Medicine Man by Frank McCann

Medicine Man

by Frank McCann

Illustrations by Phil Taylor

Angus and Robertson, 1959, black and white line drawings in text, hardcover

Very Good Condition, some edge and shelf wear, some rubbing and bumping to edges and corners, ex-library with stickers and previous owners inscription on inside front cover, minor soiling to one or two pages, dustjacket pastedown to front and back cover (see photographs)

“In the days when Australia’s Northern Territory was still a pretty primitive place – the days “before the Bitumen” – young Dr McCann went there as a government medical officer.  He could boast of having one of the world’s largest practices, in terms of distance, and often had to set off over hundreds of miles of rough bush track not knowing whether when he got there, he would find the patient dead or recovered.  Some of his most interesting patients were the aborigines, who he found had a well-developed sense of humour, but were inclined to rely more on their own ideas of medicine than the white man’s.  This account of some of his experiences makes a warm-hearted and amusing book and gives a first-rate picture of the Territorians and their inimitable way of life in earlier days.”