Civil War Doctor: The Story of Mary Walker (Social Critics and Reformers)
Born in 1832 and brought up by parents with liberal views on women's dress and careers, Mary Walker decided at 21 to study medicine. When her repeated requests to serve as an assistant surgeon in the Union army were denied, she worked without official recognition or pay. In 1865 Walker became the first woman awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. It was revoked in 1917, when Congress revised the requirements, but she refused to return the medal. This well-organized biography not only presents the facts of this interesting life but also provides a good deal of background information on social norms during the period, both in the text and in multipage inserts, such as one on nineteenth-century dress reform. Though occasionally the writing is repetitious or ambiguous, many readers will find this an eye-opening piece of women's history. Source notes and lists of books and Internet sites are appended.Carolyn PhelanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved