Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Acknowledgments
- Miscellaneous Frontmatter
- Preface
- 1 Early life and training
- 2 London 1946—54
- 3 Appointment to the Glasgow Chair
- 4 Glasgow obstetrics in the Fifties
- 4 Sharing Enthusiasm: A textbook – and a teacher – with a difference
- 5 The Western Infirmary Wards G9 and 10
- 6 The cutting edge – in the operating theatre
- 7 The Queen Mother's Hospital
- 8 Science and Serendipity: Ultrasound takes off
- 9 Home life and hobbies
- 10 “Naught for your comfort”: social reform and medical ethics in a changing world
- 11 “At the receiving end”: courage and faith
- 12 “The evening cometh”: international fame, continued battle with illness and home happiness in retirement
- Sources
- Index
- Plate section
4 - Sharing Enthusiasm: A textbook – and a teacher – with a difference
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 February 2014
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Acknowledgments
- Miscellaneous Frontmatter
- Preface
- 1 Early life and training
- 2 London 1946—54
- 3 Appointment to the Glasgow Chair
- 4 Glasgow obstetrics in the Fifties
- 4 Sharing Enthusiasm: A textbook – and a teacher – with a difference
- 5 The Western Infirmary Wards G9 and 10
- 6 The cutting edge – in the operating theatre
- 7 The Queen Mother's Hospital
- 8 Science and Serendipity: Ultrasound takes off
- 9 Home life and hobbies
- 10 “Naught for your comfort”: social reform and medical ethics in a changing world
- 11 “At the receiving end”: courage and faith
- 12 “The evening cometh”: international fame, continued battle with illness and home happiness in retirement
- Sources
- Index
- Plate section
Summary
A textbook – and a teacher – with a difference
While in Hammersmith, Ian Donald had been working on a textbook of obstetrics, which he finished in September 1954, just after his appointment to the Glasgow Chair. It was quite unlike anything that had appeared before and exploded on the academic scene like a display of fireworks. We who were young read it from cover to cover like a novel. We could not put it down. We shall now let Ian speak for himself and our readers may begin to know how we felt as we read Practical Obstetric Problems.
The book begins with a dedication:
“To all who have known doubt, perplexity and fear as
I have known them,
To all who have made mistakes as I have,
To all whose humility increases with their knowledge of this most fascinating subject
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED”.
The preface follows in equally dramatic style.
“The art of teaching is the art of sharing enthusiasm. The teacher must, therefore, love what he teaches if he is not to become “as a tingling cymbal”. If, then, exuberance occasionally bubbles through the pages of this book, I know that my past students will understand, and I ask no forgiveness. I have often wondered what drives men to write a textbook. In my case it was the persuasiveness of my publisher.”
He felt, and of course he is right, that there was a place for a book of a practical sort, which would appeal to the clinician who lives in the rough and tumble of it all, as well as to aspirants for additional diplomas in the subject.
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- Information
- Ian DonaldA Memoir, pp. 20 - 31Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2004
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