Scott McGaugh wrote a decent book about the military medicine corps and how they changed the battlefield throughout America's history. McGaugh is not a historian, which is clear from his choices to profile and how he structured the book; he is a communications director for a museum and so his writing reflects a public relations-type of delivering information. 

The Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and World War I each get one chapter that was very much an overview of the wars and where military medicine stood. Each of these chapters felt very similar, as the military was never really mindful of the medics, equipment, or processes that were advancing in the civilian world...until fighting broke out and men were dying. There was a lot of improvisation and development came from the Army branch. The highlight of this section was the mobile ambulance trains; I got to see and explore one on my trip to York's National Railway Museum.

This was followed by six chapters on World War II, five of which were devoted to the Marines fighting in the Pacific Ocean. And this is where the book fails a little for me - the one chapter on Europe dealt with the Army's advancement in medicine, but it was a total love fest between the author and the Marines. There was one chapter devoted to medical corpsmen who were POWs under the Japanese which was the most interesting chapter World War II section had.

And the Marine love-in continued in the one chapter on the Korean Conflict, even though the highlight of this era's medical advancement was the concept and execution of M.A.S.H. - Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (emphasis mine). Vietnam got two chapters, both dealing with Marines yet again. Ditto for the one chapter on Iraq (combination of Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom, which was another fail for me as each operation was very different other than location), although for the first time a female medic was profiled. The lone POC profiled came in the chapter on Afghanistan, but you also get another group of Marines as well.  

Did I mention that my branch of service, the USAF, received 0, nada, nothing, Not. One. Damn. Word. about our medical corps? Yeah, this still annoys me a week after reading the book.

At the end of each chapter, there was a paragraph or two that just spewed stats about the number of troops involved in that battle/war, the number dying, the number injured - but no real analysis. It was interesting to read, but really only recommend this to military history buffs or medical history readers.

I had to read a few chapters of this book in college and finally went back to read the whole thing through.

It is a horrible fact that this book had to be written, especially considering its length and that it would be impossible to cover all of the injustices African American have faced in regards to the American medial system.

But Washington does an amazing job examining this dark topic. This is a great book. It is often difficult to read, but it definitely a must read.

I really liked that Washington made it a point to go beyond the Tuskegee syphilis study, because many people (my own education included) really only know about the syphilis study. It is the go-to example of racial injustice in American medical research. But the sad truth is that there are so many more examples as well. Obviously, Washington could not possibly go into all of them, but she does a very good job of discussing a few.

While the book often feels very negative due to the subject matter, Washington ends on a high note by making some suggestions on how the system could be improved upon to ensure that people are able to give actual informed consent and are not taken advantage of by biased researchers.

This is a phenomenal book. It is thorough and well-written.

The language used if often not very objective, but when discussing human rights issues, it is understandable that one would use emotionally-saturated words.

This is a very important book, especially for those in the field of medicine. Washington's examination of African American's iatrophobia and its history have very important implications for health care at the present time and in the future.

Miss Lydia Charingford is always cheerful, and never more so than at Christmas time. But no matter how hard she smiles, she can't forget the youthful mistake that could have ruined her reputation. Even though the worst of her indiscretion was kept secret, one other person knows the truth of those dark days: the sarcastic Doctor Jonas Grantham. She wants nothing to do with him...or the butterflies that take flight in her stomach every time he looks her way.

Jonas Grantham has a secret, too: He's been in love with Lydia for more than a year. This winter, he's determined to conquer her dislike and win her for his own. It all starts with a wager and a kiss...

A Kiss for Midwinter is a novella (38,000 words) in the Brothers Sinister series. It follows The Duchess War. Each book stands on its own, but those who prefer to read in order might want to read that book first.

Review

Amazing character and historical detail in a small space. Compelling love story. Wonderful. Milan is simply steller. No one is writing better historical romance right now in the form of the novella.

If you like, beta-heros, blunt characters, christmas-romance, close-families, dying-parent, gritty stories, medical history, historical-romance, intellectual-heros, non-virgin-heroines, scholars, seduced-and-abandoned plots, the victorian era, witty speech and women-s-rights

This book is for you!