his death was listed as dysentery. i later read a book that said a lot of the people they listed as dying from that really died from gangrene. is that possible? >> you know, i think more than dysentery, which was related again to malnutrition, but it could have -- the gangrene, that was usually related to open wounds. it certainly could happen from something like scurvy which would lead to sores. i don't know that -- i think it was more often the malnutrition that led to this kind of breakdown in the digestive system. i don't know that, you know, gangrene was certainly a concern here. i can't say for sure that it was one thing or another but that's also a very nasty way to die. gangrene was a serious problem, if you were wounded in battle, that was often what happened. it wasn't the wound itself, it was the infection that came later. >> from rochester, new york, this is david. go ahead. >> caller: dr. gordon, it's an honor to speak with you. i read a book on andersonville. do you consider it the best book or do you rec

but they don't know is they have created the perfect breeding ground for dysentery. host: we can engage in this later, only because we have calls lined up for you. let's start with paul and tennessee. you are on with eric leonard, go ahead. caller: my question is why does andersonville have such a bad reputation with another that had a rate.ow survival andersonville did such a batter reputation.ad mr. leonard: andersonville is the deadliest place on american soil. here and 14s die months. that is a dental they cannot be compared to any other place. the percentages have been used to create a sense of false equivalency. parish in onend is aa -- there complex reason of why that occurs. in one single month, 3000 people died at andersonville. the scale was stunning. survivors spend the rest of their lives trying to come to them to what happens to and their friends. families struggle with what was it for. while 13,000 men die here, nearly 13,000 live. that is the bigger number. the survivors of this experience come to an end. they struggle with what does it .ean there is n

many soldiers already filthy and bearded were suffering from dysentery. trenches in the rockhard soil was demanding work of lost love. so in some cases they rang the bell and summoned the populace to bigger women to hand over the precious linen sheets so that they could be torn up, uses no capes or as camouflage. tanks and tank tank destroyers had to be rapidly whitewashed. the german offense had reversible khakis and trousers with white on the inside which could immediately be used to snow camouflage. but while american troops often when hungry they were never as badly start is the germans. that. american army doctors operating on american soldiers and german prisoners had begun to notice a striking contrast. the surgeons observed that the german shoulder chosen aptitude for recovery far above that of the american soldier. this difference was apparently due to the simple surgical fact that american soldiers generally have a thick layer of fat on the which may surgery not only more difficult and expensive but delays healing. the german soldier is vastly l

what they don't know when they do this is they've created the perfect breeding ground for dysentery. >> we have calls. from people watching at home on american history tv. let's start with paul in tennessee. you're on with eric leonard, go ahead. >> caller: yes, sir. my question is why does andersonville have such a bad reputation nationally in the overview of the civil war prisons in regards to elmira, which had a very severe death rate? just 4% or 5% less than andersonville, yet there was plenty of supplies available from the north with railroads that would supply the prisoners, yet andersonville gets such a bad reputation. >> it's really easy to answer. andersonville is the deadliest place on american soil. 13,000 american soldiers die here in 14 months. that is a death toll that cannot be compared to any other place. percentages are a trap. they've been used to create a sense of false equivalency. 3,000 men perish in a year at elmira. that is a grievous loss. it's hard to defend. there's a complex of serious reasons why that occurs. in a single month, the month of august 1864 in

of the microscopic no section of the museum in particular tools , discussed to study fevers and dysentery. woodward's subsequent research project rivalled some of the best in the world at that time and the doctor later commented on the impressive research contributions american physicians had made during the war. woodward as curator of the medical museum also facilitated the exchange of medical and surgical specimens with medical schools. the work was of such interest to the international medical community that the museum welcomed thousands of doctors and researchers during the post-war period. the arena of infectious disease was no less interesting the -- interesting. joseph lister, another architect of the germ theory, conducted snerments the 1860's in hopes of finding ways of reducing infections in the hospitals. he later developed the practice of surgical instruments being soaked in carbolic acid. at the very same time elite civil war physicians were experimenting with bromine and nitric acid trying to find ways of reducing the spread of disease in the hospitals. it's not surprising t

diarrhea, dysentery, and scurvy tormented the inmates.ntered had enjoyed combat, death in -- endured combat, death in prison or something entirely new. -- men die here grace fast. just over a week later, he likened the death to the falling leaves in autumn. sergeant20, sarge or -- oliver gates counted 11 dead since they had arrived on that may day. and he wrote, quote, more than ever -- here we get nothing to eat and no care. prisoners were dying in their tents, and open son, anywhere, and everywhere. onh little to do but focus the suffering, the impact of so much death, especially this kind of death, unheroic, helpless, was profound for those who did survive. by mid august, sergeant grossman wrote in his diary that he scarcely knew what to write. terrible,ity rate was he said, the weather was unbearable, and men's hearts were thinking -- sinking. by mid-march, sergeant savage said that nearly every day, someone died. days, a man would look forward and wonder who's turn was next. grossman estimated that prisoners were dying at a rate of 4

