A Midwife's Tale : The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812

Rating:
Summary: Blah.
Review: Thatcher herself said, on page 9, that "it is in the very dailiness, the exhaustive, repetitious dailiness, that the real power of Martha Ballard's book lies." It seems to me that it takes a certain person to grasp this power and enjoy this type of book. I on the other hand don't have enough of imagination to make up for what this book lacks. -Ashley Trout, Washington DC

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: The person who wrote that this book is not a masterpiece has either not read it at all, or simply does not understand its value as historical scholarship. "A Midwife's Tale" describes the life of women in early New England in a way that has never been done before. I can't do Ulrich justice by attempting, in my understated way, to describe her book. Suffice it to say, any student of history must own a copy of "A Midwife's Tale." It is not only an engrossing read, but it is a perfect example of how history should be written. Future historians, take notes.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: The person who wrote that this book is not a masterpiece has either not read it at all, or simply does not understand its value as historical scholarship. "A Midwife's Tale" describes the life of women in early New England in a way that has never been done before. I can't do Ulrich justice by attempting, in my understated way, to describe her book. Suffice it to say, any student of history must own a copy of "A Midwife's Tale." It is not only an engrossing read, but it is a perfect example of how history should be written. Future historians, take notes.

Rating:
Summary: get a glass of water!
Review: There are parts of this book that are so dry. Yet, there are parts that are so wonderful. The editor should have edited!

Rating:
Summary: get a glass of water!
Review: There are parts of this book that are so dry. Yet, there are parts that are so wonderful. The editor should have edited!

Rating:
Summary: combination of diary and research
Review: This book is impressive because of the way the author combines the diary and her own research to complement it. The result is that the reader gets an insightful look into what daily life was like for Martha who lived in the late 18th and early 19th century. In most history books one can learn about the big events that happened during a certain time period, but it is rare to understand how people actually lived. Reading this book one sees how much time women spent on daily chores. Because Martha was a midwife and helped the sick, there is also interesting descriptions of how she would treat people and how this differed from how a doctor would treat people. Some incidents touched upon in her diary were extremely interesting and show us that there were similar scandals then as there are today. While some of the details of Martha's daily life are tedious to read, they are helpful in understanding how she lived. Her diary also lacks emotional insight and remains descriptive and impartial, which makes it less entertaining, but no less historically valuable.

Rating:
Summary: Now for background...
Review: This book is more than just a women's history book. So many issues and themes run tangential to Martha Ballard's diary that it can satisfy many different history buffs: sexual mores, the transition of our nation from a colony to a country, domestic violence, everyday domestic chores and the difficulty of finding 'good help', infant mortality, town hierarchy and patriarchy, etc. I really have to hand it to Prof. Ulrich, she had to dig deep and cross-reference other peoples' diaries and court records to catch the gist of Martha's euphemisms--especially when recounting the North-Foster rape trial or even noting when Martha was miffed with someone for a poor payment. Then, there's the sticky fact that Martha's family was closely associated with Tories. Again, Martha alludes to these issues indirectly but Prof. Ulrich really digs them out. My only minor complaint is that the book was not written in a completely chronological fashion. Nonetheless, it's engagingly written.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating! Like being an historical spy.
Review: This book is more than just a women's history book. So many issues and themes run tangential to Martha Ballard's diary that it can satisfy many different history buffs: sexual mores, the transition of our nation from a colony to a country, domestic violence, everyday domestic chores and the difficulty of finding 'good help', infant mortality, town hierarchy and patriarchy, etc. I really have to hand it to Prof. Ulrich, she had to dig deep and cross-reference other peoples' diaries and court records to catch the gist of Martha's euphemisms--especially when recounting the North-Foster rape trial or even noting when Martha was miffed with someone for a poor payment. Then, there's the sticky fact that Martha's family was closely associated with Tories. Again, Martha alludes to these issues indirectly but Prof. Ulrich really digs them out. My only minor complaint is that the book was not written in a completely chronological fashion. Nonetheless, it's engagingly written.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This book provides a captivating look into the life and work of early american women. As a nurse practitioner, I found it even more interesting. The "professional battles" that Mrs. Ballard fought, the ways in which she contributed to the fields of nursing and medicine, even the way in which she "administered" her medications are still at the core of advanced practice nursing today. Mrs. Ballard and many of her contemporaries are represented as hardworking ,industrious women who too, had to balance "family and work"- and did so successfully. Historically, the book documents that advanced practice nursing is not a new phenomena, but one which was alive and widely used in early America. From a medical standpoint, it documents the professional change from farmer/physician to that of physician alone. By the conclusion physicians were becoming the person preferred to deliver babies. A living could now be earned by practicing medicine alone. The book provides a wonderful glimpse into the the rich history of health care- from birth to post mortem/burial via the life of Martha Ballard.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Look Into a Dynamic Woman's Life
Review: This is a fascinating look into a dynamic woman's life. There is a great deal of "personality" and drama in the seemingly mundane diary entries. The author is truly gifted to have seen past the ho-hum recordings of daily life and pulled out the diary's real worth. The midwife's live is rich, full, and busy! However, the author weaves in plenty of historical background, too, using the diary as a stepping-off point to discuss local history, legal and social issues of the time, women's roles in economics, religion, etc. The book is quite enjoyable and allows the reader to connect with the past from a new angle.

I have to include this note, though. In some instances, the book is really quite academic. I can imagine it being used to supplement a history or women's study class. It is not a light biography, to curl up and relax with. But, don't let that put you off :-)!