Dr. Arthur Spohn:

Surgeon, Inventor, and Texas Medical Pioneer

by

Jane Clements Monday & Frances Brannen Vick

Genre: Non-Fiction / Medical / Texas History / Biography

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press

Publication Date: September 12, 2018

Number of Pages: 352 pages. 78 b&w photos. Map. 4 Appendices. Index

In this first comprehensive biography of Dr. Arthur Edward Spohn, authors Jane Clements Monday, Frances Brannen Vick, and Charles W. Monday Jr., MD, illuminate the remarkable nineteenth-century story of a trailblazing physician who helped to modernize the practice of medicine in Texas.

Arthur Spohn was unusually innovative for the time and exceptionally dedicated to improving medical care. Among his many surgical innovations was the development of a specialized tourniquet for “bloodless operations” that was later adopted as a field instrument by militaries throughout the world. To this day, he holds the world record for the removal of the largest tumor—328 pounds—from a patient who fully recovered.

Recognizing the need for modern medical care in South Texas, Spohn, with the help of Alice King, raised funds to open the first hospital in Corpus Christi. Today, his name and institutional legacy live on in the region through the Christus Spohn Health System, the largest hospital system in South Texas. This biography of a medical pioneer recreates for readers the medical, regional, and family worlds in which Spohn moved, making it an important contribution not only to the history of South Texas but also to the history of modern medicine.

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Praise

The chapters in the book are mesmerizing…the photographs in the book are priceless and probably cannot be seen by the general public except in this book. This is much more than a biography of Dr. Spohn and his medical triumphs. It is a book about life in South Texas from 1865 to the 1920s and beyond. Dr. Arthur Edward Spohn was part of that history and his contributions to medicine and the development of South Texas have guaranteed his legacy for years to come. This book is the proof. — Dr. Manuel Flores, Texana Reads

This is no dry medical text. Even if you have little interest in the medical field, you’ll be astonished at the life of this accomplished physician and surgeon. — Allison Ehrlich, Corpus Christi Caller Times

Had you asked me 10 years ago or so if I would read a biography and one that focused on a doctor that made strides in his field, my answer probably would have been no.  Not that I wouldn’t have thought that the book would have been good or contain worthwhile information, it just wouldn’t have been my cup of tea.  But as the years go by I find that history and biographies of pioneers are quite fascinating especially when penned by the right authors.

This book captured my interest from the beginning – and that means starting with the preface and acknowledgments all the way to the appendices.  When I think of medicine in the mid to late 1800s, I think of doctors that didn’t care equally about, or for, all of their patients, unsanitary conditions, and using old methods that maybe weren’t the best.  This book changed all of that with Dr. Spohn and his attention to detail, his innovations, and caring deeply for all of his patients no matter who they were or what was wrong with them.  Plus Dr. Spohn wanted other doctors to benefit from his innovations and he took the time to share his knowledge with doctors around the country. He regularly contributed to medical journals (listed in Appendix 1) and sought out new and better ways to treat the ill.

This book is filled with anecdotes about his life, his family, and all those that were close to him.  The family was quite large (as were many families in this time) and it was interesting to see the professions these individuals pursued.  Some were also in medicine and worked with Dr. Spohn at different times.  Not all of this book paints a rosy picture.  There were some trying times for everyone.

Overall this was a very educational book and one that I recommend to anyone especially if they are in or interested in the medical field.  How times have changed in the last 150 years!  We give this 5 paws up.

JANE CLEMENTS MONDAY is the author of numerous books and coauthor, with Frances Brannen Vick, of award-winning Petra’s Legacy: The South Texas Ranching Empire of Petra Vela and Mifflin Kenedy and Letters to Alice: Birth of the Kleberg-King Ranch Dynasty. She has served as chair of the Texas State University System Board of Regents and mayor of Huntsville, Texas. She resides in Huntsville.

║ Jane Clements Monday’s Amazon Author Page ║

FRANCES BRANNEN VICK is the author or coauthor of numerous books, including Petra’s Legacy and Letters to Alice. She founded E-Heart Press and co-founded the University of North Texas Press. Vick has served as president of the Texas Institute of Letters, the Texas State Historical Association, and the Philosophical Society of Texas. She resides in Dallas.

║ Frances Vick’s Amazon Author Page ║

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