Doctors in Blue: The Medical History of the Union Army in the Civil War

Rating:
Summary: I knew the author of this book
Review: George W. Adams was Chairman of the History Department at Southern Illinois University when I was an undergraduate there.

As a student of Dr. Adams, I had the intestinal fortitude to review his book as a class project.

Not only was I a history major, I had just been discharged from the Army having served three years as a medic.

I was fairly critical of Dr. Adams book. Although history is its long suit, it falls a little short in the "medical facts" department.

For example, he glossed over the infection which could be caused by a slow moving minie-ball travelling through already soiled clothing. Without the benefits of anti-biotics, this was one of the leading causes of death during the Civil War.

Nonetheless, it is an excellent treatment of a rather specialized subject.

P.S. Dr. Adams gave my an "A" on my project.