Doctor at Large

Gibson's third book is a summing-up of his entire career from boyhood in Scotland to retirement on Vancouver Island. He finished medical school, where he met his wife, just as war broke out in September 1939, served in the British military throughout the war and then opened a joint practice with his wife in Hull. Although both were supporters of the National Health Serviceshe ardently, he with reservationsthey quickly became disabused of their enthusiasm as they saw patients taking advantage of the system and of them. Emigrating to Canada, they took up residence in the tiny Alberta town of Okotoks, near Calgary. There they battled disease, vast distances and the fierce winter weather. Gibson, interestingly, was one of the first physicians in Canada to use hypnosis in his work, often with great success. Finally, advancing years took the Gibsons from their difficult rural practice into Calgary until their retirement. Filled with sage observations about illnesses, patients and doctors, this autobiography is warm and human. (December)