Reviews (31)

A shocking, well-researched expose of how the gov't made hiv
EMERGING VIRUSES, AIDS AND EBOLA: Nature, Accident or Intentional? by Leonard G. Horowitz, D.M.D. Horowitz is a dentist who got drawn into AIDS research when investigating the Acer/Bergalis AIDS contamination case several years ago. His conclusion: Dr. Acer intentionally infected his dental patients because he felt that the U.S. government had maliciously created HIV. Like a determined blood hound, Horowitz kept after this story, nailing down every lead, every paper, every person. He interviewed, he delved into cartons of old files, he compared medical research articles, he looked at corporate/government collusions. The result- -combining Horowitz's story of the research with the research itself--is well worth the price. A key piece of evidence is a 1970 government document budgeting money for a biological weapon for which there is no known cure nor natural immunity. HIV, according to Horowitz, was probably spread with the early Hepatitis B vaccine trials in the gay community in the late '70s. Population control, CIA biological warfare tests on the general public, widespread contamination of polio and other vaccines, and Nazi influence in public policy are just a few of the topics Horowitz weaves together to illustrate this wedding of bad intentions and medical technology. Now that I've read this shocking book, I wonder: Now what? Will this groundbreaking, gutsy book make a difference?

Malthusianism and Higher Forms of Killing, Cattle Mutilation
This book will shock you and make you research more about the consequences of biologicals manufactured and unleashed. The author has gathered a lot of material and evidence indicating that "AIDS" and Gulf War Syndrome have been deliberately unleashed, with "AIDS" appearing first and introduced into select communtities of White educated young gay men, beginning in New York and New Jersey in 1978, supported by documentations presented by Dr. Alan Cantwell Jr., MD, ally of Dr. Horowitz. You can do further research by reading Dr. Cantwell's books, 'Aids And the Doctors of Death' and 'Queer Blood'. Dr. Horowitz does not mince words when he points to the direction of our very own military "adventures" which have sought to develop biologicals which would be refractory to the human auto-immune system, eg., "AIDS"$$, or as Dr. Eva Sneed puts it, 'Some Call It AIDS, I call It Murder', see book! Well, if this review is not censored, then consider yourself lucky to have this vital info regarding the "NEW ORDER" and its most hidden objectives, which is Malthusian in scope, to drastically and severely reduce human populations on planet Earth. You donot hve to wait to hear any of this seemingly "outlandish" stuff on the Art Bell show, just BUY THIS BOOK right now, and order several for your friends, too, and they won't ever think of being complacent in light of Horowitz's incredible book! Isn't this what "glasnost" should be about in this Democratic Republic, and getting truth revealed......eventually!

If you want to know why the goverment does this read on...
I applaud the courage of Leonard Horowitz in exposing the truth about what the government has been up to for a long time. As a researcher I have uncovered many things that are almost too ugly to be believed. There are many out there wondering why anyone inside the government or out would do such hideous things. I strongly recommend the readers of this review to read the book "Bringers of the Dawn" by Barbara Marciniak. This book may also be hard to believe but the pieces of the puzzle will come together when you read this book. But hang on to your seats. If you also purchase the book "Power vs. Force" by Dr. David Hawkins, you will find a technique that will show you how to prove or disprove anything in either of the above books (or anything else for that matter). The answers are out there. We just have to keep searching.

Not a conspiracy at all
In fact, the evidence is out there and you just need to look for it and put it all together......Horowitz has done all the hard work for you making this reading hard to put down even for a minute.
Not surprised at all at WHO involvement and coverups...and pretty much sits with the Global 2000 agenda signed off by Vance and Co....

Great reading but scarry...

A real eye opener!
Could not put this book down. It let's you in on all the things that you were not supposed to know. If this topic is of interest to you it is a must for your library. You will not put it done. It is a quick read. ... Read more

Book Description

The winner of the first Basic Prize in History of Science is a controversial study of the rise of medicine in Australia and its relation to racial thinking.

