A DOCTOR IN MANY LANDS

by Aldo Castellani ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 24, 1960

The autobiography of an Italian doctor, now in his '80s, is a record of medical work in many countries and of the many worlds --from primitive life in Africa to that of royalty -- in which he practised his profession. A rebel in his Florentine family, he qualified in 1899 in Italy for medicine, trained in England and Germany, and was chosen for an English scientific expedition to Uganda to study sleeping sickness. Then Ceylon for 12 years, teaching and practising, brought him respect as a ""foreign"" doctor; World War I saw him on the battlefields and with the International Public Hygiene Commission; there was work in Poland and then a round of teaching from New Orleans to Rome and London. Next the Ethiopian War gave him the chance to keep the loss of men through disease at a low level while World War II took him, now permanently returned to Italy, to many areas as Chief Surgeon General. In 1946 he escorted Queen Marie Jose and the 4 royal children to Portugal; there were further chances for travel and he finally settled in Portugal. There are accounts of many of his patients- including a personal portrait of Mussolini; of the organisms and microbes he is partial to; of his specialty, tropical medicine, and his research in it; of royal weddings -- and deaths. It is a leisurely review, amiable and modest, and of definite interest to those who follow medical personalities.

Pub Date: June 24, 1960

ISBN: 1163804363

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1960

Categories: NONFICTION