Bookshelf: Where There Is No Doctor

My wife recommended this one to me. She grew up in Brazil, Mozambique and other parts of Africa, as a missionary kid. Missionaries to third-world countries often end up in places where there literally are no doctors. Hence the name of the book, Where There Is No Doctor. This is a really, really basic book about keeping in good health in places where there aren't government implemented public health initiatives, like municipal water supplies. There are chapters on recognizing and treating illnesses, a first aid chapter dealing with injuries, information on antibiotics and similar things. There's also a chapter on putting together a medicine kit, which is a good thing to have ready. The book is written in plain English with minimal use of technical terms. The illustrations are pretty poor, but they're very clear. Medical information is constantly being improved, so make sure you get a recent edition.

This book is in widespread use in third-world countries and has been translated into over 75 languages and there are millions of copies in circulation. Obviously, the book is useful. I imagine that whatever form our post-apocalyptic world will take, it won't be drastically different from a third-world country. Disease and injury will be common, and failure to take care of yourself is going to lead to a quick and probably unpleasant death.

One thing the book is missing, and this is really only a P-A complaint, is a chapter on Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) effects, i.e. dealing with common forms of bio and chem warfare and radiation poisoning. Obviously, this isn't really appropriate for the book in it's current context, but hopefully I will run across an advanced text that deals with some of these.

The book is available online as well, at the publisher's website, so you can take a look before you buy it.