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"Notes on Nursing" is a classic by Florence Nightingale (the first "Modern Nurse). Florence Nightingale's methods were revolutionary in her time, and they form the basis for the techniques of patient management that have been taught ever since. "Notes on Nursing" is a great overview, in her own words, of Florence Nightingale'sideas on care, cleanliness, and the nursing process in general. Her directives are widely applicable today. First published in 1860, "Notes on Nursing" served as the cornerstone of the curriculum at the Nightingale School and other nursing schools established. It also sold well to the general reading public and is considered a classic introduction to nursing. Florence Nightingale spent much of her life promoting the establishment and development of the nursing profession and organizing it into its modern form. Anyone interested in the healthcare process, nursing, or notable women in history would do well to read "Notes on Nursing." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

A well-written and interesting book
Though from a well-to-do family who actually opposed her entering upon a nursing career, Florence Nightingale greatly influenced modern nursing to focus on the needs of the patient and establish nursing as a profession requiring assessment skills as well as caring presence. It is amazing to realize how advanced Nightingale's thinking was in her era; her lessons remain essential today and provide a basis for understanding why we do the things we do. This brief, well-written & clearly understandable book is a must for the personal library of any nurse or nursing student.

A great book for those considering nursing as a career, or for "tired" nurses
Nursing more than just a "job," it's a vocation. Florence Nightingale knew this, and Notes on Nursing reflects that philosophy. If you're seriously considering nursing--or are a nurse who is "burned out," read this book. It will enlighten and edify you.

After all these years, still relevant for today!
Much of what Florence Nightingale wrote is still pertinent in terms of the basics of nursing. She was the first "modern" nurse. Her methods were revolutionary in her time, and they form the basis for the techniques of patient management that have been taught ever since. "Notes on Nursing" is a great overview, in Nightingale's own words, of her ideas on care, cleanliness, and the nursing process in general. Her directives are widely applicable today. Anyone interested in the healthcare process, nursing, or notable women in history would do well to read this little volume. Highly recommended.

Notes on Nursing; What it is and what it is not
Love this book.Brings me back to the reasons I became a nurse.It made me fall in love with nursing all over again.

Notes on Nursing: What it is, and What it is not
The book was in excellent condition, like new.Received it in a timely manner.Overall, good purchase. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

MUCH MORE THAN JUST A NURSE
Not for the fainthearted, the 647 pages of Florence Nightengale by Mark Bostridge is a detailed account of the life and times of the heroine.
Florence herself can take the credit, or blame, for the size of the book because she left behind more than 200 volumes of her writings, including drafts, letters, reports and even scraps of papers. More is known about Florence than any other woman from the Victorian era.

Read this book and be inspired. Nurses are special people.

The era in the 1800's is landscaped by Bosteridge, drawing on the influences of religion, family life, culture and economic influences, many of which are mirrored in the financial meltdown of 2008. They had bank failures back in the 1800's; crop failures, and the poor struggling to exist.It is in this backdrop that Florence first moved to help those in need.

Florence is best known by the public for her Lady of the Lamp reputation earned in the Crimean War and while this defines her, that war experience was for a brief period of her 90 years life,1854 to 1856. One third of the book deals with the Crimean action, the rest deals with an outstanding woman in troublemsome times. Florence was intelligent, well travelled, musically talented, forceful, determined and caring.

Bosteridge draws out her character and leaves us in no doubt we are dealing with an exceptional lady with the stamp of leadership.

On the subject of Florence's sexuality, the author is a little disappointing.Towards the end of his book he notes the several works about Florence, with the more modern views suggesting that she was lesbian. Her celibacy obviously drew attention and caused writers to wonder or assert.
While Bostridge mentions that these assertions are unfounded, we need to look to Gillian Gill's "Nightingales Florence and Her Family" for a more determined rejection of the lesbian suggestions.

Gill points out that the commencement of sexual innuendo commenced in 1940 when a prominent biographer insinuated that Florence had lesbian proclivities. Others, including American academics, and some film makers, marched to the sound of that drum.Gill maintains that there is just no evidence that Florence engaged in sexual activity with women (or men!) and the huge weight of documentation about her life defends that view.
Gill puts the record straight.

Florence lived to 90 years of age, a spinster.She was an attractive young lady and sought after, turning down offers of marriage.In her early days she wanted freedom. Her attitudes are recorded.Marriage interfered with her view of freedom so she avoided it.After Crimea she sought privacy and seclusion, beset by long standing ill health.

