Scurvy: How a Surgeon, a Mariner, and a Gentleman Solved the Greatest Medical Mystery of the Age of Sail
Registered by 
GoryDetails
of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 6/18/2017
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
GoryDetails of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 6/18/2017 This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
I got this fair-condition ex-library hardcover from Better World Books, for another release copy.
It's an interesting and entertaining account of the history of scurvy and of its treatment.
There's a lot of detail about life on sailing ships, since it was those long sea voyages that led to the most serious outbreaks of scurvy. [Even without a nasty, debilitating deficiency ailment, shipboard life could be nasty, brutish, and short, but scurvy just compounded the problems.] Nearly all of the long-term voyages of exploration, from the South Seas to the Arctic, and up 'til the early 20th century, were afflicted with scurvy, some losing the majority of their people and others being slowed - sometimes disastrously - by the disease. And they couldn't figure out what caused it; even the people who learned to rely on citrus fruit to prevent it often suffered when they used juice that was cooked or otherwise poorly preserved, as the Vitamin C would be lost. Indeed, it's a bit ironic that canning - a way to preserve food safely for long sea voyages - meant that the crews would rely less on fresh food, so that scurvy would set in even earlier.
The book covers many experiments, both on land and by individual captains, and it's frustrating to see the ones that worked be set aside by others as a false solution. And the author even speculates as to whether history might have been very different if the British Navy had a working anti-scorbutic at the time - an interesting thought...
There's a section at the end with notes and with recommendations for further reading, a useful addition to the book. Overall I enjoyed this one very much.
It's an interesting and entertaining account of the history of scurvy and of its treatment.
There's a lot of detail about life on sailing ships, since it was those long sea voyages that led to the most serious outbreaks of scurvy. [Even without a nasty, debilitating deficiency ailment, shipboard life could be nasty, brutish, and short, but scurvy just compounded the problems.] Nearly all of the long-term voyages of exploration, from the South Seas to the Arctic, and up 'til the early 20th century, were afflicted with scurvy, some losing the majority of their people and others being slowed - sometimes disastrously - by the disease. And they couldn't figure out what caused it; even the people who learned to rely on citrus fruit to prevent it often suffered when they used juice that was cooked or otherwise poorly preserved, as the Vitamin C would be lost. Indeed, it's a bit ironic that canning - a way to preserve food safely for long sea voyages - meant that the crews would rely less on fresh food, so that scurvy would set in even earlier.
The book covers many experiments, both on land and by individual captains, and it's frustrating to see the ones that worked be set aside by others as a false solution. And the author even speculates as to whether history might have been very different if the British Navy had a working anti-scorbutic at the time - an interesting thought...
There's a section at the end with notes and with recommendations for further reading, a useful addition to the book. Overall I enjoyed this one very much.
Journal Entry 2 by GoryDetails at Nubble Point (see notes) in York, Maine USA on Sunday, June 18, 2017
GoryDetails at Nubble Point (see notes) in York, Maine USA on Sunday, June 18, 2017
Released 6 yrs ago (6/18/2017 UTC) at Nubble Point (see notes) in York, Maine USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I plan to leave this book on a bench near the scenic lighthouse this afternoon - though if the location is crowded I may have to improvise. Hope the finder enjoys the book! *** Released for the 2017 Allergic to A release challenge. ***
