Hundreds of never-before-published Civil War photographs are finally seeing the light of day in the new "Images of Civil War Medicine: A Photographic History." The photos and illustrations include many nursing photographs and portraits, and the accompanying text documents the role of nurses in the war. Nursing was the most effective component of the treatment of serious illness in the middle of the nineteenth century, and the development of nursing for Civil War soldiers played a major role in the evolution of the nursing profession in the United States. Written by two experts on Civil War and medical history, Dr. Gordon Dammann, founder of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, and Dr. Alfred Jay Bollet, author of the award-winning "Plagues & Poxes: The Impact of Human History on Epidemic Disease," the book is a collection of images taken during the first American war to be caught on film. A visual encyclopedia, the volume covers medical facilities, individuals, and other medically related phenomena and is accompanied by a text describing the main features of Civil War medicine:

* Confederate features of Civil War medicine

* Wounds and diseases

* Civil War hospitals and hospital stewards

* Nursing and the role of women in Civil War medicine

"Images of Civil War Medicine: A Photographic History" is published by Demos Medical Publishing and distributed by Publishers Group West. It is also available through http://Amazon.com, http://BarnesandNoble.com, and all major bookstores.