Heroines of Mercy Street: The Real Nurses of the Civil War

This is a brief look into the lives of the real women who served as nurses during the Civil War The mastermind behind the idea of female nurses was Florence Nightingale in the Crimea, a decade earlier Dorothea Dix, best known for prison reform, followed up on Nightingale s triumph in the Crimea during the Civil War Nurses were supposed to spinsters or widows over 30, plain and upright No frills and hoopskirts were allowed The Confederate states did not have an organized system of female nurses o [...]

I won this book in a giveaway so first, just want to say thank you very much I really got into the characters and the whole story I got wrapped up and felt like I was really in the time period and walked away with a better understanding of what was going on in the lives from people in the Civil War.

This review was written for the Library Journal Magazine It is hard to imagine today that nursing as a professional field of medicine did not exist until the Civil War Those breaking the mold, Florence Nightingale, Dorothea Dix, and Clara Barton helped nurses solidified their future in medicine In Heroines, Dr Pamela Toler Mankind The Story of All of Us tells the experiences of Civil War nurses who started their nursing careers at the historical Mansion House in Alexandria, Virginia While most n [...]

I was very excited to read this week that Mercy Street will have a 2nd season A little research indicates that Mary Phinney Von Olnhausen s final resting location is at Mount Auburn While I dislike going to cemeteries, this is a visit that must take place Oh and the book is not too deep but readable maybe a 3.5 overall And while there are no photos from the series in the book, the cover photo is a joy.

Being an enormous fan of the expertly done PBS show of the same name, I was thrilled to learn there was a companion book As an aside, if you are a fan of the show, the Facebook page is filled with lovely historical photographs and daily details of the era While I enjoyed the book and was intrigued by this somewhat ignored perspective of the Civil War, I felt it could have been organized better Either focus on one influential nurse at a time or chronologically Too often the book would state simpl [...]

An absolutely fascinating and well written book about the history of nursing during the Civil War.

AudioBook Review Stars Overall 5 Narration 5 Story 5 Don t think that you will find the clearly navigable bones of the television show here some of the characters do share name and backstories, but the reality of these actual lives, painstakingly and thoroughly researched and presented by Pamela D Toler, PhD, is gripping and intriguing Remember that during the American Civil War, nursing even medicine in the modern sense was in its infancy The first woman of renown to challenge that belief was F [...]

How I read and appreciated this book which is great on audiobook, by the way was not as a real lives of for a TV show, but as a historical unearthing of women s contributions to medicine and welfare in America, and their under appreciated role in the Civil War It was very cool to hear the various kinds of bullshit women battled and overcame from institutions that were shabby to begin with Here s a fun fact the male doctor establishment was against women becoming doctors because they were scared [...]

Since I thoroughly enjoyed the first season of PBS s Mercy Street, I decided to read this book since the series there s a second season coming is based on this book Some readers might be disappointed that the emphasis on the book are not exactly like some of the characters onscreen However, I loved it because the author fleshes out the REAL nurses whose careers began during the Civil War there were NO nurses until then, and nurses were given very little respect, it seems, especially by doctorsev [...]

I think how you come by this book is going to drastically effect how you feel about it Personally, I heard about it because I watched the PBS series that inspired said book, and I think I was expecting it to be a very similar read to Call the Midwife another series that airs on PBS I found Heroines to be much focused on historical facts and politics, which is fine, but I d been expecting a character driven piece, so in that regard I didn t enjoy it much But it s a great source of information a [...]

Very interesting and informative about the beginnings of Professional Nursing as well as the amazing women who served as nurses during the Civil War.

I would rate this book 3.5 stars but rounded up to 4 stars in its favor Since there have been already several excellent reviews far better than I could do agiving details of the book, I will limit my review This book describes the establishing of nursing during the Civil War relying heavily on memoirs of women who actually served in nursing capacities and other published sources I had no idea before reading this book that nursing as a profession did not exist before the Civil War The women who [...]

I began this book because the series by that name on PBS This book is a much complete study of women nurses during the Civil War than the television program It includes the founding of the program for selecting and training of nurses through the end of the war Dorothea Dix had been trying to humanize the treatment in prisons and hospitals when the war began so she organized supplies and women to aid wounded soldiers from the beginning over the objections of the army and the doctors Not only did [...]

