2 comments about Noble Conspirator: Florence S. Mahoney and the Rise of the National Institutes of Health.

1. Noble Conspirator: Florence S. Mahoney And The Rise Of The National Institutes Of Health is the compelling biography of a singularly remarkable woman and her decades of unpaid advocacy for governmental biomedical research. Her legacy that is with us to this day is the National Institutes of Health, or NIH. Noble Conspirator is filled with anecdotes, courage, and the growth of the fledgling NIH into a gigantic complex with an annual budget of $16 billion in the new millennium. Noble Conspirators is highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the history of medical research in America, political success stories of nonprofit lobbying, or biographies of women who helped to shape American society into what it is today. Ms. Florence Mahoney is truly a heroine to remember.



2. Long before Ralph Nader and Common Cause became successful public advocates, Florence Mahoney worked for decades behind the scenes in Washington to shape federal policy on children's health issues and medical research. Her influence extended from the years just after World War II to the last years of the 20th century, through Democratic and Republican administrations alike, and her legacy today includes the United States National Institutes of Health. While raising two sons, she developed the intimate dinner party to a fine art of political influence, always fighting for federal assistance aimed at curing and preventing disease among children and adults alike. A fascinating biography of a woman who deserves to be known much better than she is.

3 comments about Crazy Visitation: A Chronicle of Illness and Recovery.

1. What Saundra Murray Nettles has done in her narrative, "Crazy Visitations", is transcend the inherent, self-imposed limitation of western psychology... what she has done is summon the courage to open a path to bring spirit into psychology. Summoning this courage is, in itself, a miracle given the fact that so many African-American women suffer from a rare and lethal strain of fear; the by-product of innumerous years of unfathomable racism, sexism, and oppression. Yet, Dr. Nettles emerges... a beautiful warrior-poet willing to follow her inner-compass toward reconstruction. What makes Dr. Nettles' narrative so compelling is that she has managed to prepare a pathway for spirit to take its rightful place as focus point of the field of psychology. After reading her story, it is quite evident that human beings cannot define or attempt to fully understand their true selves in terms of behavior, innate abilities and processes, and/or personality traits, because these things are easily manipulated by outside persons and/or objects (e.g. "an orange-sized meningioma"). Apparently there is something more to the human experience than meets the eye - an eye that has for far too long been pathologically concerned with finding physical, empirical "proof." I believe that "something more" is spirit. This word has not had any place whatsoever in the field and I believe this is why western psychology will always fall short of finding those "universal truths" it so relentlessly pursues. The absence of spirit in the field has led us to a plateau where there is an abundance of empirical data, but limited, superficial progress in using that information to better humanity. Psychologists must realize their role as healers and, even further, understand the profound implications of this role. Dr. Nettles' narrative makes it unquestionably clear that this is thoroughly understood in her spirit and is beginning to take verbal shape in her consciousness. She has taken the time to critically reflect on her experiences, not as isolated events, but rather as a process that is constantly moving her toward her highest good. As such, Dr. Nettles is in a state of continual healing and renewal that radiates to all that come to know her story. I once heard something to the effect that it was truly sad that so many wonderful, brilliant people pass through this life nameless -- leaving behind a legacy of profound achievement and decency -- before anyone got a chance to simply say, "thank you." Right now, Saundra Murray Nettles, I say thank you. You are an inspiration and I am so grateful that our paths have crossed.



2. This book offers an intimate and "real" view of what it means to suffer, strive to maintain dignity, fight the oppressive forces in our lives and survive! Saundra Murray Nettle's reflections are inspiring. I was inspired to keep fighting, keep searching for what is good and loving and to stay engaged with living life.



3. Crazy Visitation: A Chronicle Of Illness And Recovery is the personal story of author Saundra Murray Nettles, who lived with an encroaching brain tumor affecting her memory, personality, mood, and physical well-being for years before its diagnosis and removal. Pieced together through written records and the recollection of others as well as the author's own memory, Crazy Visitation is the story of both sickness and the long road to healing. A deeply moving and uplifting book, Crazy Visitation is emotionally rewarding, highly recommended reading.

