Tuberculosis Books

I found this book (a first edition) in the dusty corner of a library in New York. The title intrigued me, so I had to check it out. I honestly do not think I have ever read a more enjoyable memoir....and about such a subject. There is absolutely no other book out there that describes a patients stay at a TB sanatorium. Sure, there is the Magic Mountain and various others that are tiresome and not REALLY and simply about a stay in a sanatorium....interesting, because so many people had that experience-and no, not everyone died. This is the only book of its kind and I am thrilled and honored to have accidentally discovered it. I was even more shocked to find out that she was Mrs. Piggle Wiggle...hey, I grew up with her!

If there's anything good about a disiplinarian TB institution in the 30s (not 40s), it's the opportunity to meet so many different kinds of people. Macdonald is an observer and nailer of people's quirks on a level with Dickens (both of them, Charles and Monica). I love this book. There's one thing I would like explained, though. American readers talk as if Macdonald's "racism" was an understood and obvious thing. I see no racism in this book. OK, she calls somebody "coloured" and another girl "black". She also mentions that her roommate is Japanese and her workmate an Eskimo. Is she racist for not using today's PC terminology? She praises the institution for accepting everybody and mixing them together. She quotes some racist comments from other patients, but doesn't say she condones them, in fact "Betty" in the book answers back and disagrees. Please, please, somebody tell me why it is currently PC to say Macdonald is racist?

I read this book long ago, have forgotten a lot of it, but just about every December I find myself singing "Deck the Halls in Old Crepe Paper, fa la la" etc. Used to confuse my kids no end. For those who haven't read it yet, look for the scenes of holiday celebrations in the old TB sanitaruims-- sad & funny.

as "The Egg and I"--her statement in that book that "I do not like Indians and I think we did a good thing in coming over and taking this beautiful country away from them." made my part-Cherokee blood boil--could write another that was so UNracist. While the author does use terms like 'colored' and 'Negro', those were (one can understand) the accepted terms in the 1930s, and while she records the racist attudes of some of the patients and staff, she apparently does not agree with them. She formed a close attachment with a Japanese patient--whom she later urges to go to college--and when an African-American (to use the accepted term of today) patient tells her that she doesn't mind being in isolation because the white patients don't want her as a roommate anyway, she thinks this absurd.

It is difficult for us today to understand how very scary TB was back then. While TB is not unknown today, if caught early it is easily treated with appropriate medications; not so, then. The only treatment was a rest-cure with pallitive measures; many people recovered, but many did not. There were some surgical treatments (collapsed lung), but they were painful and not terribly effective. It was known to be contageous, although not nearly as contageous as many people thought it was. The nearest modern equivalent might be HIV/AIDS, except that the latter is always fatal.

As other authors have mentioned, one hardly thinks that such a story would be funny, but BMacD is able to find humor in any situation. I've read all four of her books for adults and enjoyed them very much--even 'Egg'. That she was able to be discharged from the sanitarium after only about a year shows that laughter is, indeed, the best medicine.

This book is filled with an off beat sence of humor. It isn't the slap you in the face kind of humor but rather the kind of humor that hits you later. For example, I found myself smilingat something I read earlier in the day while cooking dinner. At the end of this book you feel like you know each of the people personally. I wanted a follow up to find out what happened to each person. It's that good.

Basically this book is about Betty MacDonalds stay in a sanitorium while she had TB. She can take such a serious topic that could be pretty morose and turn it into something interesting and funny.

"Mountain Shadows" is a bittersweet story of true love and endurance.

Joe Devlin's unselfish love for his tuberculosis stricken wife, Alice, first sends him trekking through the snow covered Adirondacks on frost-bitten feet to reach Saranac, New York. She has been sent to this cold and refreshing clime to seek the "rest cure" prescribed for T.B. patients in one of the areas' curing cottages. Later, in order to pay her continuing medical expenses, Joe is forced into a life of illegally running bootlegged liquor from Canada during the prohibition era of the 1920s.