In nineteenth-century Australia, the main commentators on race and biological differences were doctors. But the medical profession entertained serious anxieties about the possibility of "racial denigration" of the white population in the new land, and medical and social scientists violated ethics and principles in pursuit of a more homogenized Australia.

The Cultivation of Whiteness examines the notions of "whiteness" and racism, and introduces a whole new framework for discussion of the development of medicine and science. Warwick Anderson provides the first full account of the shocking experimentation in the 1920s and '30s on Aboriginal people of the central deserts--the Australian equivalent of the infamous Tuskegee Experiment. Lucid and entertaining throughout, this pioneering historical survey of ideas will help to reshape debate on race, ethnicity, citizenship, and environment everywhere. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A revealing survey of science and racial destiny
The Cultivation Of Whiteness: Science, Health, And Racial Destiny in Australia is a region-specific, college-level collection which is strong in anthropology and which Australian or multicultural studies will find to be a revealing survey of science and racial destiny. In 19th century Australia doctors were the main commentators on race and biological differences - this examines their perceptions of racism and differences between whites and other cultures, using the foundation of science and medicine as a basis for surveying and even experimenting upon other peoples. An eye-opening set of revelations. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A "must-have" reference book
This invaluable resource has everything you need to know about nursing-- and it's beautifully written. After I found the entry I needed, I couldn't put the book down; it read like a great novel. If you buy only one reference book on nursing, it should Ms. Snograss's "The Historical Encyclopedia of Nursing."

An excellent and comprehensive historical reference.
Historical Encyclopedia of Nursing deserves repeated, ongoing mention as a 'must' for any serious medical library collection: it examines the history of nurses and nursing around the world, considering the individuals, practices and acts which have influenced their careers and growth. An excellent reference. ... Read more

Book Description

On Friday, October 16, 1846, only one operation was scheduled at Massachusetts General Hospital....

That day in Boston, the operation was the routine removal of a growth from a man's neck. But one thing would not be routine: instead of using pulleys, hooks, and belts to subdue a patient writhing in pain, this crucial operation would be the first performed under a general anesthetic. No one knew whether the secret concoction would work. Some even feared it might kill the patient.

This engrossing book chronicles what happened that day and during its dramatic aftermath. In a vivid history that is stranger than fiction, Ether Day tells the story of the three men who converged to invent the first anesthesia -- and the war of ego and greed that soon sent all three men spiraling wildly out of control.

Reviews (12)

The controversy behind ether
American Heritage columnist Fenster examines the tangled tale of the invention of anesthesia. Dava Sobel and Janet Gleeson have established a new model for authors working in the history of science-i.e., find some aspect of everyday life that we take for granted but whose invention involved a complicated story (preferably with something sinister attached to it), sprinkle with intelligent social history (to place it in a larger context), write well, and stir. Fenster has adhered to this formula nicely and the resulting work is, like those of her predecessors, a model of sound popular science. It begins with a simple question: Who was the father of painless surgery, as first practiced at Massachusetts General Hospital on October 16, 1846? The three claimants to the title are as dissimilar as any men of the era could possibly be. Horace Wells was a pious and earnest dentist who became interested in the possibilities of nitrous oxide as a way of rendering patients insensible; William T.G. Morton, who learned dentistry from Wells, was a semi-literate con man; and Charles Jackson was one of the most prominent men of science in Boston-an arrogant and rigid figure who claimed that Samuel Morse stole the idea of telegraphy from him. This trio became locked in a struggle to claim credit for the invention of anesthesia, a struggle that led all three to destruction. What each seems to have lost sight of is the importance of the advance itself; but Fenster is particularly good at reminding readers of the nightmare of surgery before anesthesia (she describes one operating room whose features included "hooks, rings and pulleys set into the wall to keep the patients in place during operations"). The cast of characters here is a rich one, including such luminaries as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Samuel Colt, not to mention cameos by Robert Southey, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Henry David Thoreau. Fenster balances all the various elements of the tale admirably and writes with acerbic wit. Despite occasional repetitions: a thoroughly compelling account, well told and well situated in its larger context.

