Norman Bethune (1890-1939) was a man who had everything, and yet had nothing. Although he had achieved international prominence as a surgeon, he was unhappy in his personal life and deeply frustrated by a failed attempt to introduce medicare to Canada. An uncompromising humanitarian in search of a cause, Bethune became immersed in the Spanish Civil War. In Bethune in Spain, Roderick Stewart and Jesús Majada recount Bethune's achievements in Spain and the events that led to his decision to assist the Loyalist forces. The narrative contains Bethune's letters and reports, some of them reproduced here for the first time, as well as newspaper articles, and interviews with him. It covers his creation and operation of a mobile blood transfusion unit, his rescue of fleeing Loyalist civilians during the Malaga-Almeria road tragedy, and his efforts to aid children orphaned by the War. It also deals with the gruelling public-speaking tour Bethune undertook on his return to Canada in 1937 to plead for intervention in support of democracy in Spain and to raise awareness of atrocities committed against civilians by the fascist-backed Spanish Nationalists. Illustrated with photographs from Bethune's seven months in Spain, Bethune in Spain is a poignant portrait of an early advocate for universal health care, an unwavering communist, and a crusader for the Spanish Republican cause.

The Politics of Passion is the first comprehensive collection of the writing and art of Dr Norman Bethune. A Canadian medical pioneer and a communist, Bethune gained fame during the 1930s while serving in the Spanish Civil War and participating in China's struggle against Japanese invasion. This book sheds light on the man, the artist, and the revolutionary. It uncovers new historical material relating to several controversies surrounding Bethune. A remarkable document obtained from the Communist International Archives in Moscow, for instance, discusses why Bethune was sent home in disgrace from the Spanish Civil War. It refers to a mysterious Swedish woman, Kajsa von Rothman, who was Bethune's lover and who was believed by left-wing Spanish authorities to be politically suspect. This collection of Bethune's writings and art reveals that politics preoccupied him only during the last four years of his life. Earlier, his passionate nature found expression in medical and surgical innovation, as well as in painting, sketching, photography, writing - from poetry and short stories to letters, radio broadcasts, and plays - and public speaking. The Politics of Passion reveals the many sides of Bethune's identity, exploring not only the life of a revolutionary doctor, but of an intense and compassionate artist.

Originally published in the early 1950s, The Scalpel, the Sword celebrates the turbulent career of Dr. Norman Bethune (1890-1939), a brilliant surgeon, campaigner against private medicine, communist, and graphic artist. Bethune belonged to that international contingent of individuals who recognized the threat of fascism in the world and went out courageously to try to defeat it. Born in Gravenhurst, Ontario, Bethune introduced innovative techniques in treating battlefield injuries and pioneered the use of blood transfusions to save lives, which made him a legend first in Spain during the civil war and later in China when he served with the armies of Mao Zedong in their fight against the invading Japanese. He is today remembered amongst the pantheon of Chinese revolutionary heroes. In Canada Bethune’s strong left-wing views made him persona non grata, but this highly readable and engaging account has helped to sustain the memory of a great man.

A biographical account of the life of Norman Bethune, detailing the story of his life including his career as a surgeon, his fight to eradicate tuberculosis, his commitment to establish a medicare system in Canada, and his communist ideologies, through considerable research and interviews with friends, family, former patients and colleagues.

In 1937, Hank Rubin, a 20-year-old pre-med student volunteered for service in the International Brigades fighting fascists in the Spanish Civil War. In this memoir, Rubin recalls the heroics and suffereing he witnessed as well as the disappointing treatment he received upon his return.

"Within hours of his arrival, Norman was taken to meet Chairman Mao Zedong. The smiling man grabbed Norman's hands in welcome....The two men talked for hours." This book will be especially fascinating for all readers interested in: history or biography. One of the world's top surgeons, an advocate of democratic medical services, and an international humanitarian, Norman Bethune risked his life to deliver blood to the front lines. He is revered in China as a hero, where he was a personal friend of Chairman Mao Zedong, and his unceasing and inventive work established a lasting bond between his adopted people and this heroic Canadian.

Honoured as a hero in China, Ontario-born Norman Bethune was a surgeon, medical innovator, and charismatic political activist who deployed his skills on the battlefields of Spain and China in the 1930s. His prodigious energy included inventing surgical instruments, mobile blood-transfusion units, teaching, and advocating for social justice at home and abroad. Adrienne Clarkson, a Chinese Canadian, has always been fascinated by the dynamic man who married his social conscience to his medical mission. Reviled as a Communist by some, revered as a humanitarian by others, Bethune was a complicated, inspirational figure who lived and loved on a large canvas.

The Communist's Daughter is a sweeping novel of love and betrayal spanning the trenches of the Great War to the horrors of Spain and China. Norman Bethune was a visionary whose dedication touched millions. Rebelling in childhood against his father's religion, he finds a calling himself, saving lives on the battlefield. In Republican Spain he fulfills his idealism, yet before long politics destroy his romance and drive him to seek refuge in China. Here, in service to a man eventually known as Mao Zedong, Bethune begins this account of his life and his cherished beliefs for the only person who still makes a future seem possible: the daughter he has never seen.

The war in Spain and those who wrote at first hand of its horrors. From 1936 to 1939 the eyes of the world were fixed on the devastating Spanish conflict that drew both professional war correspondents and great writers. Ernest Hemingway, John Dos Passos, Josephine Herbst, Martha Gellhorn, W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender, Kim Philby, George Orwell, Arthur Koestler, Cyril Connolly, André Malraux, Antoine de Saint Exupéry and others wrote eloquently about the horrors they saw at first hand. Together with many great and now largely forgotten journalists, they put their lives on the line, discarding professionally dispassionate approaches and keenly espousing the cause of the partisans. Facing censorship, they fought to expose the complacency with which the decision-makers of the West were appeasing Hitler and Mussolini. Many campaigned for the lifting of non-intervention, revealing the extent to which the Spanish Republic had been betrayed. Peter Preston's exhilarating account illuminates the moment when war correspondence came of age.

The Politics of Passion is the first comprehensive collection of the writing and art of Dr Norman Bethune. A Canadian medical pioneer and a communist, Bethune gained fame during the 1930s while serving in the Spanish Civil War and participating in China's struggle against Japanese invasion. This book sheds light on the man, the artist, and the revolutionary. It uncovers new historical material relating to several controversies surrounding Bethune. A remarkable document obtained from the Communist International Archives in Moscow, for instance, discusses why Bethune was sent home in disgrace from the Spanish Civil War. It refers to a mysterious Swedish woman, Kajsa von Rothman, who was Bethune's lover and who was believed by left-wing Spanish authorities to be politically suspect. This collection of Bethune's writings and art reveals that politics preoccupied him only during the last four years of his life. Earlier, his passionate nature found expression in medical and surgical innovation, as well as in painting, sketching, photography, writing - from poetry and short stories to letters, radio broadcasts, and plays - and public speaking. The Politics of Passion reveals the many sides of Bethune's identity, exploring not only the life of a revolutionary doctor, but of an intense and compassionate artist.