In 2010 there will be world wide acknowlegements of the centenary of her death.There will be some who will point out that nursing, and the views of Florence, have changed in 100 years but there will be no escaping that our world is a better place for her life. In any event there are signs that modern nursing preparation and training are unlikely to stand the 100 year test.
She struggled when women were powerless.Nursing was mostly an ugly profession outside the Religious Orders, and certainly in England nurses were primarily engaged in washing, cooking and bed making. Bosteridge shows nurses to have been drunks on duty, with night nurses prone to drinking and spending time in bed with their patients. No wonder the well-off Nightingale family tried to discourage Florence reaching out to those in need, even in the local community.

And the soldiers looked after by Florence and her 38 nurses in Crimea were low in the Army food chain.Their plight was revealed by newspaper correspondents and caring people, including Florence.The army left them to die of disease and was in denial until they were subjected to the wrath of the British public showing interest in the welfare of 30,000 of their men.

The Florence Nightingale book by Bosteridge belongs in your libary. You will wish to return to it to review the facts and engage again in the life of Florence for inspiration.

Richard GlenisterB.A(hons)

A vivid biography of her life and times
Florence Nightingale was homeschooled to be a Victorian lady but chose instead to become a nurse - then an unsuitable profession for her class. Despite her widespread actions it's surprising to note this is the first major biography of Florence Nightingale in more than fifty years - and it uses much previously unpublished material to explore her world, from family papers to journals. A vivid biography of her life and times makes for a top pick for any lending library strong in either health history or biography.
... Read more

Product Description
Florence Nightingale was for a time the most famous woman in Britain–if not the world. We know her today primarily as a saintly character, perhaps as a heroic reformer of Britain’s health-care system. The reality is more involved and far more fascinating. In an utterly beguiling narrative that reads like the best Victorian fiction, acclaimed author Gillian Gill tells the story of this richly complex woman and her extraordinary family.
Born to an adoring wealthy, cultivated father and a mother whose conventional facade concealed a surprisingly unfettered intelligence, Florence was connected by kinship or friendship to the cream of Victorian England’s intellectual aristocracy. Though moving in a world of ease and privilege, the Nightingales came from solidly middle-class stock with deep traditions of hard work, natural curiosity, and moral clarity. So it should have come as no surprise to William Edward and Fanny Nightingale when their younger daughter, Florence, showed an early passion for helping others combined with a precocious bent for power.
Far more problematic was Florence’s inexplicable refusal to marry the well-connected Richard Monckton Milnes. As Gill so brilliantly shows, this matrimonial refusal was at once an act of religious dedication and a cry for her freedom–as a woman and as a leader. Florence’s later insistence on traveling to the Crimea at the height of war to tend to wounded soldiers was all but incendiary–especially for her older sister, Parthenope, whose frustration at being in the shade of her more charismatic sibling often led to illness.
Florence succeeded beyond her wildest dreams. But at the height of her celebrity, at the age of thirty-seven, she retired to her bedroom and remained there for most of the rest of her life, allowing visitors only by appointment.
Combining biography, politics, social history, and consummate storytelling, Nightingales is a dazzling portrait of an amazing woman, her difficult but loving family, and the high Victorian era they so perfectly epitomized. Beautifully written, witty, and irresistible, Nightingales is truly a tour de force.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Wonderful Book
This book is phenomenal! I had no knowledge of Florence Nightingale except what I learnt in school (and nothing whatsoever of her family) - and this book was a revelation!! The care and reverence the author had for the subject is revealed by the fact that the book is cohesive, rational and very consious about the time in which the subject lived in (as it is very important not to dispense modern day sentiments on 19th century lives and morals).

I was interested in this book mainly because it was by Gill whose biography of Victoria and Albert I wanted to buy (and have bought since then) but this book ended up being a gem of its own! I could not lay this book down for a whole week as I crammed it during late night marathon reading sessions and yet I could never skip over a page or a word and reread many sections.

It is definitely a keeper - as it also makes excellent reference book. The amount of foot notes in this book is incredible - I have to read the book second time slowly along with the notes.

Biography
This is a MUST read for those interested in History, especially the Victorian era and in well-written biographies. The story is so well written that the narrative grips you from the introduction. The language is rich and erudite and never boring. The writer has done her research well. She does not conceal her admiration and respect for her main character, Florence, a woman who dared to reject the taboos and confines of Victorian society and forge her own destiny. This is not just a sympathetic biography of Florence but also of her entourage, many of whom were famous and sought notoriety in their own way. It describes the mores and ethics of the time and of those who went against them and made history. Lord Shaftsbury, the great abolitionist, among them. Every book club should choose it as it raises so many interesting points, even for today's readers.

