To Serve with Honour: The Story of St Joseph's Hospital, Hamilton, 1890-1990

Virginia Gillham is Associate Librarian in the Public Service Library at
the University of Guelph.

St. Joseph’s Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario, celebrated its 100th
anniversary in 1990. This book is a nostalgia trip for anyone with roots
in the city of Hamilton. It pulls together the results of two years of
thorough and diligent research. For those with the tenacity to persevere
through the sometimes wordy and disjointed text, the reward is a
collection of interesting historical information about the Sisters of
St. Joseph and their Hamilton hospital.

There are weaknesses. The author includes every detail her research
unearthed, even when those facts are perhaps marginally relevant to
their main thesis. This is at times tedious narrative few will read
through to its end. But skimming and dipping in the text is more
fruitful, and the detailed subject index will lead the reader to
specific passages of interest. Anyone with an interest in the subject
should own this book.