Green Wood and Chloroform

by Anthony Betts

Like many new general practitioners in the 1950s, Dr. Anthoy Betts faced few real opportunities under the new British National Health Care system. So, with little more than a suitcase, he and his wife and two babies set off for the U.S.A. Moving to rural Maine in the middle of January, they quickly learned practical lessons about snow tires, long johns, dry gas, and the distinction between "green" and "white" firewood. Dr. Betts also found that his new practice sometimes required procedures not endorsed in any modern medical text for example, home births took place atop a thick layer of newspapers spread on the floor in front of the wood stove! He was expected to be on call at all times, though he learned that if he hung a "Gone Fishing" sign on his door nobody would question his absence. And he also quickly learned not to trust verbal directions to houses on back-country roads. Despite the differences of language and social custom, the young urban Englishman was welcomed by most of his patients and fellow doctors even sharing an office with Dr. Jack Hornberger, the real Hawkeye and author of M*A*S*H, newly returned from Korea to build his own practice. Dr. Betts's sense of humor helped him adapt to the strange culture he encountered in Maine. And it is that same wry amusement that makes this memoir so immensely enjoyable."

252 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1998

Reviews

[Cecile Christensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting details about early medicine in Maine.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a charming and understated read. Having survived northern winters, I can understand their bewilderment at moving from London to the wilderness in the middle of winter. An English doctor in a French community - language barriers and misunderstandings were handled with great diplomacy. The run-in with the local priest was a great moment of tension, and I loved when he met the REAL Dr. Pierce of M*A*S*H* The struggles of a country doctor back when housecalls were the norm, women delivering babies on newspapers in front of a wood stove, trying to maintain a modern practice w/Medieval instruments and sterilization techniques that involved nothing but boiling water. It was a facinating tribute to both the human spirit and a history of medicine.

[Hanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Betts is probably a better doctor than writer.