Elizabeth Blackwell: First Woman Doctor of Modern Times [Paperback]

Adele Glimm (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 3, 2000 | Age Level: 10 and up | Series: Ideas on Trial

As reported by a fellow student, when Elizabeth Blackwell arrived at her first class in medical school in 1847, "A hush fell over the class as if each member had been stricken with paralysis...A death-like stillness prevailed during the lecture." Elizabeth Blackwell tells the fascinating story of Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female physician in the United States. Blazing trails and overcoming prejudice throughout her education and professional life, denied access to hospitals. Blackwell opened the New York Infirmary for Women and Children and, in 1868, the Women's Medical College, the first of its kind in history.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

She Blazed a Trail for All Women in Medicine! The inspiring life story of Elizabeth Blackwell, America's first woman doctor, proves that belief in yourself can overcoe any prejudice and change the world. Today, nearly half of all medical students are women - but imagine the courage and determination Elizabeth needed to become a physician when the very idea of a woman attending medical school was considered outrageous! What was it like when young Elizabeth walked into class on her first day of medical school in 1847? A classmate tells us: 'A hush fell over the class...It is quite impossible to magnify the power of the personality of Miss Blackwell.' In Elizabeth Blackwell, biographer Adele Glimm traces Dr. Blackwell's amazing life from her childhood in England and America, to her medical training in America and Europe, to her long career as a doctor and crusader for women's rights. In a world of slavery, riots, surgery without anesthesia, and deadly diseases with no remedies, Elizabeth worked tirelessly for the benefit of all people. With eyewitness accounts, diary entries, newspaper clippings, and other original documents, this book brings to life her brilliance, bravery, and medical innovations. Find out how Dr. Blackwell founded the first hospital for women run by women, and the first women's medical college. Be there for her historic meeting with President Abraham Lincoln after she trained hundreds of nurses during the Civil War. And finally, learn how she helped save countless lives by educating people in the 'revolutionary' ideas of cleanliness and exercise for good health - ideas that benefit us to this day.

About the Author

Adele Glimm writes fiction and articles as well as biographies. She lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 124 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (February 3, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071343350
• ISBN-13: 978-0071343350
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,775,455 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First woman doctor-a biography for junior high students, May 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Elizabeth Blackwell: First Woman Doctor of Modern Times (Paperback)

An excellently written biography for young people sets the life of Elizabeth Blackwell against its historical backdrop using photographs, engravings, and sidebars with nuggets of information that clarify the era. This first woman doctor's struggle to achieve her life's dream within that period of history so harsh and prejudicial to women and primitive in terms of medical teaching and practice is brought vividly to life by the informative illustration, accessible historical perspective, and visual design of the book. It should be very useful to help young students understand the history of both women and medicine in the 19th century.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Biography for Aspiring Doctors, December 20, 2005

By 

D. M. Johnson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Elizabeth Blackwell: First Woman Doctor of Modern Times (Paperback)

I purchased this book for my 11 year old daughter who has shown a great interest in science. She enjoyed it thoroughly. Blackwell's story is an inspiration to anyone and this book does an excellent job of telling it in a way that a child can fully appreciate. The book is fast-paced enough to keep a young reader's attention yet with enough detail to give them a full picture of the medical pioneer's life. The narrative is supported by a number of text boxes containing background information which truly round out the story. The overall result is that the reader leaves the book with a sense that they know not only about Blackwell but also about the context in which Blackwell made her achievements. I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone looking with a daughter interested in sciences and history.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring story of first woman doctor, May 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Elizabeth Blackwell: First Woman Doctor of Modern Times (Paperback)

This is an extraordinarily informative and gripping account of Elizabeth Blackwell's unlikely rise to prominence in the field of medicine in the 19th century. The portrayals of Dr. Blackwell and her contemporaries and friends--Stowe, Nightingale--are drawn with unusual vividness, as are the many and often seemingly insurmountable obstacles that beset Blackwell at every turn. I was amazed at how much ground Glimm covered, and all in a clear, well-organized and brisk-paced narrative. I am certain that girls and boys alike will find this account of Blackwell's heroic--really triumphant--life inspiring and delightful.