Book Description

"An entertaining and informative account of the unusual personalities and sometimes bitter rivalries of some of the world’s great-est scientific minds."--Publishers Weekly

"Hellman’s stories, other than taking greats down a peg by illustrating their jealousy, vitriol, or stubbornness, offer a few cautionary lessons about impediments to scientific progress....A pleasant compendium of amusements and lessons for science buffs."–Booklist

"Hellman reveals just how human science can be.…While such fights, which sometimes got personal and even led to individual suffering and ruin, are not pretty, they are informative."–San Diego Union Tribune

"Unusual insight into the development of science.…I was excited by this book and enthusiastically recommend it to general as well as scientific audiences."–American Scientist

"Hellman has assembled a series of entertaining tales.… Many fine examples of heady invective without parallel in our time."–Nature ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Serious Fun
What a delightful page-turner this book turned out to be. I needed information, fast, and this sounded like a good buy. It sure was. The author makes very complex ideas and medical procedures understandable for lay people, but doesn't sacrifice the seriousness of his subject. His wry wit does not demean the eminent and not-so-eminent figures he writes about but, rather, brings them back to life. In fact, the author himself seems to be sitting in the room with you, relaxed and talking about some people you both know.

Engaging overview
A sprightly romp through three hundred years of medical history, focusing on ten major contretemps. Entertaining and educational, it's also a cautionary tale for would-be medical researchers: many of the "heroes" of these tales (Semmelweis, Bernard, Franklin) meet extremely unkind fates. If you enjoyed Hellman's previous outing on feuds in science, you'll find here more of the same. ... Read more

Book Description

Gout has fascinated medical writers and cultural commentators from the time of ancient Greece. Historically seen as a disease afflicting upper-class males of superior wit, genius, and creativity, it has included among its sufferers Erasmus, the Medici, Edward Gibbon, Samuel Johnson, Immanuel Kant, and Robert Browning. Gout has also been the subject of powerful medical folklore, viewed as a disease that protects its sufferers and assures long life. This dazzlingly insightful and readable book investigates the history of gout and through it offers a new perspective on medical and social history, sex, prejudice, and class, and explains why gout was gender specific. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A fashionable ailment
This is the third review I have written on Socio-medical histories by Roy Porter. I read and reviewed this book, "Gout - the Patrician Malady" at the same time as his more general medical histories "Cambridge Illustrated History: Medicine" - and "The Greatest Benefit to Mankind". I wanted to compare these books with Porter's work on more specific topics. Porter mentions Gout in passing in both his general histories, but I wondered how he would deal with a more specific subject which had the space of an entire book to develop.

He certainly brings the same light writing style to this book as he does to his other subjects and I it made fun reading for what at times could have been very dull and dry.

Porter turns a medical subject into a very interesing social history, he overlays the historical recognition of Gout, its rise in prevalance and treatment, as well as the development of it as a fashionable, upper-class ailment very well. He does this by drawing in the literature and art of the times to track its social progress. Porter certainly shows himself a master of the subject. However, I didn't like the way he sectioned the book. It felt clumsy to me. It is in three parts Histories, Cultures and Goutometries and they seemed to overlap especially the last two sections. Although I did love the chapter on Art in 'Goutometries'. Perhaps the most interesting chapter for me was the in the 'Cultures' section "Indian Summer; Romantic and Victorian Gout" which traced the literary tradition against the actual social status of Gout through the nineteenth century using representations of Gout in Disraeli and Austen to George Eliot. The most amusing thing, I thought, was Gout as a symbol of social status - Gout was for the upper classes, and rather fashionable - and this resulted in many non-gout illnesses being diagnosed as Gout.

At times I found the book rather long - but I rather think that was me rather than the writing. Most of my interest lies in the Georgian period which was really the peak of the Gout popularity. I wish it had been illustrated in colour too. The only illustrations at all were in the Goutometries and those were black reproductions on standard paper. The book probably has limited interest to most people - but for lovers of Georgian period or medical histories I think this is well worth reading. ... Read more

Book Description

In Christian Science on Trial, historian Rennie B. Schoepflin shows how Christian Science healing became a viable alternative to medicine at the end of the nineteenth century. Christian Scientists did not simply evangelize for their religious beliefs; they engaged in a healing business that offered a therapeutic alternative to many patients for whom medicine had proven unsatisfactory. Tracing the evolution of Christian Science during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Christian Science on Trial illuminates the movement's struggle for existence against the efforts of organized American medicine to curtail its activities.