Eh...
There certainly is plenty of information in this book; unfortunately much of it gets repeated over and over. There is a dry-as-dust mantle that accompanies nearly ever chapter, and the narrative can be confusing as it skips back and forth between years or even decades. I am still reading it, but I can't say I'm enjoying it much.

A Family Like No Other
Engrossing, enthralling, a finely limned psychological portrait of a family as well as of Nightingale herself, a matchless look at the murky motives that governed women's conduct in the Victorian era.The bulk of the book builds up to and ends with the Crimean War.But Nightingale lived on for many decades after that pivotal event.This is a pattern I have seen with many biographies of famous women:apparently nothing much of interest happens after they turn 50 or so ...

very intersting!
I enjoyed this book very much, very interesting and very readable. Looks at Florence, her family and the times they lived in so you come to understand just what it took for her to do what she did and just how unusal it was. She was a very well educated and intelligent woman. Yay Flo! ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Product Description
In Florence Nightingale’s day, if a person was sick – and lucky – he or she was nursed at home with caring family members tending the bedside. Hospitals were horrible places from which few emerged alive. The nurses were often drunks and prostitutes. Doctors had rudimentary skills.

Thus the privileged Nightingale family was appalled when Florence, who had done her share of household nursing, announced that she wanted to train to work in a hospital. After all, her role was cut out for her: she was to be a decorative, witty lady. A career, much less nursing, was out of the question.

It took many years, but Florence found her calling in Crimea. More English soldiers died of sickness there than died in battle. If they were wounded they were almost sure to suffer in misery, lying on pallets caked with old blood, hungry and thirsty, without anyone to offer them so much as a sip of water. Florence caused a revolution in her insistence for cleanliness, wholesome food, and kind treatment of men, who were considered to be nothing more than cannon fodder.

Florence’s campaign resulted in reforms to health care for millions of people. Although she was in frail health for much of her life, her sense of outrage and her extraordinary stamina in the face of prejudice and almost criminal ignorance make her story one of the most inspiring in history.

Dozens of photographs, posters, and cartoons bring the past to life in this memorable biography.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Wrong book
I can't write a proper review of the book because I was sent the wrong book. I needed the book for a research paper. When I got the wrong book it was to late to return and not worth my time to mess with. Not a big problem, just annoying.

heart and soul; the story of florance nightingale
the price of the book was so low for a book in new condition and worth much
more just in value. the life story is very touching.
Thank You,
Bob Nastasia

An informative biography of Florence Nightingale
Ages 11 and older will find Heart and Soul an appealing and informative biography of Florence Nightingale, using photos, posters, cartoons and maps throughout to help tell her story. The focus on her life and times provides a wider-ranging biography than is usually presented and gives kids a solid view of her world. ... Read more

Product Description
Subtitle: A Selection From Miss Nightingale's Addresses to Probationers and Nurses of the Nightingale School at St. Thomas's HospitalPublisher: MacmillanPublication date: 1914Subjects: NursesNursingBiography ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Florence Nightingale and her nurses
Another excellent writing by Miss Nightingale.Came in excellent condition and soon after being ordered.All nurses need to know more of Nightingale's writings.

Florence Nightingale
I was disappointed with this book. It was interesting, but kind of boring. It was not what I thought it would be. I thought there would be more bio info. Interesting to see her point of view and how she thought though. Some redundancy throughout the book.

Notes from Florence Nightingale
I have wanted to get this book for a long time and was not disappointed.What an interesting historical perspective on nursing and how this influential nurse helped to shape our future.I would recommend it to all who enjoy medical history and the beautiful use of our language in times past. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A different view of Nightingale
I haven't read any biographies of Nightingale but this book certainly provides a view of her that you won't get from the standard myths about her.

She was driven and deeply religious and I sometimes had the feeling that her later advocacy for nursing reform had more to do with her belief in a mission from God than a concern for fellow human beings.

The most memorable quote I remember from her Egyptian letters was something about how wonderful Egypt was...if it wasn't for the Egyptians. She had no feeling for or interest in the poor Egyptian classes and made typically-Victorian bigoted remarks about them.

