Country Doctors Casebook: Tales from the North Woods (Midwest Reflections) [Paperback]

Roger A. Macdonald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2003 | Series: Midwest Reflections

"Beautiful, humorous, and lucidly written, A Country Doctor's Casebook is a heartwarming and sometimes heartbreaking treasure of American rural medical history. For those who may have become disenchanted about the craft of medicine, here the enchantment returns." Pierre Delattre, author of Woman on the Cross, Episodes, and Tales of a Dalai Lama "This pioneer physician's account of medicine, life, and death in the north of northern Minnesota is suffused by humanitarian warmth and humor. We all are there: Native Americans and immigrants, our lives beset by accidents and illness, and above all the love and dedication making us who we are, helped by our own Galen. A great read."Robert Treuer, author of The Tree Farm: Replanting a Life "A Country Doctor's Casebook is a delight--wonderfully written with a wry sense of humor. These stories ring true: compassionate, gentle, loving portraits of people for whom Dr. MacDonald cared deeply."David Hilfiker, md, author of Healing the Wounds: A Physician Looks at His Work and Not All of Us Are Saints: A Doctor?s Journey with the Poor

Product Details

• Paperback: 202 pages
• Publisher: Borealis Books; 1 edition (August 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873514742
• ISBN-13: 978-0873514743
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #503,065 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Charming tales of the North Woods of Minnesota, November 10, 2003

By 

Atheen M. Wilson "Atheen" (Mpls, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Country Doctors Casebook: Tales from the North Woods (Midwest Reflections) (Paperback)

I got this book because I too come from Minnesota and work in health care, but once started on Dr. MacDonald's A Country Doctor's Casebook Tales from the North Woods, I was hooked. The author was what we would now refer to as a family practitioner who worked in a small rural community near Duluth from 1947 to 1980. His charming collection of stories is a delight to read, and I literally read the book from cover to cover over about three hours without putting it down. The tales of the doctor and his patients pull the reader through the pages without tricks of style, just the author's natural talent for telling a simple story: the life and death struggles of members of his community, the happiness of new lives begun, the suddenness of unexpected death, incredible courage in the face of adversity, acceptance of the setbacks of life, amusing vignettes of simple people living life among their neighbors.

FOR THOSE WRITING PAPERS in English, creative writing, journaling, journalism, history, and sociology, this would make a nice format to follow or a good bibliography entry. The author has used his own life experiences to create a history of his practice, community, and time.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A tale of love from Minnesota, January 28, 2003

By 

"pcritchley" (Duluth- God's country) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Country Doctor's Casebook: Tales from the North Woods (Midwest Reflections) (Hardcover)

Dr. MacDonald's book is a welcome remembrance to those who lived in Northern Minnesota in the 40's & 50's. His stories of survival (and sometimes not surviving) are very descriptive and detailed. When he tells of a trip through a swamp he carried his wife through to help a patient, you almost feel as though you are sloshing through the mud with him. His stories are NOT about heroics that he performed on helpless rural Minnesota residents, although he certainly could do that as well. They are about the heroics of those people he cared for. This story has it's humorous parts as well as parts that make you cry for the brave and futile attempts at life of his patients. I am grateful to Dr. MacDonald for this book, and I hope to see more from him in the future.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sickness, compassion, feuds, dangers, births and deaths, October 7, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Country Doctor's Casebook: Tales from the North Woods (Midwest Reflections) (Hardcover)

A Country Doctor's Casebook: Tales From The North Woods is an anthology of autobiographical stories by Dr. Roger A. MacDonald, a physician who has served the people living in a remote region of northern Minnesota during the years after World War II. Vignettes of sickness, compassion, feuds, dangers, births and deaths make A Country Doctor's Casebook unforgettable and very highly recommended reading.