Physicians exhibited an anxiety and tenacity to trivialize and control Christian Scientists which indicates a lack of confidence among the turn-of-the-century medical profession about who controlled American health care. The limited authority of the medical community becomes even clearer through Schoepflin's examination of the pitched battles fought by physicians and Christian Scientists in America's courtrooms and legislative halls over the legality of Christian Science healing. While the issues of medical licensing, the meaning of medical practice, and the supposed right of Americans to therapeutic choice dominated early debates, later confrontations saw the legal issues shift to matters of contagious disease, public safety, and children's rights. Throughout, Christian Scientists revealed their ambiguous status as medical practitioners and religious healers.

The 1920s witnessed an unsteady truce between American medicine and Christian Science. The ambivalence of many Americans about the practice of religious healing persisted, however. In Christian Science on Trial we gain a helpful historical context for understanding late–twentieth-century public debates over children's rights, parental responsibility, and the authority of modern medicine. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Reality of Christian Science in the Real World
I have been class taught in Christian Science and left the cult to practice true Christianity. I read many, many books on the history and teachings of Christian Science. This is the first book that clearly explains the history of medicine and how the time was ripe for Eddy to be successful. The book deals with some doctrines and history of Eddy. I think it is important to read for example "God's Perfect Child" by Caroline Frazer first to get a solid background of Eddy, her teachings and the history of Christian Science.

I have wondered for a long time why Eddy florished and what the early conflicts between medicine and Christian Science (faith healing, New Thought)were. Rennie Schoepflin includes a lot of fresh material and clearly explains the so called "healing" practices of Christian Science Practitioners.

To my knowledge this is the only book available that deals with this subject. Christian Science on Trial is well written, and not another biography of Eddy and Christian Science. The author documents court cases that I have not read elsewhere.

If you read only one book about Eddy this is destined to be a classic. ... Read more

Amazon.com

More than a million infant boys are circumcised every year in America, the highest occurrence of this procedure in the world. Why? Out of sheer cultural habit, concludes David Gollaher in his groundbreaking study, Circumcision. The tremendous momentum behind Gollaher's account is generated by one simple question: what is known about this most common of procedures? Alarmingly, precious little. Gollaher remedies that problem by tracing the historical roots of circumcision as a rite of passage into manhood in various ancient cultures before bringing the reader to 19th-century America, when circumcision rates skyrocketed through endorsements by the nascent American medical profession, which credited circumcision with exaggerated health benefits. Circumcision would eventually turn into a mark of class distinction, and the surgery would become entrenched in modern medical practices, despite scant study of its benefits, dangers, or side effects. Gollaher is to be commended for maintaining an even perspective on a practice that is sure to become increasingly controversial; he allows the research itself to fascinate and illuminate. As expected, there are many unsettling graphic descriptions in this book, but its most horrifying revelation is its most casual: the incontrovertible fact that circumcision remains the least understood--yet most widely practiced--surgery in the United States. --Sumi Hahn Almquist ... Read more

Reviews (12)

To paraphrase Kirkus, it never WAS so enjoyable.
The value of what medical historian Gollaher has accomplished here cannot be overstated. By producing a book of such intellectual independence and quality, he not only demystifies circumcision's cultural cachets but virtually demolishes its far-flung (and variously far-fetched) utilitarian rationales as well.

Tracing its long and stubborn history, Gollaher examines with clarity the confounded insights of circumcision apologists from Philo and Maimonides to Bruno Bettelheim and John Harvey Kellogg. But this is by Gollaher's own admission "a history, not a polemic or tract for the times," and therein lies the achievement. Maintaining an attitude of rigorous detachment, he declines to proselytize in favor of anti-cutting activists yet ultimately supports their brief by letting evidence rather than emotion hold the floor. And his summary of the foreskin restoration movement, the first to appear in a mainstream press publication, will destigmatize its appeal to a larger audience.

There are a few gaps in his otherwise meticulous research-- his language regarding sexual consequences is equivocal, and he curiously overlooks the Anand-Hickey neonatal pain investigation in favor of less reliable studies-- but the sweep and relevance of the project are no less comprehensive. "Circumcision" will go a long way toward laying the dual ghost of the procedure's imagined medical and behavioral benefits, and thus hasten the day when it is consigned to the obsolescent realm of other, ironically more advanced forms of bloodletting.

Cultural History of Circumcision
This is not an academic history text or a manual for parents who are trying to decide whether to circumcise their infant sons. But it will probably be of interest to both groups; after all, the list of books covering male circumcision is quite a short one, and Gollaher's book is a fascinating read.

