Old-fashioned history of medicine | |
A companion of the history of medicine in Australia 1788–1939. Anthony J Proust. Canberra: A J Proust, 2003 (x + 328 pp). ISBN 0 646 42592 7. |
A J (Tony) Proust
is a retired physician with a long-standing interest in the history of medicine. He acknowledges in the preface that the writing of history has changed from discussing history from the classical background of the medical practitioner's autodidactic approach of recording what had happened, when it happened, and who was involved, to the present format where attention is focused on why, how, and the consequences. In other words, he recognises that the writing of the history of medicine is now based on a social construction — a task which is beyond his capacity.
This book exposes the reader to a wide variety of subjects and people who were prominent in Australian medical history, and the two appendices provide a useful background for the newcomer to this subject. However, readers who are familiar with the Companion encyclopedia of the history of medicine (Bynum and Porter 1993) and the Oxford medical companion (Walton, Barondess and Lock 1994) might not find it to be very reader-friendly because of the poor layout, particularly the end-notes and the many "orphan" headings. I believe its factual value might have been enhanced by more "further or additional readings"; for example, a reference to Times of crisis. Epidemics in Sydney 1788-1900 (Curson 1985). Historians could ask for proof of such assumptions as ". . . probably used by Captain John Hunter" (p ix), "Several hundred died — perhaps even thousands" (p 9), "This preface was probably written by James Wilson" (p 11) (my italics). Despite these criticisms the book does make a contribution to the history of Australian medicine and represents value for money for those embarking upon postgraduate studies in the history and philosophy of Australian medicine. G N Bruce Storey
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