No comments about The Doctor-Activist: Physicians Fighting for Social Change.

No comments about Imperial Medicine: Patrick Manson and the Conquest of Tropical Disease.

5 comments about A Nearly Normal Life.

1. I don't write many reviews anymore, who has time? However, this book stood out so much above the rest I've read lately that I just had to share. The book is about a polio survivor, the 50's, the discovery of the vaccine and oh so much more. It's about living the life you were handed, not the want you thought you were going to get.

   His epilogue is pure poetry. An example: "Life continues to change. New things surface; old wounds hidden by bigger wounds show up when the bigger wounds are healed; new clusters of misgivings and confusion take shape to replace old clusters of exhausted adjustments. New things come along to be accepted with grace and peace. The disability and its challenges continue to evolve, and one must achieve acceptance and grace and peace again and again, day after day."

   I highly recommend this book to everyone. I read about 5 books a week and this book is in my top 20 of all time.




2. From long experience with this area, Mee's accounts both of the era of his youth and the experiences of polio ring very true from the pen of an accomplished writer. One senses that Mee never really made peace with his disability and its impact, inasmuch as he was able to evade, compensate, head into intellectual endeavors, etc., so there are many polio/disability issues not well dealt with here. (Significantly it ends with his finding an oasis in the intellectual world of the Ivy League and the intellect.) However, one has to suspect that the decision to tell the story, with insight and honesty, may represent at long last a step in addressing what he may have hoped at one time to simply "leave behind." Perhaps there will be a sequel in which his historical training and writing skills are again focused on the complex interrelationships between disability, psyche and society. This is a good read, though, even if it is not the full story.



3. For those interested in understanding the impact of polio, this is the definitive source. No one tells the story like Charles Mee. The depth of his insights are stunning. He makes a powerful comment on the human condition. This book is a MUST READ.



4. In 1953, when he was a robust 14-year-old, Charles L. Mee was stricken with viral polio. This memoir describes his struggle with polio, and also comments on the treatments (sometimes horrific) that were tried to beat this virus that, in 1953 alone, struck over 50,000 people. His struggle was not an easy one, and his later life wasn't either, but he comes to terms with his limitations, becoming a successful historian and playright. It's a real eye-opener, and he doesn't mince words, which makes for a compelling read.



5. I think if the author hadn't written his memoir in such a vain way--it would have been better??

1 comments about Wandering in the Gardens of the Mind: Peter Mitchell and the Making of Glynn.

1. I picked up this book because I had some familiarity with the subject matter having worked in that field of biochemistry in the late '60s. That is probably the main reason I read the whole thing and enjoyed it.
   This is very much a scientific biography. It's an interesting story of the evolution a scientific idea (The Chemiosmotic Theory) and how that idea came to be accepted by the scientific community. The originator of the idea, the imaginative, ambitious, passionate Peter Mitchell, had to fight for many years to see his theory finally accepted.
   I was disappointed, however, that the book did not paint a fuller picture of Mitchell who had many interests outside of science which are (frustratingly) alluded to - music, architecture, farming, family - but never explored. For example, the authors state that family life was very important to Mitchell but give no examples of how a highly motivated scientist/entrepreneur managed to fit it in. Nor is there any sense of what domestic life was like living in an isolated research institute/manor/farm. In my opinion, if these aspects of his life had been more developed, the book would appeal to a wider audience and the reader would come away with a fuller appreciation of the man.
   Technically, it is rather a choppy book. Each chapter is divided into subchapters, which detracts from its cohesiveness. Repetition of some points also gives the sense that the book was pieced together.
   However, I did read the whole thing and found it an interesting study of how 20th century science works - or works imperfectly.

1 comments about Doctor Mary in Arabia: Memoirs.

