Forty Years in the Wilderness of Pills and Powders / Cogitations and Confessions of an Aged Physician

The author, writing from long clinical experience as an aged physician, presents a sequence of candid case anecdotes and reflections that criticize routine dosing, patent remedies, and the limitations of conventional practice. Short chapters examine specific illnesses, treatments, and medical errors, using concrete episodes to show recurring harms and occasional successes while emphasizing simple preventive measures such as hygiene, diet, temperance, and the judicious use of cold water. Practical counsel and moral observations about public credulity and self-care recur throughout, and a final personal chapter recounts the writer's own health and closing reflections.