The Horse and Buggy Doctor

by Arthur Emanuel Hertzler, Milburn Stone (Foreword)

"The Horse and Buggy Doctor follows no conventional lines. In larger part it is a book rich in anecdotes, a lively and somewhat rough-and-ready depiction of the country physician's experiences in general and Dr. Hertzler's in particular. In part it is descriptive of medical methods of the period."-New York Times "This is almost an autobiography. Certainly it is the complete picture of a man. And the man is worth looking at."-Saturday Review of Literature "An honest and objective self-record that puts on paper one of the most beloved traditions of the past and shows that the fundamental virtues for which the country doctor was cherished have survived into the scientific present, while many not-so-good aspects of sentimental old days have fortunately been left behind."-Books

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Medicine

322 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1938

About the author

1870-1946

Reviews

[Tarissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting autobiography written by a country doctor, many decades back. The book is just filled with his wittiness, anecdotes, some surprising medical tales, and plenty of facts about the mundane day-to-day life of a gritty doctor who's been around the block a few times.

I couldn't believe some of his stories about kitchen surgeries, and his high success rates even in dingy surroundings. One of my favorite things he mentioned was how glad he was of the invention of automobiles, so that if surgery was desperately needed during the nighttime, they could park the automobile outside the window and utilize its bright lights.

You'll learn much of the backroad Kansas people -- their ideals, culture, opinions, and medicine. The standards of becoming a certified doctor back then weren't that high -- and Hertzler knew it, especially as the decades passed. He sure spent a good lifetime in tending to his patients well and expanding his curiosity and knowledge whenever he could -- or whenever unique specimens presented themselves for his continual research.

This doctor was dedicated to his patients and always performed his best for them. His autobiography is worth a perusal for readers who have an interest in either the historical or medical aspects of the book.

Minimum age to read: 15 and up.

[Michelle Marvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this book four stars because it is a perspective unlike any I've read before, simply because it is a seemingly honest citizen's perspective about medical practice as it occurred during his many decades as a doctor. This book was written in the 1930s so this perspective is almost 100 years old, and is very interesting. He emphasizes the human aspect of the doctor/patient relationship, and the general 'gut feeling' type of knowledge that gets obscured by scientific particularities today. I did not appreciate many of his comments that belittled women, which are thinly veiled by a few references to men as the "weaker sex." He also wrote secretively about things that "one who knows would understand" but which are not obvious anymore. He also tends to go on and on sometimes ... at points an entire half of a chapter could have been left out without harm to the narrative. This aside, I appreciated much of his abruptly sarcastic remarks and the freshness of perspective.

[Carolyn Lind · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating read; a wealth of ideas, opinions, and antecdotes direct from the pen of a country doctor born in 1870. There are three copies of this book, two 1938 first editions and a 1970 paper back, that came to my home after my mother's passing. Her interest was partly personal since the doctor was a relative as well as the doctor practicing in her community of Halstead, Kansas, where she was born in 1913. In the preface, the doctor claims the book is not an autobiography since "...I have carefully avoided revealing my own philosophy of life, though I may seem to have done so." This reader finds the doc may have revealed more of his own philosophy and personality than he realized. The Horse & Buggy Doctor tells the story of a remarkable doctor, practicing medicine in a very different world.

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! The writing reflects the era however is still easy to read. It is striking to see how similar medicine was a hundred years ago; the issues within education, administration, legal, cultural, and personal life surrounding medicine. Very interesting! Also, there are numerous general life lessons to be learned from a wise and cultured man. I would recommend this book to anyone in or entering the medical field.

[Gloria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very enlightening since this book was written in 1938. I found his philosophy on women and their ailments quite interesting! A nurse or medical person would really find this a good read. Some of the medical terms were above my head and I had to keep the dictionary close by.

[Amy Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this book at the library, where I am always interested in the old books on the shelf—you know the ones, with library coated cloth-over-board binding and a nondescript title on the spine. I’m interested in old books in part because I’m interested in understanding how people used to think and comport themselves. In that, this book did not disappoint. Otherwise it’s an unremarkable memoir.

In 1938 Hertzler reflects on a long and prosperous career in medicine, as a country doctor making house calls with a horse and buggy in rural Kansas, where he eventually founded a hospital, conducted pathology research, and published findings. His concluding reflections about the the lessons he learned in life is a bit tiresome and uninspiring. (Although he does mention the deep and disturbing societal problems a doctor is privy to, such as domestic abuse and rape, which keeps us from deceiving ourselves about the past. Sin has always left a stain on humanity!)