One book about anesthesia that won't put you to sleep.
Surgical anesthesia was America's first great scientific gift to the world. Since ancient times, and throughout the history of Europe, surgery, however necessary, was an unimaginable nightmare. Even the simplest procedure understandably stirred intense dread. And almost any sugery could prove fatal because of pain and shock. Of necessity, surgeons had to work at lightning speed, amputating a limb or "cutting for the stone" in minutes.

All this changed in 1846, at Massachusetts General Hospital, when a young man named Gilbert Abbot underwent the first surgery using ether anesthesia. The surgeon was Dr. John C. Warren, whose position and reputation allowed him to take this radical step. The person administering the ether was an ambitious dentist, William Morton, one of the unlikely and ill-fated heroes of the ether story.

As Julie Fenster reveals the events that led to and followed from the inception of ether anesthesia, she deftly reveals the human foibles of the key participants: the high-living, risk-taking Morton, the idealistic Horace Wells, and the brilliant and arrogant Charles Jackson. Anesthesia was a great gift to mankind, but it proved the undoing of its flawed discovers.

It's a great story, well told and well worth reading.

Robert Adler
Author of Science Firsts: From the Creation of Science to the Science of Creation (Wiley, 2002).

Ether + Nitrous Oxide + Laughing gas = Great discovery by 3
Anesthesiology was the single greatest discovery in American Medicine which benefited humanity on a universal scale.
It was on a Friday, October 16th, 1846 at Mass General Hospital that one William Morton applied the mystery gas. He was not a doctor, nor did he understand exactly what he was doing to the hapless patient...
The patient lying quietly on the slab was dreading an exquisitely painful operation; a tumor was to be removed from his neck. He was to be the first to recieve a completely painfree operation.
The surgical theater was packed with surgeons and medical students up to the rafters....
Would this prove a huge scientific discovery or another humbug?
It was a huge success and the medical world plus humankind (and animals) would never have to suffer painful surgical intervention again!
Horace Wells and Charles Jackson also laid claim to the actual discovery of Nitrous Oxide, as explained on page 51.
The three men had equal vestitures of discovery of the analgesic properties of Nitrous, Ether, Choroform and other more modern anesthetics.
Unfortunately for them, their curosity of these inhalable substances led to their addictions to it for the rest of their natural lives.
Greed and the need to be recognized for this invention also consumed the minds of these young scientists.
They all died without any recompense for their amazing discovery,
which is the mother of all rip-offs if you asked me.
Their lives were completely enslaved to the powers of these vapors and the legalities tied to the discovery.
I bought this amazing little book because I am engaged in a gigantic debate with an anesthesiologist.
She doesn't think my psychiatric technician students should be allowed to witness certain surgeries in the OR that she works in. I am seeking all powerful stories and arguments to bolster my position...and this is my position...
any all all persons who are intelligent and brave enough to WANT to witness a surgery SHOULD be allowed to witness one.
It's a valuable learning experience that should be shared by as many willing parties in controlled conditions.
She is too elitist, because she values only the up and coming MDs. The hospital is not a residency medical center.
It's a nice community hospital with some good learning going on...why not share the knowledge and allow science to flow from the OR onto new students who would value this experience?
I learned alot about anesthesiology by reading this moderatly thin volume...it's a bargain, too.
For 97 cents, I expanded my mind, built an arsenal of great arguments pro-surgical theatrics and can challenge the minds of even the most preMadonna-ist of anesthesiologists!
Tell me --- Now, you go girl!
And just watch me....Off I go!

Ether day
Great story for all in the medical community. A must for Anesthesiologist.

