Clara Barton

A Story of the Red Cross Glimpses of Field Work Clara Barton

This eye-opening book contains Clara Barton's historical accounts of the first Red Cross relief operations dating from the 1880s to the 1900s.

First published in 1904, this work charts the challenges of the years following the organisation's founding in the 1880s. Each chapter comprises an accurate, first-hand account of a Red Cross operation; we hear of emergency aid distributed for yellow fever in Florida, famines in Texas and Russia, for flooding in Jonestown and more. All the tales are imbued with accurate eyewitness accounts of the situations on the ground.

Many of the incidents described are now remembered only in history books. However their importance in helping the nascent Red Cross develop and hone its methodology of global disaster irrespective of location or severity cannot be understated. The author Clara Barton, a veteran nurse and pioneer of the emergency aid movement, writes with clarity and conviction.

Today, the Red Cross is one of the most prominent and ubiquitous providers of emergency aid and medical assistance in the wake of disaster. Whether you donate to the organisation, are or aspire to become a volunteer, or simply foster an interest in the subject, these early accounts are worthy of reading.