Shaman | 
 enlarge | Author: Noah Gordon
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Category: Book
List Price: $8.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  24 reviews
Sales Rank: 184651
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 652
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 4.3 x 1.7
ISBN: 0751500828
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780751500820
ASIN: 0751500828
Publication Date: July 1, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
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Product Description
Robert Jeremy Cole, the legendary doctor and hero of The Physician, left an enduring legacy. From the 11th century on, the eldest son in each generation of the Cole family has borne the same first name and middle initial and many of these men have followed the medical profession. A few have been blessed with their ancestor's diagnostic skill and the "sixth sense" they call The Gift, the ability to know instinctively when death is impending. The tragedy of Rob J.'s life is the deafness of his son, Robert Jefferson Cole, who is called Shaman by everyone who knows him. Shaman's life is difficult. First, he must learn to speak so that he can take his place in the hearing world, and then he must fight against the prejudices of a society where physical differences matter. As Shaman struggles to achieve his identity, the Coles, along with the rest of America, are drawn into the conflict between the North and the South.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 19 more reviews...
 Shaman by Noah Gordan September 23, 2008
This is a very interesting book about medicine and history. I enjoyed it very much so that I gave it to a doctor friend and He loved it!1
Scottish Pioneer Blood! August 7, 2008
My good friend Mario strongly recommended me "The Physician", even if he knew a physician's life wasn't my cup of tea.
I'm grateful he convinced me to read it. I was so trapped by Mr. Noah Gordon story that I went immediately to the bookstore and bought "Shaman" and "Choices".
IMHO "Shaman" is the best of the trilogy.
This is the story of two members of the Cole family: Rob Sr. & Rob Jr.
The story, situated in the period around 1830-1870, starts following Rob Sr.'s life since his forced emigration from Scotland to America and is reconstructed thru his personal diary as discovered and read, after his death, by his son Rob Jr.
Rob Sr. initiates his medical practice at Boston's Irish ghetto and meets Oliver Wendell Holmes, precursor of medical prophylaxis.
Later he continues his migration going into Illinois and stopping at Holden's Crossing where he starts a new life as rural physician.
There he builds his home, start his relationship with the Sauk Native Americans people, fall in love, heal & marry Sarah, have a child who will contract scarlatina and lose his hearing.
At this point Rob's Jr. life is the second main thread of the narration, following his education and fervent desire to be a physician as his father.
Both threads will conflux at the Civil War period.
Historical reconstruction is paramount, showing domestic every day details, political issues, educational issues, medical issues and cultural issues with deepness and commitment. This aspect of the novel is by far better than the period reconstruction done by Mr. Gordon in "The Physician".
A much recommended read for those interested in historical subjects, daily life period reconstruction and medical practice. Enjoy this great novel!
Reviewed by Max Yofre.
Shaman - Better than the Physician July 24, 2008
I enjoyed this more than The Physician as it is set in the US during the 19th century. It starts slowly, but once you get past the opening (Shaman returning home) the book is a real page turner.
 4.5 Stars: Compelling view of frontier America - prejudice, racism, and the civil war July 7, 2008
This book is the Sequel to The Physician. As I'm sure you know by now, The Physician was set in 11th Century England and Shaman is set in 1840s through 1860s frontier America, so this is not a sequel in the traditional sense. Indeed, aside from a few anecdontes about a Cole dynasty of physicians in Scotland and the inheritence of the "gift" of sensing when patients are about to die, The Shaman is a free standing novel.
The Shaman is about Dr. Rob J. Cole, who is forced to immigrate to America after becoming involved in political protests in his native Scotland that resulted in the hanging death of a friend. He first arrives in Boston and is taken under the wing of Oliver Wendell Holmes, a famous Boston doctor who is the father of the even more famous Supreme Court Justice. While in Boston, Rob J. lives in a boarding house and lives a hand to mouth existence as a doctor to the poor. Ultimately, he decides that Boston is not for him and decides to move west. He travels and works his way to Illinois, where he settles in the small town of Holden's Crossing, in the Quad Cities area. While there, the reader meets members of the local Indian tribe - particularly a shaman named Makwa-Ikwa, whom Rob J. befriends and with whom he develops a close working relationship. We also see the developments of the xenophobic Know Nothing Party and the underground railroad in Illinois, and the civil war through Rob J.'s eyes, as the bulk of the novel is narrated through Rob J.'s journal.
The second central character in the novel is Rob J.'s only natural son, also named Rob J., but who is called "Shaman." Shaman became deaf due to a boyhood illness and adeptly learns to navigate his world as a deaf child and later as a deaf physician.
This novel is a fascinating look at the development of America. The reality of the civil war and the racial tensions that infected American politics in the era leading up to the war are told in detail, without white-washing. Indeed, the sections on the civil war are at times long and dull, but at other times are shocking in their detail. Gordon is a gifted writer with a talent for creating a complex understanding of a period in history. While Shaman was less interesting at times than The Physician, the characters were no less developed and the ability to create a 'historical mood' no less compelling. I rate this novel 4.5 stars.
Engrossing June 24, 2008
Good reading - happy to recommend. I have lived in this area, played with horse apples as a child and never knew they were called Osage Apples or that they had any use whatsoever. Now I am trying to grow them. The tales are wonderful, some of the characters are historical figures, some of facts are unique and true(Osage Apples or monkey balls) and educational. The story, itself, is a good read. Thank you, Noah Gordon!
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