David Gollaher provides a very readable cultural history of the practice of circumcision for the general public, explaining the orgins and prevalence of this custom in modern American medical practice. He succeeds in his goal of making the familiar strange and the strange familiar. The strange is made familiar as Gollaher discusses the role that circumcision has played in a wide variety of cultures from aboriginal cultures to Judaism to Islam. And the familiar becomes more and more strange as Gollaher reviews the forces that caused circumcision to become adopted into the medical community in America. The more one reads about what the foreskin is and does, the odder it seems that this is such a routine procedure.

I'd recommend this to anyone interested in a fairly balanced historical account of circumcision and the forces that have made it such an entrenched practice in the West.

Not helpful in our decision; lots of fringe info
I did not find this book to very relevant when trying to decide on circumcision for our son. Bottom line is that it is a preference issue and not black and white. I'm sure the book is excellent in it's scholarship, but did not help me sort through the RELEVANT, CURRENT reasons pro and against circumsizing.

There is lots of information about primitive circumcision rituals in many other countries and much comparison with female circumcision (?). There is also alot of information about wierd groups that are trying to restore men's foreskin.

I guess it is good to know some about the history of circumcusion and why we are doing it today.....but, I really wanted more current, relevant reasons not to circumsize.

Accurate but Cursory
David Gollaher has delivered an effective synopsis of the history of circumcision, the first of which has been published since the late nineteenth century. Much has happened in the last 100 years. It is unclear what motivated Gollaher, a historian with his doctorate in history from Harvard University, but his conclusions are dead on: if circumcision were a new medical procedure it would never garner favor or approval. Other than a few minor factual errors, his account is accurate. By giving a factual representation of the actions of circumcision's current adovates, he portrays these individuals in a very negative way. For this reason, those who favor male circumcision will find his book unacceptably accurate. I felt the book barely scratched the surface of circumcision's rich history. Each chapter left me wanting more information. I also expected more historical analysis. Rather than just recounting the historical facts Gollaher, with the benefit of his expensive education, should have provided the reader with an understanding of how the facts fit into a historical context. The facts are interesting, but what do they mean? The book, perhaps to assure a certain number of sales, is aimed at the general public, who will not doubt find the topic and treatment of it interesting. For those interested in circumcision on an academic or activist level, the book does not offer much new information. Still, it is reassuring that a mainstream American publisher had the courage to put an accurate portrayal of circumcision in print.

Mothers choice.
<> Why? The reason is that western women prefer circumsized males, though they would never admit that this was the reason. Rather they always cite questionable and dated research indicating medical benifits. This is a misandrist act of mutilation done for the vain preference of mothers. ... Read more

Book Description

The follow-up to the widely praised Opium, In The Arms of Morpheus is the shocking story of how a simple but bewitching substance, touted as a miracle drug, enslaved unwitting generations of 19th century writers, artists and ordinary citizens. Extracted from opium, the sap of the poppy, this popular drug was welcomed into the homes of rich and poor alike, in the guise of medicinal uses in the form of laudanum and opium elixirs, and as pure, undisguised morphine.

Laudanum contained opium, saffron, cinnamon and alcohol. In the spirit of 19th century progress, other opium concoctions were created and a whole industry in quackery erupted. In both Britain and North America, opium was mixed with everything imaginable: mercury, hashish, cayenne pepper, ether, chloroform, belladonna and whisky, sherry, wine and brandy.

In the Arms of Morpheus examines how the drinking of laudanum for medical reasons developed and how it became an everyday safeguard against pain, poverty, and boredom. Opium eating was catapulted into fame by the confessions of Thomas De Quincy and insinuated itself into the lives and works of writers such as Louisa May Alcott, Lord Byron, Shelley, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, John Keats, the Brontës, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and many others.

Thoroughly researched and copiously illustrated with photographs, engravings, advertisements, movie stills, pulp magazine and dime novel covers and paraphernalia, In the Arms of Morpheus continues the history of opium's emergence as an omnipresent and sometimes devastating influence. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The history of laudanum, morphine and patent medicines
In Arms Of Morpheus is the history of laudanum, morphine and patent medicines is revealed from the addictive growth of a drug widely available as an over the counter medicine to treat ailments ranging from boredom to a lack of creativity. Manufacturers claimed all kinds of cures from the use of morphine: In Arms Of Morpheus traces the history of such contentions and includes plenty of ads, photos, cartoons and other embellishments to make for lively general-interest reading. ... Read more

Book Description

Today hundreds of thousands of Americans carry pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) within their bodies. These battery-powered machines—small computers, in fact—deliver electricity to the heart to correct dangerous disorders of the heartbeat. But few doctors, patients, or scholars know the history of these devices or how "heart-rhythm management" evolved into a multi-billion-dollar manufacturing and service industry.

