I read this for historical and medical curiosity, though I have a tough time reading nineteenth-century prose and at points had no idea what was going on. Nevertheless, this collection gives not only historical insight into nursing and the civil war, but also a snapshot of white abolitionist thought on race, racism, and liberty. LMA's descriptions of Black people in DC are no doubt confusing and horribly naive, but that some nurses refused to treat Black soldiers shows the contradictions of those fighting for the Union.

Feel weird giving it 5 stars.

Louisa May Alcott's fictionalized memoir of her experiences as a nurse in Washington D.C. during the Civil War was both witty and moving.
Her descriptions of her efforts to get to her assigned hospital as well as her living conditions whilst there were humorous., while her descriptions of the her duties and the men she nursed were moving and emotional at times, even if sometimes bordering on the sentimental side.
I found her voice and tone in this short work very different than the tone of her more famous works. I imagine that is because there is more of the real Alcott in these sketches than in her longer novels.

Too cutesy by far but worth reading

Alcott’s relating of her service as a nurse in Washington during the civil war is brief but contains some excellent observations on the challenges of nursing during that period and a view of the medical care provided. The Pollyannaish telling of the story annoyed me to no end but I still recommend it to any who are interested in the Civil War, medical care or nursing.

"A good fit of illness proves the value of health; real danger tries one's mettle; and self sacrifice sweetens character. Let no one who sincerely desires to help the work on in this way, delay going through any fear; for the worth of life lies in the experiences that fill it, and this is one which cannot be forgotten."

A series of glimpses in Louis May Alcott's stint as a nurse during the civil war at a Washington D.C. hospital. Very vivid and often sad, but told with a sense of optimism. Nurses, now and then, deserve our most heartfelt thanks for the work they do and the comfort they bring patients in their hour of need.

Outstanding! Her wit and humor are a good foil against the utter horror of the aftermath of war. Very short and sweet.

An interesting read not just about the nursing involved. The stories/letters have an undercoating of just how badly women were disrespected during this time. And then, once you read about how Black people were treated, it makes you realize how badly anybody but white men were affected.

Witty parts but hard on the soul in places.

It was a good thing to have read but it strongly underscored a painfully ignorant romanticized view of war that Americans are so fond of. She did not see children shot on the road in cold blood, she did not see officers give their men permission to rape any woman who disrespected them. She did not see the pow camps, did not see grandmothers and babies dead of exposure in the snow. She did not see the factory worker women (largely woc) kidnapped, raped over many days, and then abandoned hundreds of miles from home with nothing. There were no “white saviors” here or anywhere. War is not Romantic. Even the “Just Cause” lies on a bed of sending boys with little (if any) stake in the disagreement to maim and kill and torture other boys like themselves because old men can’t be bothered to work out their disputes at a table and instead delight in laying waste to their Nation’s youth.

Louisa May Alcott wrote this collection of sketches at the request of her friends and encouraged by her father. It was not a labor of love, and it shows. Allow me to clarify: The nursing was a labor of love while the writing of the sketches was not. The writing is uneven, moving from third-rate novelization to fair-to-good memior. The best part is the postcpscript.

The postscript is an open letter to a particular person and to all who have similar questions about the reality of nursing during the American Civil War. This seems to be the most nonfiction part of the book.

So why did I rate this book 3 Stars. I found some subtexts/experiences/descriptions to be interesting. And I recording/liking 2 quotes from the book.


Subtext
Alcott spent most her 30ish years in rural settings, mostly in Concord, MA. Yes, she knew and benefited from great minds of the Transcendentalist. But they were one group of people. In Washington DC, Alcott experienced a city which seemed to be teeming with life and possibilities.

Experience
Alcott show her readers the rude awakening she experiences in a poorly run hospital where she as nursing supervisor strives to provide the first first-time medical care for her patients. In this hospital Alcott provides her share of care for those wounded in the Battle of Frederickburg. Alcott introduces her readers to older, younger men and even a boy soldier, shows readers a doctor who cares about the medical situation and another who cares about whole patients, tells how nurses get sick themselves. In fact Alcott only served for 6 weeks. In those 6 weeks, she had enough experience to show a rather well-rounded experience.

Descriptions
Alcott describes the return to civilian life and the (glossed over) dying process, the visit of family members, the disorganization of this particular hospital, and the decorum of dying men. She even describes for us her humanity, limitatiins and expansions,
She reveals her prejudices against Confederates ("Rebs") and Irish Catholics ("rosary-praying Paddy"). She also reveals her respect for black people, gathering in her arms a small black girl visiting/working in the kitchen and stating a desire to work in a hospital that serves black soldiers.

“As no two persons see the same thing with the same eyes, my view of hospital life must be taken through my glass, and held for what it is worth.” ~LMA

I’ve never read anything by Louisa May Alcott before. That’s right. I have not read Little Women. I didn’t have any desire to. It isn’t really a story that appeals to me.

And I wouldn’t have read this one if I hadn’t joined in on a Traveling Book adventure through The Book Drunkard on Facebook. I discovered that I really like Alcott’s writing style, which is something that I would have never known otherwise.

Her descriptions in this book were vivid and poetic. She had a vast vocabulary and a delightfully creative way of expressing herself.

The book didn’t quite contain the depth I had hoped for but it was a quick, enjoyable read despite that. While I know some of her descriptions reflected the views of those times, I was taken aback but the occasional derogatory tone.

Because this is a traveling book and because I am near the tail end of its journey, I had the unique experience of seeing everyone else’s notes throughout the book, reflecting their takes on certain passages. That brought this book to life even more for me.

Now that I have sampled Alcott’s writing style, I think I may be interested in reading one of her other books, although her most famous work still isn’t calling out to me. She was an excellent writer with a quirky sense of humor and I am thankful for this particular reading experience.

I started to read Noah Gordon's SHAMAN, and in Chapter I, he mentioned that the main character was reading "Hospital Sketches" during his train trip. Thanks to Project Gutenberg, I found the kindle copy of the book, and wanted to read it like some kind of late-afternoon intermezzo. But, I was slightly disappointed with the plot of this short essay-diary. First - the narrative tone is very grumpy in the biggest part of the book. It seems like that young narrator girl is on some crossroad of her life, and because of boredom, she decided to become a nurse - just like that. And soon after, she moved to the hospital that hired her. Considering that the Civil war is in progress, hospital is full of wounded soldiers from battle field who constantly die in dirt and bad hygiene, and narrator girlie constantly weep and preach about working conditions and about dirt and crowded space. Like she was sent thither by force, but not voluntarily. Very unprofessional. But, she brought that gloomy and tense atmosphere of the war-hospital very vivid. Especially in night time, which is considered as the hardest part of the day-cycle for severe ill or injured patients. The most informative part is the last chapter where she speaks about the interventions that she participated in, and about skills that she learned.

3.5 This is going to be a short review, since I just reviewed [book:Louisa on the Front Lines: Louisa May Alcott in the Civil War|40537448 a few days ago. I was surprised at how much of that book was directly quoted from this one. Though I did like reading this, since it was wholly Louisas thoughts without authors comments. This book was mentioned several time in the Civil War book which is what piqued my interest in this one.