Her descriptions of the land and the sights are sometimes inspired but overall, I came away with little liking for Nightingale as a person. ... Read more

Product Description
Introduces the life of Florence Nightingale, a pioneer of women's nursing, including her childhood, training, work in the Crimean War, and her school for nurses. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Absolutely Gorgeous
Lovely illustrations. This entire series is superb. Very well-done. Touching stories. Great reading and inspiration. ... Read more

Product Description
In graphic novel format, tells the story of Florence Nightingale, the English nurse who reformed military hospitals during the Crimean War and became the founder of modern nursing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Florence Nightingale
I bought this to use in my 6th grade reading classroom. It is excellent to use to teach reading skills such as main idea, author's purpose, or summarizing. I put it in a center and students have 10 minutes to use the book for an assignment. Since it is at a lower reading level, students have success in building skills to use in higher level texts.

This book is a good addition to the grade 1-6 classroom library. ... Read more

Product Description
Notes on Nursing was intended to give hints on nursing to those entrusted with the health of others.Florence Nightingale was the pioneering female nurse who was responsible for the bettering of conditions in the hospitals of the Crimea, during the war with Russia. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition. ... Read more

Product Description
Traces the life of the nineteenth-century English woman who followed her calling to work in hospitals and improve the conditions under which the sick were treated. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Introductory Biography series
This book is perfect for K-3 students who just can't wade through those lenghty chapter books. It is abundantly illustrated with adorable pictures to keep little eyes busy while you are reading to them. Florence Nightingale was a young lady who graciously served as a nurse to woundedsoldiers and instituted many improvements in the field of nursing. Othertitles in the series include, Edison, Jefferson, Lincoln, Washington,Franklin, and more. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is from the People To Remember series of highly motivating biographies of fascinating heroes and heroines from American History. These high-interest easy to read books are sure to build your students' confidence and encourage them to read more!Black -and-white illustrations. Reading Level 5.0-5.5. Interest level: Grades 4-9. ... Read more

Product Description
The "Lady of the Lamp" radiated the light of the Savior in a dark place to both body and soul of her patients.

Born into a wealthy English family in the 1820's, Florence Nightingale could have chosen a life of ease and elegance. Her love for her Savior, however, compelled her to resist the social expectations of her day. Choosing not to marry, she obeyed her God-given call to nursing, despite strenuous family opposition that said she was throwing her life away to enter such a "lower class" work.

Led by God to minister to the thousands of wounded soldiers suffering under barbarously inhumane conditions in the Crimean War, Florence's sacrificial service brought her worldwide fame. Yet fame did not deter her from her life's work: rather, she used her influence to institute sweeping healthcare reforms. Eventually she elevated nursing to a respected profession for women.

The story of one courageous woman who helped transform society!

Product Description
This study of the personality and achievements of Florence Nightingale is based on extensive research and unpublished material. She achieved fame for her leadership of a group of British nurses during the Crimean War, and afterwards she dedicated herself to promoting public health. Following a collapse at age 37, she remained bedridden for more than ten years and became one of history's most famous invalids. Hugh Small has produced a new and startling explanation of Florence Nightingale's actions, comparing the conflicting contemporary accounts of what really happened in her hospital at Scutari during the war and uncovering an official cover-up of a public health disaster for which Nightingale felt personally responsible. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Excellent
For the first time a well documented point of view of Florence as a human being, with all its implications.

