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Summary: The Citadel
Review: I got this book at a second hand store like 3 years ago for eiegty-cents, let's just say beat up book. I had no idea who A.J. Cronin was, no clue as to the books genre; I just didnt have anything else to read one night and picked it up. This book lit me up. I found myself asking "where did this guy come from" and it was written in the thirties! But I looked into it and saw this Cronin is like famous and stuff.........rightly so..printed 15 times in '37 alone...krike. good book
Rating:
Summary: The Citadel
Review: I got this book at a second hand store like 3 years ago for eiegty-cents, let's just say beat up book. I had no idea who A.J. Cronin was, no clue as to the books genre; I just didnt have anything else to read one night and picked it up. This book lit me up. I found myself asking "where did this guy come from" and it was written in the thirties! But I looked into it and saw this Cronin is like famous and stuff.........rightly so..printed 15 times in '37 alone...krike. good book
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Summary: Story from the 30s is still a Great Read
Review: I picked up this book because it was mentioned in my great-grandmother's diary from 1941. Written in the 30s, it tells the tale of a young Scottish doctor in the 20s, as he goes from a small-town doctor in a rough situation to a well-paid London doctor with a fancy office.The story's written with intelligence, as the doctor ponders various ways to deal with the bureaucracy he faces. He deals with incompetent doctors, old doctors that have no desire to learn new treatments, young doctors more concerned with money and prestige than patient care. And, as he gets absorbed into the system, the doctor begins to be lured in by the money. He starts to prescribe the 'easy' solution to patients, even if it's not the right answer, so that they're happy and he gets more cash. He does finally realize, in the end, that working for the patients is more important than gaining lots of cash, but only after some hard lessons. I have a few small complaints with the story. One is that the wife could have been a really interesting character, but she's a little flat. She is sad when he becomes money-hungry, and draws back, but that's it. She was a schoolteacher when he met her, and it's made clear that she's very intelligent. But still she just sort of goes along with him, making his meals, wishing things could be better, but far be it for her to actually help out. She tries to get his friends to see him one night to bring back his old ways, but when that fails, "ah well". My other complaint is that he slides far too easy from a passionate patient-first attitude into a "cash is nice" mentality. But that was necessary for the plot to progress. Definitely a great book to read to learn about life in the 20s to 40s, from the small towns of Wales to the busy streets of London. Interesting details about the damage that mines caused to the lungs of the mineworkers, and the ways that doctors worked with each other and treated their patients. A great read!
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Summary: Boring and illogical
Review: I really enjoyed reading only first part (out of four) of the book. The atmosphere of a small town in the mountains most inhabitants of which are miner families is depicted successfully by Cronin. Young Andrew Manson is introduced as a person from the real world having his own identity, not conforming to common stereotypes (at least not to such a degree). But as the story proceeds it gets more and more monotonous and predictable. I see the characters in the book not as individuals whose deeds are determined by their nature but like tools in the hands of the author who uses them to develop his own idea and moral of the story. There are numerous moments when we are witnesses of illogical turnover in characters' opinion and ideology. Some events seem to me artificially arranged and again serve only to Cronin's idea of the book. Banal at moments the storyline isn't developed well in my opinion. The idea of a physician making a successfull carrier from the misery of a small miners' town practice to a well known physician in the high classes of 1920's London is a good one, but the realization did not appeal to me.
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Summary: Delighted to see a reprint.
Review: I was delighted to see that there is a reprint of this classic available. I believe that this work is a must read for anyone who has ever faced any sort of marol dilemma(sp?). Dr. Cronin skilfully relates to us through this novel the hopelessness of Manson's situation in Wales, and then Much later the hopelessness of his situation in London, though it is hopelessness of a different sort. I don't believe anyone who reads this book will be able to think of power without the assosiation of corruption for a long while. I also say in parting that I think The Citadel should be required reading for all students graduating High School.
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Summary: Totally absorbing human drama
Review: I was typing up descriptions of books I bought in a box lot to sell and decided this one was in just too poor condition to sell, but it was medical, which always interests me, so I decided I should read it first before throwing it out (it's literally falling apart), AND BOY, AM I GLAD I DID! I found it totally absorbing, but surprisingly not so much from the medical aspect as from the simple human drama aspect. The cover emphasizes its focus on the corrupt medical system it describes, but to me it was more about a man losing himself in the pursuit of money & prestige, and having a crisis brought on by the death of a patient, that turns him back around, back to the idealistic doctor we liked in the beginning of the book. There were numerous British words I didn't know what they referred to, but I found I was able to just skip over them & keep reading without losing the essence of the plot or the sense of timing/tension/drama that kept bringing me back to read more.
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Summary: As true today as 60 years ago
Review: In this book the author, a Doctor himself present the dilemma of Doctors between business & reputation and pure ethics. Every detail sounds as if it is taken form today's medical world although written about 60 years ago. Anyone that was treated in a Hospital and felt that the Doctor was not 100% with him an his problem, will identify with this book even thoug it's a bit dragging for nowadays way of writing.
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Summary: A moving tale, heartwarming!
Review: Mr Cronin writes a moving tale which traces the career and life of a young and idealistic doctor. From his loss of youthful innocence to his finding of himself again. It captures within it issues which we all struggle with at some stage of our life. Wonderful
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Summary: An excellent book with surprises.
Review: Simply a remarkable book with lots of surprises within. Some details may shock readers.
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Summary: A must read for graduating medical students and paramedics.
Review: The Citadel may be difficult to read for the average modern American reader due to its language and style. Despite that, it is a must read for graduating medical students and paramedics. You will benefit from reading The Citadel! As the other reviews have noted it is a moralistic story that will help new doctors to examine their motives. At the same time it will give them insight into the history of their profession and help them to see that, despite all of the scientific advances that we've made, the social and personal issues in medicine are still the same. For the paramedic The Citadel helps them to examine their true roots: the assistant doctors that made the house calls, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for just enough money to subsist on. Every paramedic will relate to the drama of an underground amputation, or the resuscitation of a newborn in the mother's bedroom. The Citadel makes good reading while between calls! Read it!
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