Description
Book SynopsisAn extraordinary, forgotten story of medical triumph against the odds - 'Spirited and readable' Sunday Express
Trade ReviewThoroughly engrossing * THE BOOKSELLER *
Spirited and readable -- Vanessa Berridge * SUNDAY EXPRESS *
Historian Laura Dawes digs into that other victory of the Second World War: public health in Britain. There had been dire predictions, such as epidemics incubated in air-raid shelters. But by the war's end, UK rates of almost all infectious diseases had dropped, thanks to the Medical Research Council, Nobel laureates such as physiologist Andrew Huxley, hordes or researchers and a willing public. Dawes' sparky account demonstrates how that rare teamwork advanced emergency care, preventive medicine, the treatment of insect-borne disease and, ultimately, the formation of the National Health Service. * NATURE *
Dawes' research is prodigious. And as we have come to expect from this vein of wartime history, we encounter a case of characters and ideas that is both epic in scope and engagingly domestic in style. -- Lucy Lethbridge * THE OLDIE *
Armed conflicts may on the face of it, mean spilled guts, gore, dismemberment, pain and death. But the great paradox of World War II, as described in Laura Dawes's well-researched book, is that the horrors, in significant measure, did the general population a lot of good. -- Roger Lewis * DAILY MAIL Book of the Week *
A fascinating mix of war stories and human triumph. An enjoyable overview of the pursuit of the population's health that arguably led to the formation of the NHS and the welfare state. * WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? *
This beautifully written book is a gripping study of how keeping 'fighting fit' helped Britain win the war and paved the way for the NHS and the welfare state. Highly recommended for medics, history lovers and hypochondriacs alike. * THE LADY *
This well-researched book is an entertaining and informative read -- Rebecca Wallersteiner * THE HIPPOCRATIC OATH *
A fascinating account of a sickly nation at the beginning of World War Two. * RED ON LINE *
Laura Dawes...tells the remarkable story how ordinary people rose to the challenge of keeping Britain healthy. From ingenious schemes to store blood to Boy Scouts collecting seaweed for medicines, this is a highly readable tale of self-sacrifice, ingenuity and collaboration. -- Chris Nancollas * THE TABLET *
Well-researched and highly informative...Fighting Fit reveals both unfamiliar and well-known facts. Some of these are disturbing, others comical, all conveyed with gusto by Dawes. -- Viviane Quirke * HISTORY TODAY *