The descriptions of the old-fashioned cures for tubercular patients are fascinating and the characters are all exceedingly well-drawn. The beauty of the surrounding countryside comes alive in this well-written and heart wrenching novel. I loved the book and will certainly give it a second read.

Having just read Mountain Shadows and being the principal of Lake Placid Middle/High School, all I have to say is "Wow! What a Book!" I look forward to having Brooks speak at a dinner meeting of our Adirondack Book Club, a group of male community leaders. In the past, we have heard from Russell Banks and Brian Mann. Brooks will also speak to several classes of history students, where Mountain Shadows is assigned reading.

This historically-accurate novel is a wonderful exploration of both the natural and cultural environment of the Lake Placid/Saranac Lake area of New York's Adirondacks during the 1920's. The enjoyable story of a couple that is introduced to the region by necessity also provides a glimpse into the area's rich heritage, and illustrates to those of us that live in the Adirondacks that some aspects of that time period remain the same today.

Brooks presents a well-researched description of Saranac Lake's tuberculosis cure cottages and the affluent nature of Lake Placid during prohibition, from the working-class perspective of a young man who finds himself immersed in the conflicting settings of both.

In its exploration of the cure cottages, the book provides an accurate account of this very important time period in Saranac Lake's history, and it showcases many aspects of the High Peaks of the Adirondacks in a different era. However, to those of us lucky enough to live there, it is clear that some characteristics of the mountains in the story haven't changed much.

As the main character makes his way to Lake Placid on foot after his Model T breaks down less than 100 miles away, the reader is taken to a time when the winter made what is now a short drive into an epic journey. In the book, the beautiful, yet remote wilderness is contrasted by the warmth and hospitality of the region's inhabitants.

Today's technology allows easy travel through the mountains; a great advancement from the impassable winter roadways of the prohibition era. But the residents of the region still abide by the same conventions with respect of hospitality as the welcoming rural folks in the book. Though eighty years have passed since the time in which this story is set, that remote wilderness is still there, forever wild, to be enjoyed by visitors and residents alike. And, although the development of antibiotics eliminated the need for the tuberculosis cure cottages, visitors continue to travel to the region seeking a different kind of cure. Today, the High Peaks region blends a rich Olympic history, countless outdoor recreational opportunities, and the chance to get away from it all.

The historic significance of the tuberculosis cure, in the context of such a well-written, heartwarming story, would translate beautifully onscreen, allowing a much larger audience to learn about this important part of our region's past. And, the largely unchanged geographic surroundings here in the Adirondacks would make a spectacular backdrop for a project of that nature. As the President of the Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors Bureau, I am pleased to have had the opportunity to read and endorse this book as a wonderful resource that enhances our efforts to promote the heritage of our region.

We just got back from a wonderful "Mom's weekend" in Lake Placid. All 12 of us had read the book for bookgroup and just loved it. Coming up to Lake Placid and Saranac Lake brought out all of the questions and interests we had had from reading the book. After all, a five hour car ride with 6 Moms per car can bring about a lot of discussion. One of our highlights of our weekend was actually discussing the book with Patricia Brooks. What an honor it was to hear about how she so thoroughly researched all the aspects for the book. Our curiosity was so high that after our discussion we actually drove around Saranac Lake and found Helen Hill and while in Lake Placid drove past where Joe worked at the Lake Placid Club. Mountain Shadows was a wonderful read and I highly recommend it. It brought about more discussion than any book we have read.

"Mountain Shadows" is a delightful read. I am impressed by the sensitive and often dramatic treatment of historic detail. Even those of us who thought we knew a lot about the unique story of Saranac Lake, during the half century that we were the premier place in the Western Hemisphere for the treatment and cure of tuberculosis, found new insight and understanding in the telling of a very personal story. The reader learns of the shifting emotions of patients as they see friends improve and return home, and others pass away and leave in coffins at nightfall. We see the strains on family life when one member is sent to Saranac Lake for the cure - some families writing, visiting, sending packages, others distancing themselves from the feared contagion. The supportive and encouraging attitude of residents and caregivers in Saranac Lake toward the thousands of tuberculosis patients who stayed here comes through as well, the positive attitude that surely helped many to survive the "White Plague." "Mountain Shadows" tells a story that is relevant and inspiring today as many struggle with serious illness or strive to provide for the emotional and physical support of loved ones who are ill.

