Blog Archives

Turning a blind eye, Rae Varcoe

Doctors in Denial: The Forgotten Women in the “Unfortunate Experiment” Ronald W Jones Otago University Press, $40.00, ISBN 9780947522438 My first acquaintance with National Women’s Hospital was as a final-year medical student in 1968. It was an unpleasant experience of…
Tagged with: , , , ,
Posted in Health, Non-fiction, Review

Science in the headlines, Rae Varcoe

The Edge of Life: Controversies and Challenges in Human Health Mike Berridge BWB Texts, $15.00, ISBN 9780909321339 BWB Texts is publishing a series of “Short books on big topics by great New Zealand writers” each month. They are edited by…
Tagged with: , , , ,
Posted in Health, Non-fiction, Review

Delivery suite, Rae Varcoe

The Rise and Fall of National Women’s Hospital  Linda Bryder Auckland University Press ISBN 9781869408091 Many readers will be familiar with the furore which arose when Linda Bryder‘s A History of the ‘Unfortunate Experiment’ at National Women’s Hospital (2009) concluded…
Tagged with: , , , ,
Posted in Health, History, Non-fiction, Review, Sociology

Diagnostic criteria, Rae Varcoe

Being a Doctor: Understanding Medical Practice Hamish Wilson and Wayne Cunningham Otago University Press, $35.00, ISBN 9781877578366 I have been a doctor for 45 years. How I wish that this volume had been available 46 years ago. I emerged from…
Tagged with: , , , , ,
Posted in Health, Non-fiction, Review

Medical check-up, Rae Varcoe

The Good Doctor: What Patients Want  Ron Paterson   Auckland University Press, $40.00,  ISBN 9781869405922 Neither title nor subtitle accurately reflects the thrust of this book. It is less about how we might distinguish the good doctor (and define what we…
Tagged with: , , , ,
Posted in Health, Non-fiction, Review

Orchids in socks, Rae Varcoe

Quarantine! Protecting New Zealand at the Border  Gavin McLean and Tim Shoebridge Otago University Press, $45.00, ISBN 9781877372827   The word quarantine derives from the Italian for 40: the number of days deemed appropriate to seclude a vessel known to…
Tagged with: , , , , ,
Posted in Health, Non-fiction, Review

Every breath you take, Rae Varcoe

Adverse Reactions: The Fenoterol Story Neil Pearce Auckland University Press, $40.00,  ISBN 9781869403744 At the outset I confess to a personal interest in this story. I am a physician (some physicians are among the villains of this piece), and I…
Tagged with: , , , ,
Posted in Health, Non-fiction, Review

Not to be sneezed at, Rae Varcoe

Black November: The 1918 Influenza Pandemic in New Zealand Geoffrey W Rice University of Canterbury Press, $39.95, ISBN 1877257354 Survive Bird Flu and Other Disasters Bronwen King Hazard Press, $14.99, ISBN 1877393185 This week’s papers contain news of progress in…
Tagged with: , , , , , ,
Posted in Health, History, Non-fiction, Review

Poem – Rae Varcoe

When considering euthanasia   First, you should own a wise physician friend, a young one, the kind who could find a needle in a brainstorm. If not, rent one. If you wish, consult a minister or priest. (For myself, I…
Tagged with: , ,
Posted in Poem

Cold comfort, Rae Varcoe

Medical Ethics Alastair Campbell, Max Charlesworth, Grant Gillett and Gareth Jones ISBN 0 19 5583507 Into the Fire Sandra Coney Tandem Press $24.95, ISBN 1 877178 071 Medical Ethics is the updated edition of the 1992 Practical MedicaI Ethics. Because…
Tagged with: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Health, Non-fiction, Review
Search the archive
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Filter by Categories
Architecture
Art
Autobiography
Awards
Biography
Byline
Children
Comment
Contents
ebooks
Economics
Editorial
Education
Essays
Extract
Fiction
Gender
Graphic novel
Health
History
Imprints
Language
Lecture
Letters
Letters
Literature
Māori
Media
Memoir
Music
Natural History
Non-fiction
Obituaries
Opinion
Pacific
Photography
Plays
Poem
Poetry
Politics & Law
Psychology
Religion
Review
Science
Short stories
Sociology
Sport
War
YA Reviewers
Young adults
Recent issues: subscriber-only access

    Subscribe to NZ Books to access the issues above

    Search by category