1. This book tells the story of Dr. Mary Allison, medical missionary in the Arabian Gulf from 1935-1975. Dr. Allison, or Dr. Mary, as she was known in the Gulf, was the daughter of a minister and decided at an early age that she wanted to be a missionary. Since women at that time were not commonly called to the pulpit, she trained as an M.D., a general practitioner, and applied to work for a missionary society as soon as she completed her training. She was sent to Kuwait in 1934, where she served in a mission hospital until 1964, with brief sojourns away during World War when she worked in the US and India. Following her time in Kuwait, she also served in Bahrain and Oman until her retirement in 1975. This book represents her personal memoirs of her years of training and service, stretching from her early childhood through retirement. The book includes a small collection of black and white photographs documenting scenes of daily life in Kuwait and Oman, as well as the clinics where Dr. Allison worked and her patients and helpers.
   
   Dr. Allison comes across as being very modest about her training and skills. She claimed she was of average ability, and many of the anecdotes described in the book tell of her medical failures, although some highlight her successes as well. She possessed an unwavering faith in her particular version of Christianity, heavily influenced by her Dutch heritage. She felt that even if she wasn?t the best doctor in the world, her very presence and willingness to serve gave life and hope to her patients. Given the low level of development in the Gulf at the time and the lack of access to quality medical care, she was able to save hundreds, if not thousands of lives, through her work. As for saving souls, she describes how she only knew of one or two Muslims during her entire 40 years in the Gulf who had converted to Christianity, and seemed to have trouble understanding why more were not attracted to her faith by the kinds of work the mission hospital was offering.
   
   The documentation that Allison provides of mission life in the Gulf during the first part of the Twentieth Century is invaluable. Allison was in the middle of all the changes that came to pass as the oil money began to flow. When she first arrived, she learned to survive and work through the desert summer heat without AC. Her patients came to her with trachoma, tuberculosis, and infected feet from stepping on needles. Then oil company men came from the West, and she even ended up marrying one herself. She describes how the oil money brought AC, electric lights, cars, and schools. If she could re-visit Kuwait today, she would find very little trachoma or infected feet. Instead, there is diabetes, heart disease, and car accidents, the scourge of the Gulf which ensures that polygamy will be a common practice for all of the foreseeable future. Although she left the region before all of these changes came to pass, she could already see them coming.
   
   Anyone who has spent time living in the Gulf will recognize that many traditions have changed very little since the time when Allison first arrived. The Arabs still drink their coffee with cardamom, and a visitor must take 3 cups, swirling the last to signal satiation. Many women are still not free to pursue health care on their own, and medical personnel will not touch a woman, even in an emergency, without a husband?s permission. Blood for transfusions is ever in great need, especially because of the innumerable car accidents, but people don?t die anymore for lack of blood donations because enough ex-pats are around to keep a steady blood supply, and even some Arabs are now willing to donate blood. There is still a dearth of nurses from the Gulf, but the shortage is no longer due to lack of proper education for girls. It turns out that Gulf Arabs just don?t like nursing as a career, so they still import the vast majority of their nurses from India and the Philippines.
   
   Although the information in the book is fascinating in itself, the book could really have used quite a bit more editing. There are a number of places where Dr. Allison repeats the same anecdotes, and she occasionally even confuses the location where she met a particular patient, sometimes saying it was in Kuwait and later in Bahrain, for instance. All in all, though, the book is well worth reading for anyone with an interest in the Gulf, especially those considering taking a medical posting in a Gulf country.

1 comments about The Rollercoaster: A Country Couple's Ride with IVF.

1. This book describes the journey of the author and her husband through several attempts of IVF treatment. I felt privileged to share in the hopes, the excitement,the joys and the disappointments that were so eloquently described. "Rollercoaster", must surely bring comfort to other couples enduring the stresses of infertility treatments,if only to realise that they are certainly not alone,in experiencing the emotional turmoils that are so brilliantly expressed in this book.

1 comments about Reconceiving My Body.

1. I very much enjoyed this book. Gil does a wonderful job of sharing his journey to a more peaceful co-existence with his body and his life. Autobiographical in nature, there are interesting pearls along the way. In addition, his workshop is awesome.

No comments about Bernard G. Sarnat: 20th Century Plastic Surgeon and Biological Scientist.