Chicago's Nurse Parade, by Carolyn Hope Smeltzer with Frances R. Vlasses and Connie R. Robinson. Chicago, Arcadia, 2005. 128 pages, $19.99 (http://www.arcadiapublishing.com)

This photographic retrospective of the historic Chicago's Nurse Parade will appeal to readers on more than one level. Chicago's Nurse Parade celebrated nursing in Chicago for 10 years, from 1949 to 1958. It was the only such parade in the world. Starting with just 2 floats and 4 bands, the parade at its zenith drew 100,000 spectators, included 100 participating hospitals, 39 bands playing music, and over 4000 uniformed nurses. The goal of the parade was to recruit nurses into the profession. Clarence M. Brissette, OSM, started the parade as a Friday night pilgrimage. Father Brissette "believed a good nurse had more influence at the bedside than a minister, priest or rabbi." This 6-block parade, lasting 1 hour, communicated much more about nursing. It galvanized a community around the need for nurses. Banners proclaimed: "Nation, State, City, Church-Honor our Nurses." Floats had themes such as "The Door to Health." The photographs themselves dramatically evoke time and place. What stands out about these pictures are the faces of the nurses marching-proud, professional, and excited.

There is, however, another aspect that gives this book special meaning to this generation of nurses. Chicago's Nurse Parade debuted at AONE's 2005 convention in Chicago, more than 50 years after the first parade; Linda Aiken, in her plenary address, spoke of the need to raise the level of nursing education. She strongly recommended that the basic education of nursing was a public responsibility. Could the Chicago's Nurse Parade remind us of the need to galvanize our public? Is this what we can learn from the Chicago's Nurse Parade? What can we do to increase our visibility and create strong feelings of support among our constituencies? In 2010, what will be our Chicago Nurse's Parade?