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A Public Health Odyssey: My Life in Service and Research by Elton Kessel, M.D., M.P.H. ARTSHIPpublishing
book review by Flavian Mark Lupinetti
"During a long career in public health, my chief concerns have been the extreme poverty and growing inequality among the earth's populations."
Dr. Kessel is one of medicine's unsung heroes. This memoir describes a life of uncommon dedication and sacrifice primarily in the area of birth control. Early in Dr. Kessel's career, he recognized that management of fertility was vital to both individuals' health and the health of society. Kessel undertook not only direct clinical care to provide birth control devices and education, but also undertook highly meritorious research to compare strategies and define efficacy. Perhaps one of his most innovative and useful contributions was his promotion of a pharmacological method of sterilization.
It is not surprising that Dr. Kessel's efforts were impeded by politics in both low and high forms. After accepting the position of executive director of a major international family planning organization, he was cast aside because of nepotism. His proposal for a large scale study of pharmacological sterilization was blocked by a World Health Organization official who did not think it "proper." He hints that he was fired from another position through the action of Reagan administration officials and the Vatican.
Dr. Kessel is meticulous and comprehensive in narrating the details of his life. His use of precise dates for the recitation of events indicates a diarist's exactitude. However many incidents that must have been vivid and exciting lose their impact in the retelling. Well-crafted scenes of, for example fly control or water purification or vaccination, are bubbling below the surface of Dr. Kessel's summaries. One would also have appreciated a more penetrating examination of Dr. Kessel's opponents. Perhaps his innate decency prevents him from taking literary revenge against the forces that attempted to undermine his efforts, but such villains add depth to the story.
All in all, this is a memoir of sacrifice and uncommon dedication to public service that can be appreciated on both an empathetic and factual basis.