Machines in Our Hearts tells the story of these two implantable medical devices. Kirk Jeffrey, a historian of science and technology, traces the development of knowledge about the human heartbeat and follows surgeons, cardiologists, and engineers as they invent and test a variety of electronic devices. Numerous small manufacturing firms jumped into pacemaker production but eventually fell by the wayside, leaving only three American companies in the business today.Jeffrey profiles pioneering heart surgeons, inventors from the realms of engineering and medical research, and business leaders who built heart-rhythm management into an industry with thousands of employees and annual revenues in the hundreds of millions. As Jeffrey shows, the pacemaker (first implanted in 1958) and the ICD (1980) embody a paradox of high-tech health care: these technologies are effective and reliable but add billions to the nation's medical bill because of the huge growth in the number of patients who depend on implanted devices to manage their heartbeats. ... Read more

Book Description

An instructive, often humorous, chronicle of how the worms and germs of the tropical world have made and are making their way north. We live in a fool's paradise, comforted, despite all evidence to the contrary, that we are insulated from the scourging microbial and parasitic diseases of the tropics. Yet past and present history reveals that many of the "classic" tropical diseases are, in reality, temperate too yellow fever in Philadelphia, the Ebola virus in Maryland and Virginia, and the Mexican pig tapeworm in Brooklyn. Who Gave Pinta to the Santa Maria? traces the origin of these extraordinary, but by no means isolated, cases. Did the crew of the Santa Maria bring syphilis (Pinta) back from the New World? Did Charles Darwin suffer a protracted illness and eventually die from the bite of an assassin bug while traveling through Argentina? Writing with enthusiasm and from wide medical experience, Dr. Robert Desowitz is a veritable Sherlock Holmes of parasites and pathogens. Spanning a human history of over 50,000 years, Who Gave Pinta to the Santa Maria? also looks ahead to the constant dangers of microbial diseases of unprecedented savagery"Doomsday bugs" creeping into the industrialized world. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A definite read for those interested in epidemiology
This is one of the most captivating books on disease written. The facts in this book are far more interesting than any fiction written on the same subjects. Robert S. Desowitz does an excellent job of explaining these topics for those unfamiliar with tropical disease and epidemiology, but doesn't make the book boring for those with a vast knowledge in this area. This is a must read for anyone interested in parasitic diseases.

An interesting but limited discussion of tropical diseases
Robert Desowitz's Who gave Pinta to the Santa Maria? (published in other countries under the less silly title of "Tropical Diseases") deals with the spread and treatment of a number of infectious diseases, with emphasis primarily on yellow fever and malaria in North America. The book approaches its subject from a primarily historical standpoint--the chapters are arranged in terms of chronology rather than by disease, and the biological details of the diseases are only discussed to the extent that they're necessary to understand what was happening historically.

Desowitz's treatment of the subjects he chooses is generally very good. His style is friendly and readable without particularly ever seeming to be too drawn out, and as a nonspecialist I feel like I learned a fair amount from the book. It's also very interesting, and a bit disturbing, to read Desowitz's speculations about what lies ahead for infectious diseases in the new century. However, the scope of the book is a little narrower than I would have liked. A number of diseases often viewed as "tropical" in origin--cholera immediately comes to mind--are mentioned only in passing. Also, with the exception of a brief chapter about England, it seems like the only times the book ventures outside the U.S. and its territories (which included Cuba after the Spanish-American War, where the transmission vectors for yellow fever were discovered) is to discuss the efforts of the U.S.-based Rockefeller Foundation. There are a lot of places in the world where infectious diseases are still killing many people, and a number of organizations not based in the U.S. that are working tirelessly to do something about it--it seems like at least a chapter devoted to this would have been in order.

That said, Desowitz does a fine job of charting yellow fever, malaria, and a few other diseases (notably Chagas' disease) through American history, and both the stories he tells and the historical facts he reveals are often very interesting. At the very least, Desowitz has convinced me that this is a subject that I ought to read more about.

A brief history of scarry diseses
I really liked this book. It really introduced to me the history of some of the most scarry diseases of our past and present. This book is very technical with great examples of subject points. Anybody reading it I recommend a big thick dictionary in your lap and a empty stomach.

