Francis Galton: The Life and Work of a Victorian Genius

Book Reviews had a respectable record of success, as reflected in a mortality rate of under ten per cent.This conclusion, based as it is on a careful examination of hospital records, some of which are presented here in appendices, is of considerable importance because most authorities have claimed the reverse to be the case, in that hospitals contributed to mortality and that they represented "gateways to death".The main criticism concerns the author's lack of medical knowledge, which, although not influencing his overall conclusions, is evident in the chapters dealing with the clinical aspects of patients.Thus in that devoted to hospital surgery he is able only to present statistics and cite from contemporary authors, but can offer no criticism, interpretation or opinion.On the whole there are too many quotations in this book.Another fault is that although documentation of the primary data is excellent and primary sources in profusion are employed, there is not sufficient reference made to the secondary literature.Thus when the incidence and distribution of bladder stone is being discussed, for example, recent and relevant historical work on this topic is not mentioned.The book's title also is unsatisfactory, because without the sub-title it is meaningless.Nevertheless, this book is an important addition to the history of medicine and typical of the kind of study that, hopefully, will become commoner.Medical historians need the expert help of the general, social and economic historian to study areas where they lack special knowledge and skills.Each must recognize his own limitations, however, and a closer symbiosis of the two groups should obviate the type of criticisms mentioned above.