This is a memoir by William Alcott, a physician who practiced in the first half of the 1800s, in which he confesses that not only did the learned doctors of his time not have a clue what they were doing, they inflicted much actual harm and killed plenty of their patients. He also records his endless fights with quacks who took advantage of the weak-minded and gullible. It's an interesting piece of writing about a disgraceful era in the history of medicine. The author was a second cousin (and family friend) of Amos Bronson Alcott, the father of Louisa May Alcott. William Alcott wrote over a hundred books about various subjects, and he was a determined promoter of modern advances in everyday living. Excerpt from Forty Years in the Wilderness of Pills and Powders: Or, the Cogitations and Confessions of an Aged Physician A short time previous to his death, the writer spoke Of this work, and said, in allusion to the termination of his own somewhat peculiar case. In accordance with this desire, a brief sketch, having reference to his health.Excerpt from Forty Years in the Wilderness of Pills and Powders:Perhaps the life of Franklin, already referred to, had as much influence with me as any thing of the kind. For along with the love of knowledge which was so much developed by this book, the love of doing good was introduced. The doctor says, somewhere, that he always set a high value on a doer of good; and it is possible, nay, I might even say probable, that this desire, which subsequently became a passion with me, had its origin in this very remark.FOOTNOTES:To illustrate this point, and show clearly the state of the public opinion, I will relate an anecdote. A certain calf in the neighborhood, after long and patient trial, was pronounced too ignorant to be able to procure his own nourishment, or in other words, was said to be a fool. On raising the question, what should be done with him, a shrewd colored man who stood by, said, "Master, send him to college!