But Hertzler’s stories of patients are what make the book interesting. At the time he wrote, sulfa drugs were only just becoming used to treat bacteria infections and he doesn’t mention them—penicillin was first given a patient in 1941. And yet even so, Hertzler writes about the great strides of medicine seen in his lifetime. Probably the most dramatic was the diphtheria vaccine. Diphtheria was a frightening disease that struck fear in every mother’s heart—and often took entire sibling groups within days. Reading Hertzler’s descriptions of this and other ailments are a chilling reminders that even 100 years ago people viewed disease as a fearful threat they were unlikely to overcome.

The tale of a draining a 14-year-old’s chest cavity to treat his case of empyema might be the most shocking and memorable. And one also is startled to think of a time in which appendicitis was endured without operation—you might recover! Many of the ailments he mentions stemmed from untreated bacterial infections, complications unknown and unthinkable to us now.

[James Madsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This autobiography became something of an instant classic after it was published in 1938. Its author, Arthur Hertzler, AKA "Pa" Hertzler (I learned from another source), had a reputation for being a crusty, opinionated old Kansas doctor beloved of his students. I had professors and preceptors like him in medical school and know the type, although each example is unique. I very much enjoyed the first five chapters, in which he concentrated on telling the reader how he grew up, went to school and eventually medical school, and braved the Kansas plains in his horse and buggy and sometimes on foot. He spent most of Chapter 6 giving his own analysis mostly of female patients, and in a way that evinced a keen sense of the psychology behind many medical complaints but at the same the misconceptions and sometimes misogyny of his times. (His sometimes callous treatment of animals also largely reflects his times and his culture, although that's not excusing him.) The remaining chapters were also weighted with his social and political philosophizing and often somewhat self-pitying complaining. I think that the chapters beyond Chapter 5 (there are ten chapters in the book) are worth reading for the insight into the way that this country doctor, never a part of the traditional medical establishment and yet recognized as a consummate surgeon and surgical pathologist, viewed the world. But for me the real joy of this book was in those first five chapters, and for those alone I'd recommend this book.

[Chris Tilden · Rating 1 out of 5]

**Alerting anyone reading this it contains offensive racial/discriminatory language.** It all started well enough. This book, written in 1941 by a physician born in the 1800s and who truly was a horse-and-buggy doctor, starts with a description of what led him to write the book. He explains, "I chanced to tell a publisher friend what I was doing...He wanted to see what I was doing. The argument presented was that there should be a record of the old country doctor by on of the species....I prepared to write as one anonymously...I started to write in the abstract, but it sounded like a sermon or a newspaper editorial. Terrible. Concrete cases had to be inserted to make a point. I was urged to make it more and more personal." And thus it started. Promising, I thought. Early on, however, it bogged down a bit in perhaps-interesting-from-historical-perspective, but tedious, reminisces of his childhood. And then, page 47. Talking about his medical training, he begins, "A delivery conducted before the class resulted in a stillborn baby. He turned to the class. 'We must pause to think that our lack of skill may have deprived the world of a future Lincoln,' he dramatically remarked. Since the demised infant was a colored female child the point lost something of its dramatic effect." Wow. I couldn't believe what I read. I know. It's another time and place, blah blah blah. But this was a "learned" doctor, head of the once-prestigious Hertzler clinic, waving off the death of a child on account of her race and gender. I suppose I should have an "open mind" and recognize it is possible for us to learn regardless of our opinion towards something or someone. But there is just too much interesting material out there in the world, and I've lost my appetite to continue reading. So, while I "read" this book I came far from "finishing." And I just can't praise it given the limited number of pages that I read and my disdain for the clearly racist/misogynistic views of the author. Moving on.

[Brent USA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story of Arthur Hertzler whose career in medicine started in the late 1800's through the 1930's.
Fascinating history of medical and doctors from the pre-science days into modernity. He describes the time when some doctors never went to medical school but apprenticed under a practitioner.
Around 1900, Hertzler went to Germany to study medicine, anatomy, and surgery for two years. At the time, Germany led the world in modern medicine.
Hertzler returned to USA and started a rural practice where he lived. He would walk or take his horse and buggy. He tells stories of being away from home for days and weeks with just the horse and buggy making house calls.
Then there is kitchen table surgery. There were no hospitals in rural areas and doctors made due with what they had. They also made diagnoses without x-ray and laboratory tests.
Later in the 20th century, Hertzler would travel to different towns by automobile to see patients. He even opened his own hospital which in those days was in just another house.
Must read for all interested in the history of medicine.

