Abstract

present. The author gives 1832 as the date of the first invasion of the New World by this dread disease, and 1892 as the final conquest of it as far as America is concerned. The author has derived his material from what is evidently a very careful study not only of official documents in the possession of the government, but also from contemporary newspapers and private records. Incidentally, he gives a very good history of steamboat travel on our great rivers and the part they played in spreading the disease from town to town. Stage coaches, emigrant parties, and individual travelers also played a part in carrying the disease to new areas. A good deal of bacteriology outside of that of the disease under discussion is mixed in. There are graphic accounts of a number of the best known epidemics such as those of 1833, 1866, 1873, etc. The Gold Rush of '49 and its contribution to the spread of the disease is also well described. The book is well documented and the author has evidently given a great deal of careful investigation to the subject on which he writes. It is a fascinating and often gruesome story, and a real contribution to the history of cholera. One finds it hard to realize the dense ignorance of the cause of cholera so short a time ago. Miasma loomed large in the minds of the medical profession as well as the laity in those days. As far as we know, it is the most complete history of the disease in this country. The author speaks of it as an "evening fireside concoction, compounded of an homeopathic dose of medical lore in a generous draught of cholera history as a vehicle." The illustrations are excellent and fairly abundant. A number of them are of the great doctors of those times and the frontispiece is a portrait of Dr. Daniel Drake. The style is fluent and easy so that the book makes excellent reading, entirely apart from its historical value. It can be heartily recommended. MAZYCK P. RAVENEL Legal Medicine and Toxicology -By Thomas A. Gonzales, M.D., Morgan Vance, M.D., and Milton Helpern, M.D. New York: AppletonCentury, 1937. 754 pp. Price, $10.00. Out of their extensive experience in the Medical Examiner's Office in New York City, the authors of this monumental work have produced an eminently practical text on the duties and activities of coroners and medical examiners, and the technics employed by them. Thus, in 39 chapters, they discuss identification, autopsies, differentiation of various mortal injuries and types of homicide, sex crimes, blood tests, and the many aspects of toxicology and poisons. The book is illustrated with about 250 excellent, useful, and often gruesome photographs of actual cases selected from the 15.000 [658)

Journal

American Journal of Public HealthAmerican Public Health Association

Published: May 1, 1938

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