August 2005    

Bleeding Blue and Gray: Civil War Surgery and the Evolution of American Medicine Author: Ira M. Rutkow Publisher: Random House $27.95 Cloth (394 P.) ISBN: 0375503153 B&T         YBP Reviewed by Marcia Amidon Lüsted, Statusing Many books have been written about the horrors of Civil War era medicine and the brutal realities of medical treatment on the battlefield. In this book, however, Ira Rutkow takes a step back and examines the larger picture, showing us what American medicine was like as a whole during that time. He also shows us the reforms and innovations that took place as a result of the lessons learned from battlefield medicine. In the 1860's, the importance of cleanliness and the role played by germs were still unknown in American medicine. Doctors were inadequately trained and often inexperienced in any kind of battlefield medicine. Surgeries took place with undisinfected instruments and wounds were covered with dirty dressings, often still stained from the last use. It wasn't until public health organizations such as the United States Sanitary Commission stepped in that many of these primitive medical procedures were suspended and properly trained medical professionals began to care for wounded troops. This in turn led to a revolution in American medicine overall, and began the great move forward in medical care. This isn't a book for the squeamish. Rutkow details many actual medical cases from the Civil War, most of them vivid and often gruesome. It is a fascinating look, however, at both the medical practices taking place during the Civil War itself, as well as the larger overall progress of medical care in America and how it stepped out of the dark ages and into the twentieth century. Published by YBP Library Services 999 Maple St., Contoocook, NH 03229 USA v: 800.258.3774   f: 603.746.5628 w: www.ybp.com   e: academia@ybp.com All rights reserved.