Re-Inventing the Myth of Florence Nightingale
Inmy mind, this Nightingal biography is an extraordinary example of revisionism. Studying the professional career of the English heroine Florence Nightingale is mandatory in just about every accredited school of nursing because, after all, she gave respectability to her profession. Even Nightingale's mother would faint at the thought of her daughter being a "nurse", because respectable ladies in Victorian England just didn't do such things.Thankfully, Florence broke with her culture and created, what some would call, a new paradigm for women.Now, that's the way Florence Nightingale is presented to nursing students, but it's not the way author Hugh Small presents his argument in "Florence Nightingale: Avenging Angel".Well, of course, somebody had to break the myth of Florence Nightingale.As an icon of Victorian culture and style, Nightingale had to be taken down a peg or two.Never mind, the memorial to Nightingale located in the middle of a group of stuffy old coffins in the crypts in London's St. Paul's Cathedral. Never mind, the enormous statue honoring Nightingale and the memorial to the Crimea, nearly causing traffic jams at the intersection where it is boldly located in downtown London.Never mind, the Nightingale Museum and its life sized display of three demensional shadow boxes located adjacent to St. Thomas Hospital in London.If the real Nightingale would please stand up, as Hugh Small describes her in his biography, the lady's myth would be on trail right now for genocide, having caused the deaths of thousands of British soilders in the 1856 Crimean War.The biographer Small, of course, anticipated just such a visceral reaction from Nightingale's cult, mostly nurses like myself, so he floods the book with lengthy documentation and footnotes to counter any dispute about the authenticity of his Nightingale research. In summary, if history addicts want to know about remote letters from people as memorable as Lord Palmerston and details of the NcNeill-Tulloch reports to Parliment about the Nightingale hospital, then, this book is definitely made to order.Of course, it's admirable to have a counter-cultural history published every 100 years or so about our sacred myths and legends. Hugh Small certainly deliveres a counter-cultural point of view, so for this I give him a nod of approval.Nevertheless, I didn't like reading "Avenging Angel", bcause the biographjy, I believe, belies the premise if its cover.Small sets the reader up for one expectation about the heroine Nightingale while actually undermining the reader's trust with absolutely mind startling information.So, I guess somebody had to eventually re-invent Nightingale.Too bad, the story is 150 years after the fact.Perhaps the best part of reading "Florence Nightingale: Avenging Angel" is the reinforcement it provides to holistic healers and health care skeptics who instinctively seem to know that staying away from hospitals is better for your health and life longevity than relying on the curative treatment that may never come. Rating this book was difficult, but for historical data it gets a 5; for story value it gets a 1...."Data 5, Book 1"....so, I think a rating of 2 is fair.

A Thought Provoking Exposition.
Hugh Small's account of Florence Nightingales contribution in the Crimean war has made rivoting reading.His willingness to answer some of the hitherto unasked questions using thorough and reliable research is to becommended. He challenges many of the romantic notions of FlorenceNigfhtingale whilst preserving her reputation as a remarkable woman withgreat political influence. ... Read more

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"With the 2010 publication of Dr. Victor Skretkowicz's Florence Nightingale's Notes on Nursing (Revised with Additions) in Florence Nightingale's (1920-1910) centenary year, nurses and others will recognize this extraordinary woman whose dedication and determination helped to shape the course of modern global healthcare and holistic and integral relationship-centered care."

-Barbara Dossey, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, FAAN International Co-Director, Nightingale Initiative for Global Health Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and Arlington, Virginia

Simultaneously witty, scathing, and anecdotal, Florence Nightingale's "Notes on Nursing" is perhaps the most influential work on nursing throughout the world. For years, the varying editions of this seminal work have puzzled scholars as well as readers. Now, Dr. Skretkowicz sets the historical record straight. This volume includes the annotated and unabridged July 1860 edition [the "Library Standard Edition"] of Notes on Nursing, the 1868 edition of Notes on Nursing [for the Labouring Classes], and additional manuscripts written by Nightingale in 1875 that she was never able to publish.

Beautifully bound in faux leather with a decorative ribbon, this commemorative volume makes a perfect gift for any nurse and is a must-have for all nursing libraries and researchers. The new edition presents Nightingale's unabridged edition in its original form for the very first time since its publication in July 1860. Together with the 1868 edition and the 1875 manuscripts, the book provides today's educated readership with the nearest possible "authoritative, complete, and unexpurgated" version of "one of the best selling, globally circulated texts of the nineteenth century."

Key Features:

• Complete with Dr. Skretkowicz's own expert commentary and annotations
• Describes the variant versions of the texts in the contexts of their social and cultural history
• Presents some of Nightingale's original passages that remained unpublished for more than 100 years
• Provides reactions and commentary from Nightingale's contemporaries

Product Description
Inspiring story of Florence Nightingale from her earliest days as privileged daughter of an English squire to her role as Angel of the Crimea. Even as a young girl her nursing talents were evident as she doctored her dolls and ministered to sickly animals. With the training she received at hospitals on the Continent, she was ready when the call to the Crimea came. Facing unspeakable filth and disorganization, she and her staff of nurses cared for thousands of sick and wounded soldiers, earning their undying gratitude. Focuses on her preparation, her heroic and patriotic service during the Crimean war, and her life of service thereafter. ... Read more

Product Description
Writing from the Crimea where she nursed wounded soldiers, Florence Nightingale through her letters tirelessly pushed for reforms that would improve the welfare of the troops and recruited volunteer nurses. From her correspondence emerges an extraordinary self-portrait of a complex and contradictory personality, very different from the heroine of popular myth. ... Read more