[.ca] Nurturing Children: A History of Pediatrics (ISBN 0313310807)

Not so much a history as a bibliography:
It's difficult to criticize a volume that is the product of a prodigious amount of research, but I'm afraid that the Colons have failed to deliver what the title promises. Nuturing Children is not a history of pediatrics so much as an annotated bibliography of pediatric texts. The Colons exhaustively catalog every text pertaining to the care and feeding of children, dating back almost to the origin of the printed word, and they merit praise for the effort. The chapters are divided into epochs or centuries, and each is prefaced by a short list of historical events occuring in each interval. The lists, however, are a poor substitute for historical context; One wants to know more about the world in which the texts were written. There are some pearls here and there: Teething listed as a cause of death in 20th century England; There is also a fascinating tale of the firebombing of Cotton Mather's house following his institution of compulsory smallpox vaccination. Just these two examples certainly tell us much about the state of children in their respective times and places, but all we get is cursory mention. We're left hanging once the story becomes interesting! The Colons are also fond of listing monograph titles in the original language,not particularly helpful to those who don't read Latin, German, French, Spanish, or, in one case, Swedish. There is also a puzzling lack of consistency in detailing important facts about major figures in the history of pediatrics. Some luminaries who have become immortalized by having their names attached to a disease or symptom are mentioned in passing without reference to their most famous associations, while others do get such mention. For example, Hirschprung is mentioned without reference to his eponymous disease. As a reference, Nuturing Pediatrics will prove an excellent purchase, but those looking for history per se should seek elsewhere.

A Readable History:
Nurturing Children: A History of Pediatrics, by A.R. Colón with P.A. Colón, 329 pp, ISBN 0313310807, Westport Ct, Greenwood Press, 1999. In this ambitious and highly readable book, A.R. Colón and P.A. Colón have done an admirable job of extracting threads of pediatric medicine from a mass of sources dating from the beginning of recorded history, and provide fascinating reading for anyone interested in the history of child health....The Colóns also show the historic intertwining of pediatrics with public health and social policy....The twentieth century is reviewed in 20 pages, much of which is reduced to tables, although the Colóns do recount the origins of the American Academy of Pediatrics as a response to the American Medical Association's stance on Sheppard-Towner Act of 1921 - required reading for anyone concerned with the politics of modern medicine. Alan Meyers, MD, MPH Boston Medical Center JAMA 2000; Vol. 284: 2250-2251. Nurturing Children: A History of Pediatrics, by A.R. Colón with P.A. Colón, ISBN 0313310807, Westport Ct, Greenwood Press, 1999. xvi+329 pp with illustrations. ...begins with an analysis of prehistoric anatomical remains pertaining to childhood and then discusses an impressively wide-ranging anthology of texts dating form the Sumerian and early Semitic and Egyptian civilizations, and also those of ancient India, China and Japan. Classical, medieval, Renaissance, eighteenth-century, and nineteenth-century pediatrics are then each allocated a chapter. The book ends with a brief but comprehensive survey of twentieth-century discoveries and developments... ...An extensive bibliography is indicative of the primary and secondary resources, mainly but not entirely in English, mined by the author to produce this anthology. Anticipating readers from diverse backgrounds, Colón has provided not only medical interpretations of the chosen texts, but also historical, social, geographic, and even botanical information, when deemed relevant. ...most readers and physicians in particular, will be stimulated and intrigued by the technical information lavishly provided by Colón. They will also appreciate the organization of this book, making it possible for an extensive and varied selection of material to be condensed into approximately three hundred pages. Apart from being most readable, and valuable for reference, this work should be useful for teaching purposes since it illustrates and locates such a variety of source materials. Not only medical students but also those from other disciplines, including the social sciences, will find here analysis and samples of pediatric writings that will inspire them to further research. The Colóns are to be congratulated for tackling a diffuse topic and thus making a general history of pediatrics once again available. Elizabeth Lomax Bulletin of the History of Medicine 2001; Vol. 75; 174-175. Nurturing Children: A History of Pediatrics, by A.R. Colón with P.A. Colón, 329 pp, ISBN 0313310807, Westport Ct, Greenwood Press, 1999. NLM call no.: WS 11.1 C719n 1999. Nurturing Children: A History of Pediatrics is a fascinating look at world pediatric medical practices from archeological record to modern times. There are few books that cover the history of pediatric medicine and none that provide as broad an overview of the field as this title does. The breadth of coverage is one of its strongest assets of this title although it may frustrate those who hunger for more in-depth coverage. For those yearning for more information on the topics mentioned in Nurturing Children an extensive bibliography is provided at the end of the book. This bibliography is divided into primary and secondary sources. The endnotes for each chapter also provide ample fodder for the researcher wanting to explore further topics covered in the chapter text... Reading this text graphically illustrates the shift in the pediatric medical profession from believing in curses, gods and witchcraft to scientific discovery and experimentation. A.R. Colón's writing style communicates historical facts in a manner that make for interesting and compelling reading. The text contains a plethora of facts about people and medical texts, while also including interesting facts and asides, some more graphic than others... This title would be a highly recommended addition to any health science collection and would also have an audience in research institutions not affiliated with medical schools. Melissa Koenig University of Illinois E-Streams 2000; Vol. 3: No. 6 Nurturing Children, Vol 1., 1999. A.R. Colón and P.A. Colón Greenwood Press, Westport, Ct. ISBN 031331080 ...two new volumes by Dr Angel Colón and his wife/researcher, Patricia, indicate the scope of their scholarly reviews. Nurturing Children is a history of paediatrics with nine chapters that analyze the role and treatment of children from archeological evidence and ancient records, to Greco-Roman and Medieval periods, to the Renaissance and Reformation, to the eighteenth through the twentieth centuries. A History of Children does a social-cultural survey of the subject across millennia. Divided into two parts, the opening five chapters deal with children in prehistory and early civilizations, then in classical, late antiquity and patristic periods, and later civilizations...both works have extensive illustrations, footnotes, bibliography and appendices... ...these two astute writers examine the quality of children's lives over the centuries, giving us much to think about concerning human behavior towards offspring...in these two monumental volumes, they explore the cultural milieu of the young in ancient and modern societies, fashioned by economic circumstances, mystic obsessions, religious fervor, superstitious fears, forced migrations, or the vicissitudes of hunger, disease, aggression and war... ...in providing us with this exception historical perspective on children...the authors have written elegantly and extensively on a subject that is truly mind broadening... Philip R. Harris, PhD. European Business Review 2002; Vol 14: 63-64.