Disjointed but entertaining discussion of disease
WHO GAVE PINTA is a disjointed but entertaining discussion of how several diseases were conquered. The book's disjointedness, however, makes it somewhat difficult to follow and leaves more questions open than it closes. For example, the author introduces yellow fever, degresses to other diseases and microbes, then returns several times to add more to the yellow fever story. It is easy to get confused between microbes, diseases and disease conquerors. Perhaps that's the price of Desowitz' attempt to portray his accounts chronologically rather than by disease or microbe. Desowitz also touches on various diseases' effects on culture, history and future events without exploring any topic in any depth, which is more tantalizing and frustrating than it is enjoyable. I don't think this book is as good as many other recents books of its genre, but is worth the price ... Read more

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Reviews (1)

Wondering where the Canadian Health Care System is Headed?
Why would anybody other than a medical historian (or an aging doctor such as myself) be interested in a book on the history of medicine? Jacalyn Duffin gives us all the answer in the final chapter of this book (How to Research a Question in Medical History) when she writes: "No medical subject - be it a person, a practice, an institution, a technology, or an idea - can be fully explored without also studying its political, social, economic, and cultural environment." In this introductory text (compiled from medical student lectures at Queen's University) one gets a clear view of how medicine reflects society, and how health care providers are influenced by non-medical factors in society at large. Although this is not a textbook of Canadian medical history, it is written by a Canadian for a Canadian audience. This is particularly valuable as many of us who are wondering where the Canadian health care system is heading, can get at least an overview from this text of how our current system developed.

The text is organized by topic (e.g. History of Anatomy) rather than as a continuous chronology. This makes the reading much simpler for a relatively uninformed reader, as only one concept at a time is explored. As well, chapters can be read in any order, depending on the reader's particular interests. The exceptional nature of this book is probably based on the relatively rare characteristics of the author: she is a practicing physician (haematologist) as well as a formally trained historian. As a result the book covers both important historical trends as well as the difficulties facing individual practitioners as they try and alleviate human suffering.

My favourite chapter was entitled "Science of Suffering: History of Pathology." The reader is given a clear understanding of how the concept of 'disease' developed, and both the strengths and weaknesses of this diagnostic labelling. The chapter on blood (Why is Blood Special?) literally 'pulses' with excitement and enthusiasm, obviously reflecting the author's particular interests as well as the historical importance of the topic.

Throughout this text, there is a refreshing absence of both medical jargon and dense academic prose, making reading the book an enjoyable process. My one quibble is that Professor Duffin's elegant descriptions of the importance of a population approach to health fails to ask one question that always intrigues me. Does the focus on a population health approach have within it the inevitable potential to put differential values on human life? Was the eugenics movement a result of a 'population health' perspective? In Canada, with universal medicare and no private practice option (as occurs in the United Kingdom), might someone with an 'unimportant' disease eventually be 'uncovered' by medicare? Does focusing on the greater good inevitably result in inhumane or unfair treatment to some? Perhaps a topic for a second edition.

So once again who should read this book? Clearly it is a must read for medical students and doctors interested in medical history. However, it would be a shame to limit this fine text to that small audience. This book can be enjoyed by anybody interested in understanding health care or who is just interested in medical history. It deserves a wide audience. ... Read more

Book Description

Here is a text for scholars, for students of Chinese language and culture, and for those clinicians (particularly herbalists) who recognize a relationship between their clinical skill and their understanding of Chinese thought. The author, Hsu Ta-Chun, wrote in the 18th century immediately prior to the introduction of Western science and medicine to China. He achieved recognition and influenced the history of medicine because the medicine he championed was pristine in logic and method. In any period, or any culture, Hsu would have been a remarkable thinker. A literate, broadly skilled scholar, he practiced medicine as an expression of personal and social responsibility. Even with his articulate and profound attachment to classical ideas, he was able to recognize progress in medicine, while retaining an ability to critically examine popular ideas and modern physicians. He could both recognize others for their accomplishments, and scathe with uncompromising prose those whom he felt corrupted the art of medicine. He was a conservative who understood the practical necessities of patient care.

