Pest in year 1850 -Part 1.
This content has been modified after the translation.

"Semmelweis arrived back in Pest at the end of October 1850, disappointed and disillusioned, and soon found that the situation was not very hopeful for him here either. he was not hampered by ill-feeling and resentment as far as his person was concerned, and there was no hostility towards his teachings, only the conditions in Hungary restrained his activity."

This book is an interesting account of the life of Semmelweis with particular emphasis on the Hungarian aspects of his life story. The discovery of the mode of transmission of puerperal fever is well presented and there is a detailed account of his last illness. Several of the later chapters of the book are devoted to a discussion of the initial resistance to his doctrine and the subsequent dispute over the priority for his discovery. The arguments made in relation to these points are often diffuse and unconvincing but it remains a valuable document for the student of Semmelweis as it is well illustrated and well annotated. A major drawback is the lack of an index and cross reference is therefore a difficult problem. This volume was presented to foreign delegates attending a Conference in 1968 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Semmelweis.

The authors's purpose is: "We wish to bring home the reader the lessons of the life of this great man from the distance of a hundred years, fervently hoping that this tragedy will not be repeated in the history of mankind."

 

Gyorgy Gortvai: Semmelweis: His life and work, Budapest, Akadémia Publisher, 1966, 79-82 p