Great read
I've been involved in this story for a while now of the few books I've read, Fenster's is by far the best. It's a ripping read and fascinating story. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (3)

an excellent book
This is a well-written, entertaining book. I read it mostly due to my interest in sea-faring and the "age of sail," as the author terms it. However, I found myself enjoying it just as much for the story it tells about the gradual discovery of a cure for a disease that crippled sea-faring nations for centuries. Particularly enlightening is the story of the bureacracy, the British Admiralty, that stubbornly ignored the potential cure, even as it suffered tremendous losses for its ignorance, and how vital privilege and influence is in challenging and changing such an establishment. The book's only minor flaw is that it focuses primarily on one country, Britain, without elaborating on how or why France or Spain failed to find a cause and a cure. I would recommend it highly.

Not as deep as it could have been.
This book tackles a fascinating subject; scurvy which killed 100,000s of sailors. Many passages illuminate the causes and affects of this terrible disease, which quite simply results from a lack of vitamin C and causes the bond of the body to weaken, causing terrible bleeding in the gums and from the skin. The cure for scurvy was not understood for 100s of years and this book takes the reader on a quick stroll through this history. Why did Eskimoes, who ate no vegetables, not suffer scurvy? This question was posed by the English whose aptitude for eating limes gave them the nickname 'limies' since limes appeared to counteract scurvy. Why did preserved meat not work? Why did cooked meat or limes not work? These questions were eventually answered by the man who found out the truth behind the disease. This is the books central theme and actually its main detraction. Since the book focuses on the men, reminiscent of the recent book on the OED, it detracts slightly from the overall history of scurvy. Nevertheless this is a welcomed addition on the subject, and a fascinating read.

Seth J. Frantzman

For Sea Dogs and Landlubbers Alike
I've always had an interest in the Age of Sail, but only recently started doing some knuckle-down reading. This book is a pretty good place to start if you're getting into maritime history, or diseases in history. Or both!
Brown's book flows pretty well, is often entertaining and informative. He uses a few first-hand accounts of the disease (one by a ship's surgeon) that prove to be both disturbing and engaging. Descriptions are bountiful, and whilst some information tends to be repeated a few times, it's never condescendingly done, nor does it read too drily.
Some of the theories at the time on what the cause of scurvy was are just mind-boggling. Some of the symptoms included lethargy and depression, so it was decided that scurvy was caused by laziness on the sailors' part and the cure was to work them harder! Poor blighters! And people who lucked onto finding the actual cure were laughed out of town and their theories forgotten - seems to be a pattern in history, doesn't it?
Turns out the cure for scurvy had a major role in England's naval capabilities, including colonisation and battles with the Europeans. Uh-huh, if the Brits hadn't discovered it, we might all be speaking French, or German, or whatever...hmmm.
Anyway, I'd recommend this to anyone with even a vague interest in history - it's a good read, and you can make others nauseous by describing the disease's effects upon the human body, and the squallid conditions of the ships. Fun for the whole family, really. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Timid Author With a Powerful Story
From the viewpoint of the disability activist, the only major work on the history of epilepsy should be a civil rights book about the mistreatment of a minority group since ancient times. Dr Temkin will only admit that people with epilepsy have always been "objects of horror and disgust". Beyond that point his book is 2500 years of intellectual history, too much of it elaborate details of long discredited theories. Yet the author's research is so outstanding and his bibliography of 1120 books and articles so complete that anything less than a 5 star rating would be improper. Dr Temkin deserves special credit for uncovering Richard Caton's 1875 article "The Electric Discharges of the Brain". In 2001 the Medieval Madness Syndrome continues of people with epilepsy being rejected by family, friends, and employers because they have a "deliberately chosen illness". Our timid author declines to ask how this could be true 126 years after the actual cause of epilepsy was discovered. But his research demands an answer to that question. ... Read more