In his extensive prologue Unschuld includes a detailed analysis of Hsu's work. We learn that Chinese medicine does differ from Western medicine, offering a holistic view of disease and the human who suffers. However, we also learn that Hsu and his European contemporaries would not have regarded one another as strangers. Hsu's 100 essays are broad and fascinating. The scope of these essays gives us a view of Chinese medicine that is whole and inclusive. His discussions of illness, pathoconditions, formulas, and substances are often more lucid than the explanations offered by modern texts. Some are of particular interest to historians, philologists, and philosophers; others are of direct interest to clinicians. By speaking his opinions clearly and reporting on an art with which he was deeply intimate, Hsu has bequeathed us a richly detailed vision of Chinese medicine at its height. The essays read well and demonstrate that rigorous scholarship can draw back the curtains of time, language, and preconceived notion to reveal the mind and thought of an exceptional individual. By carefully selecting terms that are suitable for the variety of circumstances in which a Chinese character is used, Unschuld helps us to refine our understanding of important Chinese concepts. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Forgotten Traditions of Ancient Chinese Medicine
This book is a translation of a text from 1757 by Hsu Ta-ch'un, translated by Paul U. Unschuld.

This book will be of particular interest to those who have a background in traditional Chinese medicine and are knowledgeable with TCM terminology. It is not a book recommended for beginners wishing to study TCM.

The book is fascinating, delving deeper into the mysteries of TCM classifications and diagnosis and will be difficult for anyone trained in TCM to put down.

The chapters are short, to the point and full of ancient wisdom. One chapter I enjoyed deals with asking the patient for his/her preferences and aversions, what gives them joy or misery, etc. This will further enable the trained practitioner to diagnose the nature of the patient's illness. Fascinating reading.

This is not an herbal material medica and if anyone is looking for such a book I would not suggest this. It's more for diagnosis and understanding the nature of illnesses rather than specific herbs and formulas. ... Read more

Book Description

The classic account of medical malpractice in English history. ... Read more

Book Description

Bacillus anthracis—anthrax—had largely faded from public consciousness until it resurfaced as a terrorist weapon in 2001. It was always with us, lurking in the soil and hosted by our livestock. Long before it was identified as a specific bacterium in the late 1800s, "anthrax" was a catchphrase for a variety of diseases and symptoms, from ancient biblical plagues to a painful carbuncle on George Washington’s leg. Only when industrialization turned anthrax into a widespread disease that threatened economies did a true understanding of Bacillus anthracis begin to emerge.

This history of anthrax follows the development of our understanding of the disease, beginning in the 18th century, when science began breaking ground on the subject, until the present, when anthrax is feared more as an agent of biowarfare than as a health hazard harbored by the environment. There are three appendices: the first outlines the reaction of Manchester, New Hampshire, to the 2001 anthrax attacks; the second documents workplace warnings to anthrax-prone workers; and the third lists novels that involve anthrax. Bibliographical references are also provided. ... Read more

Book Description

This book is an introduction to the history of university-trained physicians from the Middle Ages to the eighteenth-century Enlightenment.While considered elite (in reputation and rewards) and successful, we know little of their clinical effectiveness. To modern eyes their theory and practice often seems bizarre. But historical evidence reveals that they were judged on other criteria, and this book asserts that these physicians helped to construct and meet the expectations of society. ... Read more

Book Description

Memoirs of Earle Steele, a fifty year employee of the Traverse City State Hospital.Steele's first affiliation with the hospital was at age nine when his father began employment at the institution.Ten year's later, the younger Steele began his own employment with the hospital.At the time of his retirment in 1984, Steele was the Superintedent of the Grounds Department.Between 1984 and 1989 he helped continue the devolopment of the hospital musuem and served as curator until the closing of the institution in 1984.The book contains black and white photos retrieved from the local historical society as well as illustrations by Steele. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

History and Memories
Wonderful historical reading, very well written. Certainly brought back mamories of my childhood. Takes one from the old concept of 'snake pit' to well run independant city of its own. Truly warm, loving, funny and full of information. It was sad to see this wonderful concept of mental helath care disappear forever. ... Read more

Book Description

"An erudite history of medicine...a welcome addition to any medical collection." -- Booklist

How does medical science advance? Popular historians would have us believe that a few heroic individuals, possessing superhuman talents, lead an unselfish quest to better the human condition. But as renowned Yale surgeon and medical historian Sherwin B. Nuland shows in this brilliant collection of linked life portraits, the theory bears little resemblance to the truth.

Through the centuries, the men and women Who have shaped the world of medicine have been not only very human people but also very much the products of their own times and places. Presenting compelling studies of great medical innovators and pioneers, Doctors gives us the extraordinary story of the development of modern medicine -- told through the lives of the physician-scientists whose deeds and determination paved the way. Ranging from the legendary Father of Medicine, Hippocrates, to Andreas Vesalius, whose Renaissance masterwork on anatomy offered invaluable new insight into the human body, to Helen Taussig, founder of pediatric cardiology and co-inventor of the original "blue baby" operation, here is a volume filled with the spirit of ideas and the thrill of discovery. Says The New York Times, "Doctors can be warmly recommended. Dr. Nuland succeeds in bringing his subjects vividly to life, and he leaves you with a much better understanding of what they achieved."

