Resurrecting Dr. Moss: The Life and Letters of a Royal Navy Surgeon, Dr. Edward Lawton Moss MD, RN, 1843-1880 [Paperback]

Paul Appleton (Author), William Barr (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 25, 2008

Resurrecting Dr. Moss chronicles the life and death of Edward Lawton Moss, a Royal Navy surgeon on the last great British north polar expedition of the nineteenth century. Arctic historians and bibliophiles are familiar with Moss’s account of the1875-76 British Arctic Expedition, published under the title Shores of the Polar Sea, but little has been known about Moss himself. Now, thanks to Paul Appleton’s painstaking research, his life has taken shape in this well-crafted biography. Relying heavily on Moss’s own letters, Appleton recounts his travels in the Caribbean, the Arctic, and on Canada’s Pacific coast, creating a vivid portrait of a man he calls “an example of the best traditions of British naval medicine during the Victorian era.” Artist, author, explorer, and scientist, Dr. Moss was also a pioneering medical officer. During his posting in British Columbia, he played a pivotal role in founding one of the earliest medical institutions on Canada’s west coast, the hospital at the Esquimalt Naval Base. Moss’s life was cut short at the age of thirty-seven when the HMS Atalanta disappeared en route from Bermuda in 1880.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Paul Appleton, a history teacher, earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Calgary and pursued doctoral studies at Queens University. He published articles about Dr. Moss in BC Historical News, The Westcoaster, and Archaeology magazine.

William Barr is one of this country's best historical editors and finest northern scholars. Trained as a geographer, he developed a life-long preoccupation with the history and geography of the Canadian North, exemplified by a series of superbly edited volumes on aspects of northern exploration and adventure. His work has, from the outset, been characterized by attention to detail and a fine scholarly eye for matters of significance. His careful approach to editing and extensive research has ensured that his volumes are first-rate models of the historian's craft. The introductions to his books are highly significant works of scholarship in their own right, seeking to balance a greater understanding of the individual's life with an explanation of the broader social, cultural, economic and geographical context within which the explorer or adventurer operated. The meticulous detail in his books -- always supplemented by the superbly drawn maps one expects from a geographer -- illustrates the depth of Barr's knowledge and understanding of northern history. Barr's body of work includes over 100 scholarly articles and such important books as Overland to Starvation Cove (1987), The Expeditions of the First International Polar Year (1985), Searching for Franklin (1999), and A Frenchman in Search of Franklin (1992), to cite only part of his contributions. His translations of key international works have made important historical documents available in English, thus contributing to the greater understanding of the international interest in, and contributions to, the history of the Circumpolar World. One of his best contributions is From Barrow to Boothia (2002), a finely edited production of the journal of Hudson's Bay Company Chief Factor Peter Warren Dease that provides much needed critical insight into this long-ignored explorer. His recent work, Red Serge and Polar Bear Pants (2004), describes the life and times of Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer Harry Stallworthy, using extensive family records to provide an unusually detailed discussion of the experience of serving the RCMP in the North. The diversity of William Barr's contributions is further demonstrated by his recent translation (from the German) of Wilhelm Dege's account of the last German Arctic weather station (published in 2004 as War North of 80). William Barr has done much to keep scholarly interest in northern exploration and science alive at time when the study of Arctic discovery and adventure has lost much of its cachet. He has, in the process, provided a series of foundational studies which scholars across a wide variety of disciplines will continue to exploit to great and positive effect. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Saskatchewan and is currently a Research Associate with the Arctic Institute, University of Calgary. In addition, William Barr, historian, editor, translator and Circumpolar expert, is the deserving recipient of the 2006 Clio Award for the North from the Canadian Historical Association.

Product Details

• Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: University of Calgary Press; co-published, Arctic Inst. edition (August 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155238232X
• ISBN-13: 978-1552382325
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,591,511 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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