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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Rest of the Lewis and Clark Story, March 8, 2003
The story of Lewis and Clark is fascinating one of the original legendary American expeditions with extraordinary implications. The historical record and the many books available to us that interpret this journey into the unknown let us relive the excitement of exploration of the American frontier. However, until Or Perish in the Attempt by Dr. David Peck was written and published, only half of the legendary story of Lewis and Clark has been told. Now you can experience the rest of the story through the eyes of an articulate, practicing modern physician who unveils the medical threat that the Corps of Discovery was under during the few years it took them to get to the Pacific northwest and back. Dr. Peck sets the foundation by first explaining the prevailing medical philosophy of the times by leading physicians, including Dr. B. Rush a leading advocate of blood letting. Then, we follow Lewis as he gets his guidance in person from Dr. Rush for the perceived medical threat and heads off up the Missouri with Clark and all their men, materials and supplies into the heart of darkness. While the Corps of Discovery went about their business meeting their basic survival and occasional life enhancement needs, Dr. Peck takes the story to a much deeper and scarier level. While Lewis and Clark and their men worried about Indians, snakes, bears around the bend, the medical threat loomed all around them in the form of mosquitoes carrying deadly malaria and all sorts of bugs and germs that the men ingested from drinking river water and eating inordinate amounts of meat from all kinds of critters that were available to them for life sustaining food. Dr. Peck shows that these guys were very rough and tough. However, they got sick and were often very sick along the way and didnt have an emergency room to run to for help. Everyone turned to Lewis for help as he handed out the Thunder Clappers and other drugs from his supplies. Dr. Peck takes these complex ideas and concepts from the medical world and breaks them down so we can understand them thoroughly. In so doing, the story of Lewis and Clark becomes more real than ever before. As a result, the reader comes away with a serious education about health care and the awesome power of the human body to heal itself if things are done correct. The ending of Or Perish in the Attempt was the high point of the book because Dr. Peck clearly shows why Lewis died shortly after returning from the expedition. That explanation alone is worth the price of admission. So, if you want to take a ride, then get in line for your E-Ticket on the Or Perish in the Attempt roller coaster ride by Dr. David Peck. This is a must read for anyone who thinks they already know the story of Lewis and Clark or for anyone who might think they know how to take care of themselves in the wilderness or their own backyard.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Modern Classic, October 1, 2002
Dr. Peck has rewarded us all with his thorough research and clear explanations. Since first reading Ambrose's book, Undaunted Courage, two years ago, I have steadily digested everything that I could get my hands on that dealt with the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Last year, I remarked to a friend that someone needed to write a book that filled in the gaps that Dr. Chuinard left regarding the medical aspects of the journey. Fortunately, Dr. Peck has saved someone the toil. I have only three criticisms of the book. First, some of the expressions may be a little too ecclectic for a non-medical person or the person who reads the book 100 years from now. Examples are the referring to phlebotomists as "vampires" and his reference to Pompey being born at 3 or 4 AM. Second, I am curious as to why Peck did not cover the Lewis & Clark's medical study done during the winter spent near St. Louis. Dr. Chuinard covered this extensively, but Dr. Peck does not mention it. Third, I disagree with the conclusion that Lewis committed suicide. Perhaps it is a matter of denial, but there are too many suspicious factors for me to conclude that Lewis killed himself. When I picked this book up, my most pressing question about the author was regarding the way in which he dealt with Dr. Benjamin Rush. I have found (in 20 years of medical experience) that it is hard to judge the quality of care rendered a few years ago, and that 200 years is a nearly impossible breach of time. Dr. Peck has dealt with Dr. Rush honestly, and does not judge him by today's standard of care. Dr. Chuinard was too critical of Dr. Rush, and Dr. Peck has helped clear Dr. Rush's reputation: Dr. Rush was one of the soundest physicians that America would know before 1900. Dr. Rush helped bring the dawn from the "Dark Ages" of medicine. Ambrose and Peck are the authors that every student of the Corps of Discovery should start with. Thank you, Dr. Peck.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lively Well Written Account of the Medical Practices of the Captains, February 26, 2006
Physician Peck writes a well-written lively account, in an almost conversational method wrought with humor, of the adventures of the Corps of Discovery and the medical obstacles they encountered along with the medical practices utilized by the good captains. Peck provides a background of medical practices that were practiced in that day as well as a brief summation of how medicine was practiced from the ages up through the early 1800s, that latter being in an appendix. As Peck states quite clearly, Lewis is armed with limited medical knowledge from a two-week crash-training course from the eminent physician at that time, Dr. Rush. As Peck points out, limited knowledge may have been the best since such familiar practices of bleed and purging the stomach were thought as primary cures at that time. Peck provides an excellent detailed history of the adventure while analyzing in friendly to the reader detail, the symptoms of the members and Native American injuries and illnesses that Lewis and Clark treated along their journey. Everything from stomach illnesses caused by under cooked game to bacteria and protozoa that may inhabit the water they drank from. What is truly amazing, with exposure to mosquitoes and possible yellow fever, frostbite, hypothermia, snake bites, back ailments, eye injuries and ghastly wounds including Lewis' shot in the buttocks by their near sighted fiddler, they all survive. They suffer only one casualty and that is in the early goings, Sergeant Floyd who appears to have died from an appendicitis that may have been connected to complications caused by parasites. With the use of opiates for pain, the Captains may have provided comfort while treating patients who fortunately survive treatments that may actually have made them worse. However, a lot of the Captains commons sense treatments were successful, particularly among the Indians where Captain Clark's reputation as a man of great medicine helped the corps survive as they received rations that helped them exist while on their return journey. Peck's humor is evident as he describes an illness that pursues the corps along their journey as an unwelcomed guest and while using the term of that period for the illness, it takes one a few paragraphs to catch on. In addition, young Shannon seems to be always getting lost or losing something and Peck notes that he may have been a good candidate for riddlin. Peck also offers a chapter that discusses what became of the members after their return with an excellent analysis of the arguments surrounding Lewis' death. Many argue that it was syphilis related or depression, Peck offers the latter noting that physicians that treat themselves make gross errors. Peck also includes an anatomy diagram of Lewis' possible wounds and a glossary of 1800 medical terms and treatments. I would have liked a little more detail on Lewis' state of mind as he performed at high levels but during periods of stress seemed to possess a mercurial temperament that could explode at times. As Peck notes, one Indian that was teasing the corps about their dog preference eating habits picked the wrong guy to throw a puppy at almost resulting in his death. All the explanation of medical ailments and treatments are compared to today's standards in layman's terms. After reading this book, I will always order my meat well done and even more fervently wash my hands after handling anything.
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