The Dreamer and the Doctor

by Jack Nisbet

In the turn-of-the-twentieth-century Northwest, the lives and passions of an American physician and her Swedish naturalist husband helped shape a territory on the cusp of change--from the author of Sources of the River and The Collector.

Dr. Carrie Leiberg, a pioneer physician, fought hard for public health while nurturing both a troubled son and a fruit orchard. Her husband, John Leiberg, was a Swedish immigrant and self-taught naturalist who transformed himself from pickax Idaho prospector to special field agent for the US Forest Commission and warned Washington DC of ecological devastation of public lands. The Leiberg story opens a window into the human and natural landscape of a century past that reflects all the thorny issues of our present time.

Jack Nisbet is the author of several collections of essays that explore the human and natural history of the Northwest, including Purple Flat Top, Visible Bones, and Ancient Places. He has also written award-winning biographies of fur agent and cartographer David Thompson (Sources of the River) and naturalist David Douglas (The Collector).

Genres: Nonfiction

304 pages, Hardcover

Published October 23, 2018

Reviews

[Stephen Angliss · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book because of how much I enjoyed the author’s work on David Thompson. I live in Bayview, and have walked every trail available in Farragut State Park—including the 10 mile trail up Bernard Peak.

Which is why I was excited when I saw that Nisbet’s new book detailed the life of John Bernard Leiberg, his wife Dr. Carrie Leiberg, their son Bernard, and their life on Lakeside Ranch, now known as Blackwell Point in Bayview ID.

The best part of the book for me was learning the stories of the people like John Leiberg who first lived in my area and shaped it into what I know today. Anyone who lives in North Idaho will love the details of life that the Leibergs experienced, and the contact “name dropping” of settlers and important figures whose names are preserved on street names and map labels.

The lives of the Leibergs are not terribly interesting. The beauty of their story is found in its American simplicity. They were nothing but two people working towards a better life. Their botanical work along the way outlives them, and even though their names are rarely remembered, mount “Bernard” still looms over the lake—and now with a less mysterious name.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this a fascinating read; I learned many things about this area and botany, forestry and things going on in medicine at the time. The historical significance of their work was rewarding to read about. The story opens up a whole world and windows into the human and natural landscape of a century past that reflects all the nuanced issues of our present time. Well worth reading.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Updated review from completed read, December 2023:
I picked this up again because of my last handful of challenges for the year was to reread a book I had previously DNF'ed. The problem with that challenge is that the majority of books I quit are because I really don't like them-- rarely because I don't have time. This was maybe the only book I was remotely interested in trying again.

This book held up as a dry, detailed read that I struggled to fall into. I maintain that an audio format would be better for me. The book talks in very specific detail about a number of places in the Idaho panhandle, eastern Washington, and central and eastern Oregon, among other places, but the maps are small, rather general, and don't include many other details besides rivers and towns. There are also constant references to very specific plants, but no color illustrations, and only a black and white line illustration between chapters. Readers will do best to already be *very* familiar with both the area and the plants. I had a passing familiarity with the larger region, having lived for a total of about 7 years in Eastern Washington, with more than a dozen day trips into different parts of northern Idaho, and that was not enough.

The amount of research is impressive, but the audience for this book is likely to be quite small.

Original review from DNF, December 2018:
I did not finish this, because it was a bit slow and not gripping me. An Audio format would be easier, I do intend to try this one again.

Edited to include cross-references: Ancient Places: People and Landscape in the Emerging Northwest

[Diane Langworthy]

Good book overall. Tedious in parts for me. But overall kept my interest to learn of the bright, and extremely energetic and botanically curious dreamer and his attempted influence in areas of land conservation. The doctor’s story - although more sparse because less was known about her - gave glimpses of the state of medicine during the turn of the century and the interesting life of an independent woman.

[Rena Cobrinik · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Doctor and the Dreamer by Jack Nisbet is a fantastic book, despite its many caveats. John Lieberg dedicated his life to discovering and classifying many thousand varieties of flowers, mosses, trees,water resources in the Northwest lands of the United States starting in the late 1800's. He spent long periods--months at a time--in the field. As a reader, I was both worn -out and in awe of his determination and commitment.
I found Lieberg's references to ancient geographical impact on local areas exciting, and when like a detective he deduced...where mountains moved during the Ice Age, that arsenic was a common 'constituent of volcanic rock---killing sheep,' or that some trees were destroyed by lightning, or that people harmed the environment by "fires, fires, fires" by homesteaders, by lumber companies' waste and destruction, and by prospectors for oil, silver , gold, etc. which poisoned the ground. Both Liebergs, John and Carrie were politically active defending legislation for regulation and forest protection and health-care issues promoted by Carrie Lieberg.
Although the title of the book includes the doctor and his wife, who accompanied him with a new baby from a previous marriage she is often absent in many chapters. Nisbet tells us that she had a medical practice, planted fruit trees and was a political candidate, often in only one sentence in sparse chapters. Their son's place is even more neglected by both the author and the parents--more so by the father.
And then, suddenly, like a separate piece, the last two chapters reveal personal information about the son, Bernard and Carrie Leiberg.
Liebergs' love and regard for the land was the driving force of his life. He is in a league with Lewis and Clark and Darwin, whose passions enriched our physical knowledge and the beauty of our country--especially mine.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack Nesbit is probably my favorite Pacific Northwest author. I heard him talk about this book before I read it so I had a wonderful sense of context. I also know many of the places that are described in the book – some I know very well – and I loved having a new perspective on these places. The Dreamer is John Leiberg (pronounced Lee-berg), a self-taught gold miner/botanist/geologist/geographer who lived and surveyed the eastern part of Washington and Oregon as well as Idaho in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. That is one part of the story.
The Doctor is the other part of the story and equally interesting. Carrie Leiberg, the dreamer’s wife, received an MD degree from the Woman's Hospital Medical College of Chicago in the 1870s. After the family moved to Idaho, Carrie practicesdmedicine, specializing in treating women. She also did the main work of homesteading near Idaho’s Lake Pend Oreille.
Even those of you not fortunate enough to live here will enjoy Nesbit’s book.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A remarkable account of John Leiberg and his wife, Dr. Carrie Leiberg, who is the 1890's settled in Idaho. John was a field research consultant, botanist, geologist and topographer for the U. S. government for decades. His work covered most of Idaho, Montana, Washington, Oregon and multiple forest reserves in the west. He published prolific reports for decades. They eventually settled near Leaburg on the McKenzie River in Oregon, where John died in 1913. His personal botany collections are installed at the University of Oregon. Dr. Carrie Leiberg worked tirelessly as a physician all her life mostly in Idaho and Spokane. She died in 1937 and is buried with John at the Masonic cemetery in Eugene, Oregon.

[Travis Kahle · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story about two unlikely lovebirds. There was significant detail about John’s botanical expeditions, but not as much on Carrie’s medical career. I would’ve liked to know more about their personal stories. Why did they leave their families to start a new life together, other than just falling in love? How did Carrie’s medical practice thrive in light of John’s long absences? There was much left unanswered, but it was interesting nevertheless.

[Don Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is classic Nisbet. Well organized in his usual very readable style. It tells the story of the efforts of one man to rescue the magnificent flora of NW United States from those who would destroy it.

[Lainey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A historical look at the Northeast featuring a unique couple though their letters, publications and public service.
He was a visionary and obsessed botanist and she was a female physician and stateswoman. This book reads like a novel.

[Bill Yates · Rating 5 out of 5]

The botany was somewhat interesting, but I was most captivated by the life stories.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most fascinating reads for folks who call the Pacific Northwest their home.