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.
The mind of Norman Bethune contains the most important and revealing writings of Norman Bethune. Illustrated with over 100 contemporary photographs The Mind of Norman Bethune uncovers one of the most fascinating and controversial figures of the 20th century. Bethune's distinctive place in modern history is now fully acknowledged. As a Montreal surgeon in the Great Depression, Bethune was drawn to left-wing politics. Determined to act on his beliefs, he went to Spain at the outbreak of its Civil War, and set up the first ever mobile blood transfusion service for the Loyalist forces which operated in the thick of the fighting. In 1937, Dr. Bethune journeyed to China and aided Mao Zedong's forces who were then under attack by the Japanese. Bethune was a complex, volatile man. His interests were many and diverse: medical, political, literary and artistic. In this unique and engaging collection, the development of a most passionate and paradoxical man is finally revealed.
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