Florence Nightingale: The Courageous Life of the Legendary Nurse

Gr 7 Up--Born into a wealthy English family in 1820, Florence Nightingale was expected to marry and tend to the home. Nightingale, however, had different ideas and felt that she had been called to action by God. Reef's meticulously researched biography chronicles Nightingale's remarkable achievements. Her revolutionary approach to nursing impacted all aspects of English society, from soldiers in the army to the impoverished people suffering in workhouse infirmaries. By placing Nightingale's life within the context of the Victorian era--a time of great colonial expansion as well as economic and scientific change--Reef highlights her subject's unique single-minded drive to work and make a difference for the sick and infirm, despite the many obstacles she faced as a woman. Nightingale became famous during the Crimean War when she spent two years with a team of nurses under her direction caring for wounded and ill soldiers. However, her reform work began long before the war and continued until her death at age 90. VERDICT With accessible language, a linear story line, and photographs interspersed throughout, this is a great addition to any library. Recommended for students writing reports and others who want to learn about the remarkable "Lady with the Lamp."--Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's School, Brooklyn

Best recognized for her work during the Crimean War, Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) receives full credit for her most far-reaching accomplishment in this lucid, handsomely designed volume: transforming nursing from an unsavory profession for women into a respectable one. Veteran biographer Reef (Noah Webster: Man of Many Words) provides abundant background on Nightingale's family and the Victorian era, making vividly clear how revolutionary her work was. (Prior to Nightingale's insistence that dirty bandages, putrid water, and foul food had no place in a hospital, eight of nine British soldier deaths were due to disease, rather than wounds.) Drawing extensively on primary sources, Reef reveals Nightingale's complex character--highly intelligent and inquisitive, demanding, irascible, and driven by her belief in God's work--and does not minimize the impact of her ambitions and expectations on her family and colleagues. Reef sharply delineates Nightingale's enormous suffering for her refusal to follow convention while celebrating her lesser-known achievements: founding the first secular nurse-training school, advising government leaders on topics of health and social welfare, and applying statistics to medical analysis. Archival photos and illustrations further contextualize Nightingale's life, work, and era. Ages 12-up. (Nov.)

* " With careful contextualization that sometimes goes missing from purely hagiographic presentations, this title offers a fuller picture of the effort and emotional price Nighingale paid to become a groundbreaker." —Bulletin, starred review * "A vividly written, richly layered portrait of a fascinating woman whose life and work influenced and inspired many." —Kirkus, starred review * "A captivating and inspiring study of one woman's perseverance and the good that came from it." —Booklist, starred review * "A lucid, handsomely designed volume." —Publishers Weekly, starred review "With accessible language, a linear story line, and photographs interspersed throughout, this is a great addition to any library. Recommended for students writing reports and others who want to learn about the remarkable 'Lady with the Lamp.'" —School Library Journal "...well written and thorough..." —VOYA —