This was a quick easy read about the history of Civil War Nurses with a focus on the Mansion House Hospital The anecdotes and stories of the various women were entertaining but there was little historical analysis happening here The author touches on the different views on female nurses based on class and Northern Vs Southern sentiments and standards of appropriate activities for women but doesn t delve deeply into the role class and economics played on nursing as a profession or its appearance [...]

I am glad that I watched the first season of Mercy Street before reading this book It gave me a frame of reference to relate to the real nurses and what they had to face in being accepted or not as indispensable to the recovery and care of wounded soldiers during the American Civil War We often hear about how the need for women to step into a man s role during both World Wars made room for women s rights to be taken seriously But this book gives insight into the early steps towards not only the [...]

This book was written as a companion to the Masterpiece TV series Rather than a fictional account, the book written by an academic, focuses on the actual nurses of the Civil War era Dorothea Dix, Clara Barton, Louisa May Alcott and others While a bit textbookish, interesting facts are revealed, particularly the primitive nature of American medicine at a time when in Europe, especially Paris, medical advances were being made Much of what the series includes, such as the wicked quartermaster who h [...]

An interesting read and overview of nursing and the experiences of nurses during the Civil War It certainly wasn t a must read, keep you up into the wee hours sort of book, but had a lot of new information, seems to be well researched with many quotes from diaries of the period The general tone of voice was a casual sort of lesson, as if being in a class room with a teacher who wasn t terribly formal in their teaching style.

Anyone who is interested in medical history, the Civil War, women s history, or even the nursing profession should read this It s a fascinating piece of our nation s history, and another demonstration of kick ass women not listening to those in charge who dismissed them as not worthy or capable Hell yes, they were, and hell yes, we are Here s my review bookaliciousbabe

Some enjoyable biographical sketches of nurses who were active during the Civil War, such as Dorothy Dix and Mary Phinney von Olnhausen The stories are not told in chronological order, which can be disorienting if you re not expecting it This book would have benefitted tremendously from the inclusion of a timeline and maps Will probably try to check out the related PBS series.

a Wow factor for sure about these amazing women who stepped in to help One even worked with Florence Nightingale during the Crimean War Its amazing how hard it was to be a nurse and to become one Back in the Day it was easier for a woman to become a doctor Dr Blackwell.

Factual, yet readable amazing to think how much medical care has changed specifically nursing in 150 years I was brought to book after enjoying the PBS series Book stood on its own well as background and better historical context for the show.

I am not a non fiction reader normally, but the neighborhood book club was reading it so I read it Really thought it was interesting I have nurses in my family and have always thought it was a noble profession Reading what the women went through to be of service was an eye opener for me.

Informative My daughter was in nursing school at the time so anything on nursing was informative to me.

Interesting book, pure non fiction.

It was just a companion novel to the PBS Nevertheless, it had some interesting facts about the development of nursing as a profession during the Civil War.

This book could have explored details about the nurses as it focused mainly on the war Still I learned about inspiring women that history has forgotten A fast read for fans of women s history

I bought this book because I am really enjoying the PBS show Mercy Street.A very informative historical account of the often overlooked heroics of the women who volunteered as nurses during the civil war This account focuses on the experiences of nurses working at the Mansion House Hospital in Alexandria Virginia These women like Dorthea Dix, Mary Phinney Von Olnhausen, and Clara Barton braved horrible dirty conditions these hospitals were breeding grounds for deadly contagious diseases and host [...]

I picked this up for the biographical information about some of the real women who inspired the characters on the show I wasn t as interested in the history of medical car during the war, though I did learn a lot.

This was an interesting first foray into the history of nursing for me While I ve read a lot about the Civil War, this is the first I ve read that focuses on the nurses, and it was fascinating I watched Mercy Street not too long ago and found myself curious as to the differences between what the real history was, and the dramatized history of the PBS series So, when this came across the desk at work, I immediately made note to myself that I needed to read it as soon as possible.First off, being [...]

I picked up this book with the hope that it would be an amazing historical look at nursing during the Civil War It was packed with historical facts, but it read like a textbook, and the writing was too dry for my tastes Several facts stood out for me 1 Nursing became a recognized profession after the Civil War Before, nurses were considered lowly and not valued or even educated 2 It took strong women to serve as war nurses They needed to perform all kinds of duties from emptying bedpans to help [...]