Just a comment related to previous reviews: a) this is not a novel but a true story, and b) it is not really about Canada, since New Foundland was not part of Canada at the time. But it is an incredible story about a family blown apart by WWI. The documentary video is also great, but hard to find.

I don't have a lot of time to write reviews, and I don't often write them, but I enjoyed this book so thoroughly that I'm sad to be finished reading it. It's one of the best memoirs I've ever read, though it's not really a memoir. One of the best family history books I've ever read, and yet it isn't that either. It is hands-down my favorite book about Newfoundland that I've read, though there are many more I want to read. Macfarlane is a masterful writer, and his work is filled with insight, thoughtfulness about the past, dead ancestors, and what they mean to those of us still living, even if we'd never met them. Though I'm wary of reviews that say things like this, he really does, quite improbably, tell a compelling story of Newfoundland itself through the story of his ancestors. The book somehow never descends into the maudlin or sentimental; it's quite a clear-eyed view of the meaning of World War I for Newfoundland and for the Goodyear family. The ending was striking--I'll probably never forget the image he painted on the last page. Loved it from start to finish.

I am ashamed to say that although I have lived in Canada for 37 years, I knew nothing about Newfoundland's history and consequently nothing about Newfoundland's participation in the First World War. A university lecturer recommended this book to me, and I heartily recommend it to anyone with an interest in the First World War (and in Newfoundland, more broadly). It is a beautifully written, poignant book which compares favourably with Robert Graves' Goodbye to All That and in some ways is better than Graves; it has none of Graves' cynicism.

This book inspired me to visit Beaumont Hamel on the Somme, where so many men from Newfoundland lost their lives on 1 July 1916. In the rest of Canada, 1 July is considered a day for celebration, because the country came into being on that date in 1867. Now I understand why Newfoundlanders cannot and will not celebrate 1 July as a holiday. For them, it is a day of mourning.

Ironically, for us on the west coast of Canada, Beaumont Hamel is easier to reach than Newfoundland. Having visited the former, I hope one day to visit the latter.

This is a great novel about how a war can affect a family, the family business and the province for many years after the war. Before WWI Newfoundland was a the oldest and thriving member of the British Empire (they joined Canada in 1949). When they were called to war they sent their best sons, and they sent all of them. In one battle on July 1st, the Royal Nlfd Regiment was almost completely wiped out. This has effected the economy and liveihood of the island for years. The RNR monuments of a bellowing caribou on the battlefields of France are a testiment of their valour. While the rest of Canada celebrates Canada Day on July 1st, to the Newfoundlanders it is a day of mourning and rememberance the RNR and the sacrafices they made. This book is a great testimony to the brave Newfoundlanders and their families during that time.

This is an amazing book: history, biography, auto-biograhy, philosphy all combined into a powerful tale of family character (and characters)that stays with you. In essence, a simple reflection on long past lives from a little corner of the world, Newfoundland, all wound up in the Great War, it becomes a haunting tour-de-force of the power of great events on everyday people.

The chapter "Fire" is in itself a small masterpiece and one I find reading again and again even now two years after the first read.

I picked this book up by sheer accident in a small bookstore in Banff and have been thankful for my good fortune of discovering this gem.

I had never read anything by this author, but when I saw this book at a used book store the title intrigued me. I wanted to know Aprils story and how she met her Indian Prince. I read this book in less then a week. The story pulled me in. I felt Aprils fear, worry, and love When she cried so did I. This book gave me a new look into what it was like to live with TB. I felt sorry for the people who were treated like lepers just because they were sick. I would recommend this story to anyone who never gives up on their dreams.

well i was looking Around the library and saw the book...then mah friend kath was all in a hurry so i just grab it..then i read the book i couldn't put it down because it was so good...i love it...this is the first book that i ever love....the book is mix with love story n adventure...hahhahhah

This is my all time favorite book. The very first day i got it, i didn't put it down until i was done with it late that night. The vivid descriptions of a forbidden love was so touching, it kindled a new flame for an obbsession with romance. Even my e-mail was influenced by the rememarkable book. I recommend this book for any girl (or guy) that wears their heart on their sleve and can use a little sweet mushyness in thier life!