"Eloquent, informed, deeply committed." -- Los Angeles Times ... Read more

Reviews (7)

A good book, especially for the novice.
This is a very well written book especially if the sciences, history or medicine is not your strong suite. Mr. Nuland took a potentially boring subject (what history subject isn't?) and has made it very interesting to read.

I like math, but in school and college, I never did well with subjects that related to history and especially with science. I don't even read that much. However, I could not put this book down. I liked it so much, I have read it 3 times. It is a very enriching book. Thanks Mr. Nuland for restoring my confidence in being able to comprehend subjects that deal with medicine and history! My wish list is for Mr. Nuland to put this out on audio cassette.

Thomas Jue

A Well Written and Riveting History of Medicine
In this book Nuland takes the reader on an odyssey of western medical history spanning antiquity to modern medicine. It takes brief snapshots of a few of the physicians who have molded medicine into what it is today. He vividly brings to life colorful people like Vesalius who refused to accept the status quo of his time, but instead rejected popular theories because they did not agree with experimental results.

This is an inspirational must read for those who are either in the field of medicine or enjoy medical history.

An Intellectual Disneyland
Nuland's works are like pop-up books for adults. First, he gives you the big picture, an overview. Then, he focuses in on his subject and then -- POP! -- your reward, in the form of tasty tidbits of consistently obscure and delightful information.

This book, Doctors, is no exception. Throughout the book, you're learning without even realizing it, and at the same time, gaining historical and philosophical insight into the progress of medicine through the ages. From ancient Greece to the modern halls of medicine, Nuland will take you along through a Disneyland of exploration.

From his writing, it's easy to tell that even after a prestigious career, he's still as excited by medicine -- and as awed by its great practitioners -- as he was on his very first day of pre-med.

Nuland's prose IS a challenge; he usually assumes some prior knowledge on the part of readers, and a university and science background are helpful. If you've got that, though, then hop aboard for the ride of your life. I guarantee you, you'll never look at an emergency room the same way again.

Lots of information but too dull to read!
The author has a talent for making even interesting topics deadly dull. forget this one.

A required reading for any medical student.
Dr. Nuland gives us a riveting review of the triumphs and mistakes, the successes and failures, and the brilliance and blunders of the giants on whose shoulders we stand now and who have taken us to our present understanding of the art of healing. Anyone interested in pursuing a career in medicine should read this book. ... Read more

Book Description

Nearly nine times as many died from diseases during the American Revolution as did from wounds. Poor diet, inadequate sanitation and sometimes a lack of basic medical care caused such diseases as dysentery, scurvy, typhus, smallpox and others to decimate the ranks.From a physician's perspective, this is a unique history of the American Revolution and how diseases impacted the execution of the war effort. The medical histories of Washington and King George III are also provided. ... Read more

Book Description

A gripping account of the 1918 flu pandemic and the modern-day hunt for this elusive and deadly virus

In 1918, a flu virus more lethal than any that has come along since swept through the world, from the remotest villages in Arctic climates to crowded U.S.cities to the battlefields of Europe, killing forty million people. Yet, despite its devastating toll and the probability that other deadly pandemics await on the horizon, it was relegated to a footnote in history. The Devil's Flu is the extraordinary story of 1918's forgotten tragedy and of the global scientific community's effort to avert another such disaster.

The 1918 flu still so intrigues and frightens experts in the field that in 1998, a group of respected scientists journeyed to the Norwegian Arctic Circle in search of the mysterious killer. In The Devil's Flu, Davies captures the excitement of the hunt and the intense rivalries within the scientific community, and paints a vivid portrait of the eccentric scientists bent on capturing the prize information that could hold the key to our future safety. And as far as the next pandemic is concerned, scientists agree: it's not a question of if, but when.
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Reviews (6)

A look at a re-emerging lethal threat...
While researching FINAL EPIDEMIC, my novel of the re-emergence of the Spanish Flu of 1918,I was fortunate enough to have one of the epidemeologists I used as a source send me Pete Davies' book in its original British title (it was issued in 1999 in England under the title: "Catching Cold.")

Then as now, the depth of Davies' own research into both the history and the contemporary study of the H1N1 killer flu virus is as impressive as it is extensive. THE DEVIL'S FLU ranks with the best of medical non-fiction narrative on this unfortunately again-timely subject.