[Allison Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I genuinely enjoyed reading this book. Hearing the author explain what the practice of medicine was like in the late 1800's was especially gripping. Diptheria was still a major threat at that time, and often, there was but little the medical profession could do to help their patients. Dr. Hertzler was around to witness the shift from horse and buggy days to modern medicine and surgical procedures. He was around to see it all!

That said, I couldn't give it more than 3.5 stars because of the demeaning way he speaks of women in his chapter called "The Patient Comes to the Office." I thought about putting the book down at that point. I'm glad I kept reading, because he had much of value to tell, but be prepared to mentally skip over about a chapter worth halfway through the book.

The most fascinating part is his chapter on Kitchen Surgery!

[Ashok Sagathia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books and I read it again and again from my childhood. I have translated it in little brief in my mother tongue Gujarati. First I thought it to understand English well, but after it I thought it would be a good gift to my family if they can read it in Gujarati. Now I think to publish it that any Gujarati who does not know English much and does not read much also and want to read it, he can. So, after publishing it I shall be an author of Good reads. I hope you all gujju peoples also will like it to read, see you in pages, bye.....

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the copy I've read... the one I've read is an original publication from 1936... from the library... actually a pretty cool read... and a number of comments you'd swear the book was not published that long ago... so the more things change the more they stay the same...

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is basically a book of anecdotes. I enjoyed them to a point but as it’s a very old book, didn’t find much of current practice. But it’s not intended to be current, it’s intended as an overview of times gone by in the practice of medicine.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent first-person exploration of the life and mind of a country doctor of the pre–World War II era. One must look past the baseline level of misogyny that went with the times (along the lines of "well we all know how hysterical the ladies can be") to realize that Hertzler was communicating an important larger truth, which is that a large portion of family practice/general practice is dealing with psychological, psychiatric, and psychosomatic phenomena and that a lot of patients that a physician sees need counseling of one kind or another in addition to any physical diagnosis and treatment. Stated another way, primary care has a bigger "mental health primary care" subset than most people appreciate, and family practice is the apogee of that concept, which is why family medicine people say that when you have a patient under your care you have the patient's family (if any) along on the same boat.

[Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not like this book. The author was old, opinionated and arrogant.

[E Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parts of this book were fascinating and parts were very very boring.

He grew up as a very poor farm boy working long hours on the farm and then
when things were slow enough going to school and trying to keep up with his classmate.
The teachers were sometimes brutal disciplinarians and the students fought back with
outrageous pranks. He went to room with an uncle in order to attend school. In
exchange for his board he had to milk the cows, tend the horses and flatten iron
with a 16 pound sledgehammer in his uncle's blacksmith shop. He decided to give
up the board and lived on bushels of potatoes that he stored in his room , and he
walked home 7 miles in order to bring back bags of bread. He mentions that he
developed an inferiority complex from wearing cheap and patched clothing, and from
an incident where he wanted to take a girl for a walk and was run off by her mother.

The explanation of medical training during the later part of the 19th
century was interesting. This is where he got into some of his philosophy of
the practice of medicine and he lost me.

Then he actually starts to practice as a doctor and this is the most
interesting part of the book. I was shocked at how primitive the medical field
was in the late 1800's and early 1900's. He admits that a lot of the time the
doctor was only a comfort to the patient and his family and really wasn't able
to offer much in he way of cures. He would set bones, lance boils and sew up
wounds. He worked long hours visiting patients in the horse drawn buggy and
sleeping on the buggy seat trusting the horse to know the way home once he had
completed his call. It's hard to believe how dedicated these old time doctors were.
He made his visits during terrible blizzards. He traveled long distances by buggy
to treat someone and then would not get paid either because the family simply did
not have any money or they had purposely defrauded him. During a typhoid epidemic
he spent 6 days traveling from patient to patient. The only sleep he got was in
the buggy between patients and his socks were literally glued to his feet because
he hadn't removed this shoes and socks for the whole time. In the end, he
contracted the disease himself.

The chapter where his gets into his ideas about the diseases of women
was quite discouraging. He seems to thing that a vast percentage of women's
diseases are all in there heads, or because they don't trust their husbands, or
they have too much time on their hands. This is where I began to wonder what
kind of relationship he had with his wife. Although he mentions his daughter, he
never refers to his wife or give her any credit for supporting him in his studies
or his practice. I later discovered that he and his first wife , Myrtle. were
divorced after 11 years of marriage. They had 3 children. He married his second
wife, Edith, a few years later. She was a nurse, so maybe the jealous wife
syndrome was close to home.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I anticipated this to be about little stories of times going house to house in the horse and buggy. This wasn't the case.....I felt parts were good and interesting but overall it was lengthy he would go on and on about some things.

[Cws]

K-92Hertzler