I enjoyed "The Year of My Indian Prince" a lot. It is about a girl that is stuck in a TB (Tuberculosis) center where she is receiving treatment. Meanwhile, she meets up with a handsome prince from (where else) India. They become buddies... etc. The plot is interesting but I was a bit skeptical at first. The title reminded me of another story. The Summer Of My German Soldier. Do you see the simularities?

This book was about 16 year old April who is diagnosed with Tuberculosis (TB). To get well again, she must live in a TB hospital where she must undergo various treatments. April soon meets Ravi, an Indian prince, and he show interest in her. As April's condition worsens, April and Ravi's love for each other gets stronger.

This was really an amazing book! It is also based on the author's actual life experiences. For me, I could not put the book down, I was hooked. I would reccomend this to everyone, especially those who are in the mood for reading about a truly sweet romance.

This book has wonderful stories of the rich history of communities of the Sandia Mountains. The photos are wonderful, and really add to the stories. The geographic orientation, beginning with Carnuel, and working around the mountain to Placitas emphasizes the rich variety of the area. I highly recommend it.

Out of all the Images of America books by Arcadia I have looked at over the past few months this one is by far the best. The book was written with love and care by someone who obviously loves the area and knows it very well. It is also the most imaginatavely layed out Arcadia book out all of them that I own. The book has many great photos as well as vintage postcards, maps, and advertisements. Needless to say its a must have for anyone living in the Sandia Mountains but also a wonderful addition to any New Mexico library.

It's hard to stop reading, engrossing, hard to stop reading!

My wife and are enjoying this book immensely, well written and the details of the areas of the places around us here in Tijeras are fantastic. This book brings the rich history to light in an enjoyable read. The photographs are amazing, to see the places as they were and are now.

Mike Smith, the author is extremely accessible for any questions or comments about his book, the region and the history.

Definitely a five star book, run now to get yours!

Growing up in one of the towns of the Sandia Mountains, I can ashamedly say that I really didn't do much digging into the history of the place. I don't know why really, I guess I figured it was just there and left it at that. Then comes along this little dandy of a history book wherein the unique history of the place I grew up in is laid before you through non-run of the mill descriptions, quirky photos, and some fantastic quotes from the people who have made up and make these towns.
This book is published through Arcadia, which has about, I don't know how many, of these history/photo style books. I have read a few books from Arcadia and maybe it's because this is one that specifically talks about the place I grew up in, but Towns of the Sandia Mountains seems to sit a few levels above the others Arcadia has out there.
This book reads like a dreamy ride through the past on an old desert road. Starting on Route 66 in Albuquerque and lazily winding it's way up into the mountain towns, past the towns, higher into the mountian, down a back pass, to the front of mountian and back into Albuquerque, picking up the towns of Carnuel, Tijeras, Hobbies, San Antonio, Cedar Crest, Canoncito, San Antonito, Sandia Park, and Placitas along the way, as well as a brief concluding chapter on Albuquerque touching on its growth into the mountain. Some of the pictures in this book are completely astounding to see. There are amazing photos of areas with just a few cattle grazing around that now have freeways and strip malls running through them. Pictures of places, if you know that area, you would never recognize. Pictures of Hippies and TB patients alike escaping into the mountains. People who made this town that you never knew who now you can know.
This book does away with the dull page after page of random portraits of people with boring captions style of history writing and brings new life to history.
If you live in the Sandia, used to, or are just interested in a unique area then I would say this is a good little read for you. Eight thumbs up!

