The Encyclopedia of Civil War Medicine 1st Edition

This was an amazing book! I wrote my research paper with a lot of information from this book that I would not have found from any other resource. I enjoyed it and others need to read what men went through in the battle of the Civil War told for a medical perspective. Excellent!

Good look into medical practices in the Civil War.

I am in the process of brainstorming a novel about the Civil War and this book had more useful information than any I have read so far.

I purchased this as a gift for a Civil War buff and a doctor. He loved it and passed it on to another doctor after he finished it.

For those of us who don't have an extensive science or medical background we will often come across a term we are unsure of or would like more information on. Where should we turn? The answer is the recently released paperback edition of The Encyclopedia of Civil War Medicine. Now available at a more wallet friendly price this is a book that any serious Civil War student should consider putting on their bookshelf. It will be referred to many times.Arranged alphabetically by subject there are a wide array of topics covered. Individual battles such as Antietam, Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, and others all have their own entries. Medical issues related to the specific battle are covered in these entries. Some of the other topics covered include hospitals, various diseases, types of wounds and treatments, relief organizations, medical curiosities, and many of the doctors and nurses who played such a vital role in the war effort. This reviewer was particularly happy to find Dr. Esther Hill Hawks included. She was one of the rare female doctors working during the war. Post war she and her husband played a large role in founding the area in which I now reside.Each topic receives a brief discussion; most entries being two or three pages. More important topics sometimes receive a longer treatment. Each topic includes a list of suggested topics readers may want to follow up on. For each topic bibliographic information is included with titles ranging from one to five. A full twelve page bibliography is also included at the conclusion of the book.The book is visually appealing and the font is such as to make for easy reading. I would have like to see a few more photos included but that's really a minor quibble for a work such as this. The topics I have read are accessible and the writing clear and therein lies the value of this book. This looks to be a book that will be kept handy and used regularly.

It is doubtful that my great-great-grandfather, Alonzo Luce, a member of the 19th Illinois Infantry, ever participated in a battle. He spent nearly the entirety of his three year enlistment rotating into and out of regimental and general hospitals. Among his numerous medical complaints were catarrh, intermittent and remittent fever, acute bronchitis, and finally acute and chronic diarrhea. Reading through his medical records, I can't help to wonder what Alonzo Luce's Civil War experience must have been like.To have an understanding of the daily life of a soldier, be he either Confederate or Federal, during the American Civil War, one must have a basic knowledge of the medical terms and practices of the time. That is where Glenna R. Schroeder-Lein's "The Encyclopedia of Civil War Medicine" comes in very handy.Entries in Ms. Schroeder-Lein's encyclopedia cover many the diseases to which Civil War soldiers commonly fell victim. There are many other entries covering Civil War battles, notable people, medicines, medical practices, hospitals and accoutrements. Pretty much any question regarding the who, what, where and how of Civil War medicine can be found between the covers of her book.Entries range from a paragraph to several pages, and each article is followed by a bibliography, usually citing at least three sources, and a "See Also" section, pointing the reader to at least five other entries in the encyclopedia. At 421 pages, it is not an in-depth reference on the topic of Civil War medicine, nor was it meant to be. But Ms. Schroeder-Lein does give her reader a broader understanding of Civil War era medicine by which one gains a broader understanding of the war itself and the experience of its participants.