Snowshoe and Lancet: Memoirs of a Frontier Newfoundland Doctor, 1937–1948 by Robert Skidmore Ecke (review)

578 The Canadian Historical Review their efforts are often commendable, their contextual analysis is at times inconsistent. For example, in discussing Ney's decision to organize his first teacher's tour of England, they note that he was motivated by a desire to counter the unfavourable views several Canadians held of English immigrants, but provide neither an explanation ofthe character ofthese attitudes nor reference to the several studies on the subject (the works of Ross McCormack and Patrick Dunae quickly come to mind). Similarly, and most surprisingly, Sturgis and Bird offer no description of the imperial developments ofthe 1920s, provide little discussion ofthe decline of the commonwealth connection in Canada during the 1950s and 1960s, and, consequently, fail to place Ney's imperial endeavours in their full context. In addition to these contextual lapses, the book suffers from a lack of attention in the introductory chapter to explaining exactly who Ney was and what he did. Indeed, it is not until chapter II that the authors mention the Empire Youth Movement and, much later, that they define it. With neither an introductory thumbnail sketch ofthe leading protagonist nor an outline of the chapters, the reader unfamiliar with the exploits of Major Ney may be left with little reason to read further. This would be a shame since, despite these shortcomings, Canada's Imperial Past provides much of value for those interested in the history of the British connection, education, and youth travel in twentieth-century Canada. WADE A. HENRY University ofBritish Columbia Snowshoe and Lancet: Memoirs ofa Frontier Newfoundland Doctor, 19371948 . ROBERT SKIDMORE ECKE. Portsmouth, NH: Peter E. Randall Publisher 2000. Pp. 325, illus. $24.95 During the 1930s, students from Baltimore's famed Johns Hopkins medical school journeyed to the small outport community ofTwillingate, Newfoundland, for a great summer learning experience with a Hopkins alumnus, Dr John Olds (1906-85). Robert Ecke, one ofthe students, was so captivated that he returned in September 1937 to work with Olds as a junior doctor. Subsequently, he spent a number ofyears (interrupted by the Second World War), on the island; however, despite the book's title, Ecke's memoirs of his experiences of hospital medicine and of house calls finishes in 1942. Memoirs of foreign physicians in Newfoundland are commonplace, but Ecke's account, based largely on his detailed journal entries, provides Book Reviews 579 exceptionally finely grained snapshots of rural Newfoundland life and health care. As local history, it adds significant perspectives on wellknown aspects of Newfoundland's past, such as the hardships of rural life, the often extremely hazardous travel for house calls, and the fatalism of many Newfoundlanders. The book, too, offers comments on Newfoundland personages (there is no indication that names of people or places have been changed); noteworthy are insights into the character and work ofOlds, complementing G.L. Saunders's Doctor Olds ofTwiUingate : Portrait ofan American Surgeon in Neufoundland (St John's: Breakwater 1994)· Much ofthe account prompts thoughts beyond strictly local interest for both medical and social historians. There is, for instance, the prepayment plan for hospital care and house calls established by Olds in 1933, the attitudes of patients towards physicians, and physicians' opinions of patients. The latter are not always flattering, as in Ecke's comment: 'The population seems full ofsick people who call you too late and won't come to the hospital, and people who aren't sick who call you out at all hours and besiege our doors.' Ecke's views, albeit often strongly stated, add perspectives on many topics ofperennial interest. For instance, on the subject ofhealth care in the United States, specifically New York, he wrote: 'Nothing could be more remote from our esoteric and almost monastic medicine [in Newfoundland] than this skullduggery and malpractice ... All the attending interns say that the outside Mos are punks, that they don't know a goddamn thing and I'm beginning to believe it.' Although the volume is a rich and readable resource of information and insight, the reader can always ask for more. It would certainly be valuable to have the reflection ofthe now nonagenarian author on his relatively youthful memoirs. This wish might be remedied by a journal article...