New Jersey authors have contributed over 75 titles to Arcadia's Images of America series, some excellent, some not so good, depending on the knowledge and research strengths of the authors. New Jersey leads with 75 communities in the Images series, the most of any state. Massachusetts is second, with 67. New York has 30, Connecticut 16.

Arcadia's formula: "use local writers or historians to write about their community using 180 to 240 black-and-white photographs with captions and introductory paragraphs in a 128 page book." (I've included a description of how the Steubenville, Ohio volume was created in the first Comment.)

There are now apparently six volumes for New Mexico, and Towns of the Sandia Mountains by Mike Smith is an outstanding effort for the entire series, based on the dozens I've read through or glanced at in local bookstores. Smith expresses a real love for the area, and we've really enjoyed consulting his book on our drives between the Albuquerque Airport and Santa Fe over the past several months.

Smith maintains at least two blogs, one here on Amazon and a personal blog called "My Strange New Mexico". "'My Strange New Mexico' is a unique column of strange New Mexico history and lore. The column currently appears every month in Local iQ, 'Albuquerque's Intelligent Alternative.'"

Smith writes in his biography: "For most of my life, I have lived in New Mexico, loved New Mexico, loved history, loved the West, and loved to write. As a teenager I moved alone to Alaska where I spent a year-and-a-half hitchhiking all around the state, worked as a commercial fisherman, and lived in a tent in the woods before hitchhiking back down to the lower forty-eight states. In 1999 and 2000 I spent almost seven months becoming the only person so far to circumnavigate the entire 1,960-mile shoreline of Lake Powell, in Utah and Arizona, in a canoe. In 2001, my younger brother, four other friends, and I walked over 3,500 miles from Key West, Florida to Cape Gaspé, Quebec, to raise money for charity. ..."

Smith's love for New Mexico shines through this volume, and his writing and research are both outstanding. See his Listmania! of over 30 titles related to the Sandia Mountains entitled "Books about the towns of the Sandia Mountains."

I've always enjoyed this "Images of America books -- it can be great fun to ask local residents about some of the entries. Some day I plan to track down Mike Smith and listen to some of the stories that didn't make it into this fine book.

Robert C. Ross 2008

As a non-medical 2nd year uni student I found the book thorough and informative, more than sufficient as a source for assignment information. However I found myself reaching for a dictionary more often than necessary, to make it through words like 'involuted' and so forth. And the pathogenesis section was a little disjointed, it appeared to have conflicting information over the course of pages 66 to 69. Otherwise a very vigorous treatise of TB.

Those of us in the field of TB know Mike Iseman as one of the giants and this textbook provides an invaluable guide for the treatment of this spreading disease. He deftly mixes historical perspective with clinical wisdom to achieve that rare combination of an edifying text that is actually pleasant to read. I can honestly say that I found myself reading this book not just as a reference, but as a work of literature--a rare complement, indeed, in the world of medical writing. The writing is superb, the research is cutting edge, and the book is a must have for anyone who deals with TB.

Videophiles may recall a classic TV advertisement (for Prego spaghetti sauce) that featured the tag line, "It's in there!" From the basic tomato paste to the more exotic herbs and spices, the ad line went, if it contributes to a fine spaghetti sauce, "It's in there!" Reading Dr. Iseman's fine new book gives me the same feeling of a complete and satisfying product. A compendium in the very best sense of the word, the text details the history, diagnosis, epidemiology, and treatment of tuberculosis in 14 elegantly-written, easily-digested chapters. My guess is that the secret ingredient in this impressive work is Dr. Iseman's obvious respect both for the disease and for those historical figures who struggled, sometimes heroically, to understand and to overcome it. And, as for Excellence...it's in there.

Admittedly most medical texts are not "page-turners". This is an exception. Using beautiful prose, Iseman has compiled an excellent piece on this disease of antiquity. It is a joy to read and should be in the library of every physician who concerns him or herself with tuberculosis.

I LOVED this book! It was such a fun read. I grew up loving the Judy Garland film The Harvey Girl, so I was excited to read this take on one of my favorite topics. It did not disappoint! I can't wait for the sequel!

