Battlefield medics is an eye opener. It does tend to be a little long winded in a few spots but overall I was very interested in seeing how medical advances due to field medic techniques have evolved.

My review of Battlefield Medics appeared on Ricochet.com at:
https://ricochet.com/1022047/battlefield-medicine-from-ancient-egypt-to-modern-afghanistan/
and Lobsterforest.com at:
https://lobsterforest.com/this-weeks-book-review-battlefield-medics/

Go to the link t0 see the review

As a doctor I am very interested in the history of medicine. This book started out to be very fascinating, but did drag on a bit. I feel like maybe it needs more editing. There is a disjoint between some stories that just doesn’t allow it to feel polished. But the history is interesting.

What an eye opener! I take my hat off and salute all that fought and lost their lives and those who got back home. Well worth a read

I received a free digital copy of “Battlefield Medics” through Net Galley to read and review. A thank you to Net Galley, the author and publisher.
“Battlefield Medics” by Martin King is a short survey( 255 or so pages ,including sources and notes ) of the changes in battlefield medicine from ancient Egypt through the recent Iraq and the Afghan wars. It is not a deep dive medical history, but an overlook, usually interesting and often moving.

The reader learns that the quality of healing declined greatly after the fall of the Roman Empire as the Dark Ages descended over the west, while the Muslim world’s medicine grew more learned. The author noted that during the Crusades, a Saracen ( the crusader word for Muslims) doctor was astonished at the Frankish ( the Muslim term for crusaders) abysmal personal and medical hygiene. Those lacks continued in Europe until the late 19th century, when a battlefield wound usually meant death at the hands of the doctors.Then, during the Crimean and US Civil War when wholesale slaughter and widespread diseases decimated armies ,nursing care and battlefield medicine began to improve.
The author includes the recognizable pioneers of nursing care: Clara Barton and Louisa Mae Alcott but also how other women fought male discrimination to provide nursing care on the battlefields of the Civil War, where they were not welcome. This discrimination continued into WWI and even to WWII. Looking back it is shameful the black nurses and doctors , too, I am sure, were neither recruited or encouraged to join up. Once they did, no black medic was allowed to treat a white patient, nor were blacks allowed to donate blood for fear it might be given to ( contaminate?) a white soldier. Appalling.
The historical facts of the book are interesting, but it is the stories of the battlefield medics that make the book worth reading. Stories of their courage and dedication under fire and often terrible hardships are beautifully told. I only wish there were more stories in the book. Yes the historical facts are context, but personal stories are central. Those stories are out there and worth reading
I recommend the book to all readers, not only those interested in military history.
The book contains illustrations and review.