Book Review - Where There is No Doctor, revised ed.

"Where There is No Doctor" is a classic austere medical handbook published by Hesperian. The first edition was written in the 1970s in Spanish and the book has since been translated into English and a few other languages. It's designed for use by natives in the developing world who lack access to modern health care. As such, it's writeen on a more basic level than most of the other medical reference books commonly used by preppers.

This book is often listed as a "must have" book for preppers for good reason and along with the Survival and Austere Medicine book and the Survival Medicine Handbook it's one of the most useful prepper medical manuals I've read.

Things I like about this book:
1) Fairly good description of many illnesses and injuries a prepper might encounter in a SHTF situation, along with suggestions for basic treatment.
2) Decent section on medications
3) Good section on hygiene, although most 1st world preppers probably know most of this information
4) Devotes more time to pregnancy / midwivery issues than the other two top prepper manuals. This is an often overlooked aspect of medical prepping. People will make babies no matter how bad things get.

Things I didn't like:
1) A bit too much time was spent on public health issues and basic nutrition issues. This is understandable given that the target audience are the residents of remote 3rd world villages but it's probably not too relevant for preppers.
2) There's a rather bizarre section on folk superstition with the abmonition not to rely on a witch for healing but not to kill her either (everyone knows witches must be killed!!)
3) The book assumes that modern medical care is downriver or over the mountains and that it's possible to transport seriously ill patients to a hospital. The Survival Medicine Handbook and the Austere Medicine book don't make this assumption and often give instructions on treating serious conditions that would be treated by a doctor outside a SHTF situation. Too often, Where There is No Doctor ends a discussion of a condition with the advice "seek medical care immediately".

There are several other books in this series which I don't have including one on childbirth, another on women's health, a veterinary handbook and a book on dealing with the issues of handicapped children. I own a copy of the dentistry book but haven't read it yet. Online chapters of the books may be found here: https://hesperian.org/books-and-resources/

Overall, this book is worth purchasing. I bought my print copy on Amazon for about $25. It's available in pdf form for free on the internet if you want to check it out but I'd invest in the print copy. Plus the money goes to a good cause.

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Book Review - Where There is No Doctor, revised ed.