Abstract
One can imagine the excitement felt by Geraldine Goodman when, on inheriting the family archive, she discovered that one of her ancestors was an eminent Birmingham surgeon. She felt that ‘his life was sufficiently interesting to justify writing a biographical account’ and she was not mistaken. Charting the lives of the generations of the family before and after James West has led her from Southwark in London to Newhall Street in Birmingham. Goodman covers many of the clinical and medical treatments of the 19th century together with medical education, hospital services, Medical Societies and the social milieu in which the West family would have lived.
This is a very well-researched book where no stone has been left unturned. One felt that every possible source had been located, reported on and put into place. It is well produced and illustrated. A vivid picture emerges of his life and work, and the light and easy style makes it of interest not only to medical historians but to anyone who has an interest in Birmingham and its lively medical history.