dedication of the book, he writes ‘These records are tenderly dedicated…’ and the dedication list of three colleagues and former students who all ‘fell in the great epidemic of 1878.[4] We learn from the preface and dedication this is a ‘record’ of events, with the goal of being plain, concise, and honest.5 We can conclude that the book was written to inform and enlighten medical professionals. As it was written by a medical professional and expert on yellow fever, we can assume that it should be accurate, as well as detailed but not with superfluous details.
The author’s previous life as a Methodist preacher,[5] leads us to expect discussion of theological or religious concepts in relation to yellow fever and suffering.
[1] Eskind Biomedical Library Special Collections, “Summers, Thomas Osmond (1852-1899),” Vanderbilt University Medical Center, accessed March 13, 2022, https://collections.library.vanderbilt.edu/repositories/4/resources/603.
[2] The Tennessean, “Death of Dr. Thomas Osmond Summers - Newspapers.Com,” The Nashville American, May 20, 1899, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28644994/death-of-dr-thomas-osmondsummers/.
[3] Thomas Osmond Summers, Yellow Fever (Nashville, Tennessee, USA: Wheeler Brothers, 1879), 5.
[4] Summers, 3. 5 Summers, 5.
[5] The Tennessean, “Death of Dr. Thomas Osmond Summers - Newspapers.Com.”