in particular research tools developed to study fevers, diarrhea, and dysentery, conditions responsible for sickness and every army and theater. woodward's subsequent research project rival some of the best the architectand of germ theory later commented on the revelations accomplished by americans during the war. they also looked at medical schools and paris, london, berlin, moscow. the museum welcomed thousands of doctors and researchers. the theory of infectious disease was no less interesting. joseph lister conducted experiments in the 18 30's to reduce surgical infections and the hospital. -- in the 1830's to reduce surgical infections i am the hospital. ofdeveloped the methodology carbolic soap being placed on the wound. at the same time, physicians were experiencing with bromine, carbolic acid, and nitric acid, trying to reduce the spread of disease in hospitals and during surgeries. it's not surprising that while many physicians around the globe, particularly in britain, were slow to accept methods, many american physicians widely accepted his principles. as lister noted in a le

in many instances, they were loaded in open railway cars and they died of starvation, exposure, dysentery and typhoid. some survive. and when the rescuers arrive, they administered what aid they could. others died after the liberation. they were buried by their fellow prisoners. as in the case of other camps, local townspeople were brought in to view the dead at dachau. this is what the liberators found inside the building. hanging in orderly rows were the prisoners who had been suffocated in lethal gas chambers. they had been coaxed to remove their clothing under the pretext of taking a shower for which towels and soap were provided. this is the brausebad. the shower bath. inside the shower bath, the gas tanks. on the ceilings, the dummy showerheads. in the engineer's room, the intake and outlet pipes, push but the tons to control the inflow and outtake of gas. a hand valve to regulate pressure. cyanide powder was used to generate the lethal smoke. from the gas chamber, the bodies were removed to the crematory. here's what the camera crew found inside. these are the survivors. >> i am th

diarrhea, dysentery and scurvy tormented the inmates.n was something entirely new. general champlin reflected, men die here very fast. just over a week later he likened the constant death to the falling leaves in autumn. on july 20th, sergeant oliver gates counted 11 dead since they arrived on that may day. and he wrote more than ever died in camps since he left home. here we get nothing to eat and no care. prisoners were dying in their tents, in the open sun, anywhere and everywhere. with little to do except focus on the suffering, the impact of so much death, especially this kind of death, unheroic, helpless was profound for those who did survive. by mid august, one sergeant wrote in his diary that he scarcely knew what to write the mortality rate is horrible. the weather is unbearable and men's hearts are sinking. by mid august, sergeant henry savage wrote almost every day someone in our regiment dies. we're certainly warned to be prepared. some days one looks forward and wonders whose turn will come next. the pace of death was shocki

diarrhea, dysentery, cholera. 80% of all people who die are under five. for $.50 a person, a zinc packet and rehydration therapy will save their lives. it is never in the press, but we are making our goals in nigeria and we are working in those same areas. the first thing i want you to know is that in this great age of interdependence, good things and bad things are going on. most of the bad is rooted in a self-concept of negative identity. that is, in order for me to think well of myself, i have to think less of you to the extent you are different from me, from my religion or ideology, as i define it. to the extent that we are making progress, it is almost always the product of networks of cooperation rooted in positive identity. i like who i am. i'm proud of my race, gender, whatever it is, but i think what we have in common matters more so why don't we figure out how to work together? what does that have to do with bipartisanship at home? everything. i can fill this auditorium with a social science survey proving that created cooperation among diverse

and dysentery. people lying around in their own filth and exkrement, one on tomorrow of the other, three, four, five people in the bunk, everybody sick, throwing up, blowing at both ends, and the stench and the disease and the despair, and somebody holding up a hand for a glass of water or a drink or something like that. so it's really, you know, quite unimaginable to a normal mind and that people could subject other people to that kind of treatment is something i will never recover from. go on with your questions. >> did you have to leave when you would go into a kanlen f ca while to get out? >> not to get away from the scene. the job was so overwhelming, i never faltered. i never thought that i had to stop because i couldn't carry on. i carried on very well. it was as though i just built a wall to cut it out, you know, and to just go ahead and do what had to be done, and don't let it impact on your emotional response to it. so i left the camps, because the conditions were such that, you know, it w