Fascinating biography, I had no idea how much Florence Nigthingale achieved. Sounds like she was a hard task master bordering on obsessive. Parts on her life more fascinating than the drier efforts to get various sanitation bills through parliament / committees. The tales of the hospitals in the Crimea are shocking, how society viewed soldiers and nurses very intriguing. The fact that the government's duty of care to soldiers is in the news now has roots in Florence's work. I think reading it from today's perspective you under estimate how much she achieved considering she was a woman. On an intellectual level she illicited visits from very powerful men with her amazing knowledge. But fascinating that she was not initially interested in the emancipation of women- "That women should have the suffrage, I think no one can be more deeply convinced than I. It is so important for a woman to be a 'person' as you say... But it will be years before you obtain the suffrage for women. And in the meantime there are evils which press much more hardly on women than the want of the suffrage...." Well worth reading but takes a bit of dedication !! ( )

1917 Florence Nightingale 1820-1910, by Cecil Woodham-Smith (read 31 Mar 1985) This 1951 biography was easy to read. Florence was named Florence because she was born in Florence. She was upper class, and of course became famous for her work in the Crimean War. In general, one must admire Florence Nightingale as a brilliant and remarkable woman. Most of the book was absorbing, though there are no footnotes ( )

How an invalid came to power.

How an invalid came to power.