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4.5
This autobiography by Dr S Josephine Baker is fascinating for many reasons: A woman doctor trained by the Blackwells, who went on to become the director of New York City's Bureau of Child Hygiene, and public health crusader. She provides an frank and factual picture of what life was life for recent immigrants and their children in NYC at the beginnings of the 20th century. Her innovations saved thousands of children. However, the introduction by Helen Epstein could have been omitted in favor of letting Dr Baker describe her achievements in her own words. More tellingly Ms Epstein lets her personal politics influence her introduction, blaming the Republicans for hindering the passage of public health laws, completely forgetting that it was the Democrats who supported slavery prior to the Civil War, and did everything in their power to keep Black people down afterwards.Fighting for life is a memoir of one of the earliest female doctors in our country. It is not a fast moving, action packed novel; it is a woman telling her story in late 19th and early 20th century. If you like history or are interested in women through the ages, you'll want to read this book.Dr. S. J. Baker was a pioneer in many ways. She was among the first generation of women receiving medical degrees. She was the first head of a New York City Health Department division (every subordinate, all men, offered a resignation rather than work for a woman). She found herself at odds with corruption up to Tammany Hall. But she persevered in her efforts to make it safer to be a baby in New York City. Her Child Hygiene programs reduced infant mortality rates by 2/3 and the number of "summer death" by about the same. She was credited with saving over 90,000 lives, but her programs have undoubtedly saved millions more. Her autobiography is not politically correct now but it is witty, informative, and inspiring.So little is written about the day to day efforts of public health practitioners, that it was a real treat to find this memoir by one of the prominent early leaders of public health in New York City. Dr. Baker was a female physician in an era when this was extremely rare. Furthermore, she became a top administrator at the New York Board of Health and supervised a department of male doctors while adroitly managing not to get derailed by the rough and tumble machine politics of New York. Many of the public health issues and challenges that she describes are still relevant today. Although Dr. Baker was totally dedicated to public health and the underserved populations of the poor tenements of New York, every now and then a bit of elitism surfaces, which given her privileged background and the prevailing cultural views of the times, is not completely unexpected. All in all, as a practicing public health nurse, I relished the book and highly recommend it to anyone interested in public health and/or early pioneer female physicians.Based on the description, it sounded as if more would be written regarding “tangling down Typhoid Mary” yet there was hardly a few paragraphs. Nevertheless the Dr. Baker is fascinating and one cool lady, definitely a pioneer way before her time. I must say the first 70 or so pages were not not that exciting but then it became increasingly interesting and I couldn’t put down. The book was written in 1939 and I kept thinking how amazing it was to read firsthand about what took place during that time. I couldn’t help but think of my grandmother living in Boston during that same era and being thankful that I learned somewhat of what her life was back then since I never got to have those conversations with her.I wish we had less role models like those famous because only because they’re on a reality series and more bada$$ women like Dr. Baker who didn’t give a rats rip what others thought. She set out to change the world - and she did.This is not about the African American dancer that was the toast of Europe between the world wars, as I first thought. Dr SJ Baker was a woman way ahead of her time: brave, intelligent, farsighted, practical can-do woman. Way ahead of her time. You'll recognize the influence of her work in child preventive health practices we still use today, though they were revolutionary at the time. That may sound dull but in the doing, she crosses worlds and people (some you'll recognize) that are anything but. Many of her insights are as fresh today as when she wrote this book. In telling her story, you'll also be treated to a first-person telling of things I've only read in history books about the late 19th century through the eve of the Second World War.What an amazing woman. Her accomplishments in infant and child welfare were enormous. Yet, there is so little recognition of her and what she did for society. The history in the book is told in a story rather than memorizing a lot of names and dates. Her descriptions were such that I felt like I was right along side her. I am glad that she wrote her memoir about her fascinating career.A surprisingly good book. The writing is a bit amateurish, but the author gives you an insight of public health in NYC and the nation. Public health and welfare had a reluctant priority then and now. An easy read and worth the effort. We should be pleased that the NYRB brings to the public these old classics.