A startling fact about the original 1918 plague that devastated humanity --notable, since it occurred within the lifespan of many still alive today-- is the collective amnesia that so often surrounds that event.

Few Americans realize that it's extremely probable that they have a family member only a generation or two ago who fell prey to the deadly Spanish Flu pandemic; tales of when the cry "bring out your dead!" echoed along American streets were seldom passed from those who witnessed it to those of us who descended from the survivors. It takes a trip to virtually any cemetery to bring the death toll home to us, as marker after marker identifies the victims of the 1918 flu pandemic. Worldwide, deaths in 1918-1919 totalled at least 40 million humans, and very likely as many as 100 million-- all within a timespan measured in months.

As I write this, an avian influenza virus not unlike that which triggered the 1918 pandemic, if forcing the mass slaughter of chickens and other birds throughout Asia. It is an attempt to forestall the very real possibility that the virus (which already has infected human victims through bird-to-human transmission, and currently has a 70 percent mortality rate among human victims) could acquire genes which would allow for human-to-human transmission.

During research for FINAL EPIDEMIC, I interviewed dozens of medical researchers and epidemeologists. Without exception, each stated that their greatest fear was a resurgence of a influenza virus similar to the 1918 variant, which through incubation in humans mutated into a unprecedented killer of humanity. Based on the cyclic nature of flu pandemics, I was told, mankind was already overdue-- and, worse: woefully unprepared-- for such an emerging viral Shiva.

Influenza was, and remains, a universal threat: As A.W. Crosby wrote in "America's Forgotten Pandemic," his own classic examination of the 1918 Spanish Flu, "I know how not to get AIDS. I don't know how not to get the flu."

Davies' book on this reemerging threat deserves attention, as he reminds us that this kind of horrific killer virus is considered by the medical community a certainity to arise again.
At best, we can only prepare ourselves -- and wait.

--Earl Merkel
Author, FINAL EPIDEMIC (PenguinPutnam 2002)
and DIRTY FIRE (PenguinPutnam 2003)

A pox on all our houses
The HIV epidemic has been called the deadliest scourge ever to hit mankind, and so it may prove to be in the decades to come as the body count piles up. What is astonishing is that the world seems to have forgotten what was, before AIDS, the most lethal infection ever to visit the world, just 85 years ago -- the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918. It came seemingly out of nowhere and spread all over the planet, reaching into its remotest corners, and left 30 million people dead in its wake. The spread was helped enormously by troop movements in the First World War. What made this flu so frightening was the speed with which it killed; there were reports of people leaving for work feeling fine, and dropping dead before they reached the office.

Davies' book holds our attention while he is describing the flu epidemic and its effects on the patients and survivors; where the book bogs down is in the chapters on the search for what caused it. A more detailed historical examination of the impact the flu had on the world in various countries and societies would have made it a more interesting book. Davies writes well, and his warning that the flu merits more respect than being just an annoying annual pest needs to be taken seriously. He makes a good case that a return of a devastating flu virus is not a matter of if but of when, and this time around its spread will be immeasurably aided by jet travel. As Davies points out, as lethal as the AIDS epidemic has been, and will continue to be, one can, with good luck and common sense, avoid being infected with HIV; but in the event of a return of a killer flu, how can you stop breathing?

Why a Duck?
This is a book for technical readers as well as a nice history of flu epidemics, especially the one in 1918 that killed 30-40 million and the Hong Kong 1997 avian flu which had the potential to claim 100 million lives. As long as flu's have been around, there haven't been a lot of books written on it and publishers even turned away authors seeking to document the Influenza Epidemic of 1918 - 19 simply 'because it was over'.

Good facts, lousy characterization
Davies presents an entertaining (and sometimes chilling) summary of facts about the 1918 epidemic. More useful and interesting, however, are his summaries of more recent, even less well-known, events such as the 1997 Hong Kong outbreak and the 1976 swine flu debacle.

It is interesting to note that his depiction of the men investigating the 1918 virus is universally glowing and complimentary, while his depiction of the women involved is either flat or entirely vilifying. His depiction of Kirsty Duncan seems particularly vitriolic, and one has to wonder if he was taking some cold shoulder just a touch too personally.

Not Much History
All in all an interesting read, however there is little in the way of actual history and anecdotes about this 'forgotten epidemic' - The book focuses far more on the modern day hunt for the virus than any sort of historical examination of what happened during the epidemic. An interesting read, however, people interested solely a historical examination of the virus should probably look elsewhere. ... Read more