ALA Booklist (Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 CDT 1995)

The title reads frontier, but the text actually covers medicine from the earliest days of the colonies until the end of the nineteenth century. Van Steenwyk frequently contrasts the ways of the European newcomers with those of the indigenous peoples (whose health she's careful not to sentimentalize) and provides some good background, including information on Civil War medicine, diseases and remedies used during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the training of caregivers. There is also material about urban medicine. Reading this cover-to-cover will slow down any romantic impulse to time travel to the past without a modern medical arsenal. (Reviewed July 1995)

Horn Book (Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 1995)

Illustrated with archival drawings and photographs, the text expands the usual concept of the American frontier to include the East Coast in the early seventeenth century and the ever-widening boundaries of medical knowledge. Fascinating facts and anecdotes reveal the inadequacies, misconceptions, failures, and triumphs of white, Native-American, African-American, male, and female health-care providers. Bib., glos., ind.

Kirkus Reviews (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Bone-chilling, fascinating reading in a work subtitled, The Silly, Superstitiousand Sometimes SensibleMedicine of the Pioneers.'' Van Steenwyk (Ida B. Wells-Barnett, 1992, etc.) covers medicine from the colonial era until the late 19th century. <p> Bone-chilling, fascinating reading in a work subtitled,The Silly, Superstitiousand Sometimes SensibleMedicine of the Pioneers.'' Van Steenwyk (Ida B. Wells-Barnett, 1992, etc.) covers medicine from the colonial era until the late 19th century. Pre- 20th century medicine was based on theories such as the Law of Similars (stated here as adapted from Native American practice) and European heroic medicine, based on the four humors (blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile) and their therapies (bleeding, vomiting, purging, and blistering). It was not until the 19th century that bacteriology was understood; the relationship of sanitation to good health and the idea of vaccination were introduced into public awareness. Many intriguing individuals are discussed, as are the health crises of the times. The text exhibits a little modern smugness toward the well- meaning but arrogant, ignorant, European white males with their (no longer acceptable) social attitudes. Illustrated with interesting old b&w prints, the book nevertheless will have uses in both science and history curricula. (glossary, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10+)</p> "

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-An informative, interesting treatment of medicine as it was practiced (or malpracticed) on the U.S. frontier. Early methods and attitudes related to health care are interwoven with other social and political events that affected people pushing the settlements westward. European and Native American practices; the spread of disease, especially cholera; and the effect of the Civil War on medicine are among the topics included. The writing is lively, and the sepia-toned reproductions of graphics from a variety of historical collections extend the text. While there are other histories of medicine in the U.S. available, none focuses specifically on the frontier. This book should be useful for students needing information related to social history as well as to medical practices.-Lois McCulley, Wichita Falls High School, TX