Medicine in the American West (Cornerstones of Freedom Second Series)

Grade 4-6-These books offer short introductions to topics not easily available for this age group. Information on medical practices of the pioneer era tend to be included in larger histories of the period while other titles on the Natchez Trace are generally adult guidebooks for visiting the area. Medicine is the more challenging title because the topic is more amorphous. Davis provides an adequate overview of medical practices at the time Lewis and Clark set out, and builds from there to include the importance of Native American herbals, wagon-train surgeries, traveling elixir salesmen, continuing to the introduction of ether to anesthetize patients in surgery. Natchez Trace offers a variety of stories that illustrate the difficulties of traveling this route throughout the 1700s until it became a mail route around 1800. High-quality, full-color illustrations add variety to the page layout. There are also maps, reproductions of paintings from the period, and photographs of the area today. Students of American history of the westward expansion and pioneer eras will find these books helpful in combination with other resources.
Dorcas Hand, Annunciation Orthodox School, Houston
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