Shelia Wood Foard has created a great resource for middle-grade teachers to use in their classroom. What better way to reach students than with literature that speaks to them and tells a story--a Harvey Girl's story at that! Children love to learn about the past, and they love stories. Foard's book does a wonderful job of both. Harvey Girl would be a great read aloud or an even better literature circle discussion book. Check it out today!

I enjoyed "Harvey Girl" very much. Foard is a good writer. She obviously knows her history but she also knows the value of a good story. Through the skillful use of fiction and the development of Claire, the main character,the entire era comes alive. I particularly liked the way in which the early twentieth century Ozarks culture and dialect were so faithfully portrayed. You'll like this story and learn some new things as well. I guarantee!

Harvey Girl is as delicious as the gourmet food once served in Harvey Houses along the railways of the Southwest. Sheila Wood Foard sweeps readers into the past, in a story that both kids and adults will enjoy. Ride the rails with fourteen-year-old Clara Fern Massie as she runs away from her Ozark home to become a waitress in New Mexico and later at a Harvey House on the rim of the Grand Canyon. As she learns the "Harvey Way," Clara meets movie stars, famous suffragists, cowboys and Indians while secrets and lies threaten to send her home. I especially enjoyed watching Clara mature from a country girl to an independent, young woman. Harvey Girl is historical fiction at its best, a terrific read and ideal for classroom use.

this is a wonderful book for anyone who grew up in the saranac lake/adirondack area. it brings home lots of memories of the area and days gone by. i found the photos extremely interesting. for anyone who grew up in the area, as i did, you will find yourself transported back in time to houses of your friends or houses you may have occupied growing up here. i found this all very nostalgic. the text is extremely informative. you need not be interested in tb to enjoy this book, but it does give you a interesting background of tb and the growth of saranac lake.

I first read this book 16 years ago. I have never forgotten it; it is one of my favorite books. Why? It blends architecture with medical necessity, family issues and social needs at the turn of the century. The idea that people could be cured (or not) by the winter weather of Saranac lake, with its extremely low humidity and extreme cold (40 degrees below zero days not uncommon), made tubercular people leave their children and families to go north to this tuberculosis treatment hospital while living in the town of Saranac. They'd bundle up in a cure cottage's glassed in porch, lying on an Adirondack cot made of wood, a cross between an ultra-sturdy deck chair on an ocean liner, and a hospital bed. Robert Louis Stevenson lived in his own home in Saranac lake, and Christy Mathewson was treated there also (He died of TB.) The history of tuberculosis is interesting not just from a medical, but an historical and social point of view. Anyone who enjoys architectural history will find this coffeetable style book of black and white photographs and informative text interesting. This Adirondack area is one of rich history, with the cure cottages of Saranac, the large country "cabins" of the rich New York city moguls, the Olympics in Lake Placid, and the artistry of outdoorsman Frederick Remington. This book is a wonderful addition to your historic architecture collection. It brings a long-forgotten chapter of medical care and historical architecture to life.

The editing of this book is most impressive. Larry Lutwick personifies brilliance and unlimited knowledge of medicine and literary skills.

While the contents of this text were both comprehensive and educational, I felt that the editing far surpassed its parts. Larry Lutwick is a true genius; an incredible doctor and literary impresario.

I could barely put this book down. One fascinating theme is the link between perceptions of the symptoms of TB and social class. When TB was primarily a white, upper-class disease, the symptoms were viewed with esteem. For example, pale, thin, frail people were thought to be particularly bright, creative, and appealing. But that is scratching the surface -- there is so much that is compelling and interesting about this book.

DuBos et al examine the social aspects of the TB epidemic, along with some of the biological factors. They show how TB was romaticized, how it was portrayed as a demon coming to rob the healthy of life, and how it sparked scientific invention - in particular the stethescope. The introduction is wonderful as it lays out the basic parts of the book. Words of advice: this book is best read as a whole from beginning to end, as the authors build on the arguments they make in past chapters.