Book Description

This exceptional volume of De Symmetria and Underweysung der Messung bears the arms of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, a passionate collector of the work of Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528). Bound together in exquisite Bohemian vellum, forming a sammelband, these two works create an illustrated manual for still-life and portrait artists. De Symmetria is the first two books of the Latin edition of his elaborate study of human anatomy and proportion. Underweysung is the result of Dürer’s lifelong study of geometry, mathematics, and the methods of art. Both books demonstrate Dürer’s technical and artistic brilliance. This Octavo Edition shows these extraordinary works in remarkable detail and includes bibliographical data and English translations of Dürer’s texts. Commentary by David Price. ... Read more

Book Description

The twentieth century will be remembered as an era of great biomedical discoveries: the development of antibiotics and other lifesaving medications, new insights into the genetic code and the workings of the brain, refined techniques for cloning and organ transplantation. In 1953, when James Watson and Francis Crick identified the shape and composition of the DNA molecule, they transformed the science of genetics; today, with the aid of increasingly sophisticated computers and imaging devices, biomedical science continues to advance at a rapid pace. But many of these discoveries seem mysterious to members of the general public who have never heard of x-ray crystallography or are unfamiliar with the ways that genes and proteins direct the workings of the body. Now, from one of the world's most prestigious medical institutions, this clearly written and richly illustrated volume helps to unravel the mysteries, allowing general readers and students to explore biomedical research and to understand its impact on the fight against human disease.

In his introduction, Philip Leder describes a revolution that "rumbles through every area of biomedicine immunology, brain chemistry, parasitology, developmental biology granting an intimacy with nature's workings, at a deep, molecular level, once unimaginable." Different sections of the book explore different questions: What can the study of fruit flies or worms tell us about our own genetic makeup? How does a cell "decide" to become male or female? How do our eyes perceive color and movement? How does our immune system work to fight disease, and what happens when the system malfunctions?

Exploring the Biomedical Revolution tells the human stories behind the research. We see the scientists' excitement as they develop magnetic imagery to "spy" on the brain's activity. We see competition and cooperation among scientists who work to develop treatments for Lyme disease, sickle cell anemia, and AIDS. We see some creative problem-solving as one scientist inserts the gene for luciferase, a protein from fireflies, into a strain of tuberculosis thus producing lab samples that glow in the dark. Throughout, these stories also show the patients' perspective, detailing the symptoms of malaria or cystic fibrosis or showing how the treatment of hemophilia has changed over the years.

Written by leading science writers as a part of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's public education mission, this inexpensive book stimulates our imagination with numerous illustrations a life-sized diagram of a human brain, a dramatically magnified picture of T-cells attacking a cancer cell, computer-generated depictions of the influenza virus. Several of the sections include fold-out charts, including a colorful yet disturbing montage of the different microbes that threaten our health, and a flow chart that shows how scientists work to battle genetic disease. And with the aid of a stereoscopic viewer (included), the book also provides some striking three-dimensional images the same computer-generated images that help scientists to understand complex biological structures. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Absolutely wonderful book!
~This book is very well-written, composed of many short (c. 2 pg) articles on various subjects relating to biology/medicine, such as Sickle Cell disorder and Huntington's Disease. Not only are these articles very informative, they are interesting. ~On top of that, there are some really great pictures, including a pull-out poster of deadly microbes. ~The material covered in this book is fascinating, but it's not something that you think about every day (unless you're a biologist or you're really into biomedicine). It stimulates thought, and brings you to the realization that, yes, this is sort of cool. I was somewhat interested in the broad category of biology and medicine, but when I bought this book, I was affirmed in my belief that biomedicine is a remarkably intriguing field of study. ~I would strongly recommend this book to anyone remotely interested in biomedicine. It is a truly amazing book! 5 stars!

Focuses on explanations which are easy to understand
Exploring the Biomedical Revolution examines the work of frontline scientists and how they are changing the face of modern medicine, with chapters presenting articles on research enhanced by vivid color photos. Many titles on biomedicine are inaccessible to lay audiences; not so this book, which focuses on explanations which are easy to understand, yet with plenty of scientific detail added for those involved in health care. Highly recommended. ... Read more