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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
What an overwhelming assortment of medical mayhem! Between self-inflicted horrors, the terrifying vagaries of accidents, and the practically suicidal experiences of soldiers and sailors, people have had some bizarre and awful things happen to their bodies through the last four hundred years. Luckily for us, medical men (all men) are careful documentarians so we now know the details.
I listened to the audiobook so I had the pleasure of hearing the author read the narrative while another voice actor read the medical reports in either an English or American accent, depending on the source of the information. (Attempts at a Canadian accent weren’t entirely successful but that didn’t matter. After all, what IS a Canadian accent?)
While the book is told in a humorous vein (Hah! See what I did there?), the author always acknowledges the pain and fear of the patients’ tragedies and miraculous recoveries, especially in the days before anesthesia. This is not for the faint of heart or stomach.
I didn’t count but there must be about four dozen anecdotes. For example: a man with constipation using a fork in an attempt to alleviate the problem, a woman needing a butcher - well versed in anatomy and skillful with knives - to perform an operation as no surgeon was available, a man with a musket ball in his head for thirty years with no apparent difficulties, a man speared to a wall with the shaft of a carriage, and many, many more. There are descriptions of operations and the remarkable items found inside people’s bodies: needles, knives, dentures, coat pegs - the list is practically endless.
In fact, if anything, that’s my only complaint. There were just so many stories that I think this could have been broken into two smaller volumes. After all, there can be too much of a good thing.
I listened to the audiobook so I had the pleasure of hearing the author read the narrative while another voice actor read the medical reports in either an English or American accent, depending on the source of the information. (Attempts at a Canadian accent weren’t entirely successful but that didn’t matter. After all, what IS a Canadian accent?)
While the book is told in a humorous vein (Hah! See what I did there?), the author always acknowledges the pain and fear of the patients’ tragedies and miraculous recoveries, especially in the days before anesthesia. This is not for the faint of heart or stomach.
I didn’t count but there must be about four dozen anecdotes. For example: a man with constipation using a fork in an attempt to alleviate the problem, a woman needing a butcher - well versed in anatomy and skillful with knives - to perform an operation as no surgeon was available, a man with a musket ball in his head for thirty years with no apparent difficulties, a man speared to a wall with the shaft of a carriage, and many, many more. There are descriptions of operations and the remarkable items found inside people’s bodies: needles, knives, dentures, coat pegs - the list is practically endless.
In fact, if anything, that’s my only complaint. There were just so many stories that I think this could have been broken into two smaller volumes. After all, there can be too much of a good thing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, War, Injury/Injury detail
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
funny
informative
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
This book is something else! Some things you just can't "un-read"
This book was entertaining enough, but felt more like a series of blog entries. This could be because at least some of the stories *were* posted online at the author's website. I think this would have been a more interesting book if there had been some overarching narrative outside of "here's a bunch of weird medical stories".
I got halfway through this just because of my own squeamishness. The audiobook is pleasant, the text is fascinating, but I could only handle so many horrible and strange things happening to people before I caught myself avoiding this book. I can imagine someone with a medical background loving this book, from the way the issues are presented and then the historical medical responses are contextualized.
adventurous
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Fulfills the itch that is my passing interest in medicine and medical oddities. That said, by the cases that were picked, you're never allowed to forget that the author is male. But I will say, the author's interjections on the cases were similar to my own reactions for the most part, but with more British snark to them. Furthermore, most of the cases covered took place between the 17th-19th centuries and were more on the tall-tale/hearsay side of things.
As in there's nothing to back them up except for what was written in the medical publications at the time and tended to have little to no explanation behind them. The lack of explanation was rather disappointing to me but I did get to learn a bunch of new medical vocabulary that I'll never have usage for except a fun fact here and there. That and it was interesting to see how the approaches to medicine have changed throughout the centuries.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Terminal illness
I. Loved. This. Book.
The subject matter couldn't be any more in my wheelhouse.
The author writes with a great sense of humor and his translation/commentary of the historical documentation is almost always just as entertaining as the subject of the case.
I gasped and groaned to myself while reading this book and felt compelled to share (uninvited, usually) the particularly gruesome or weird cases with whomever was unfortunate enough to be within earshot.
One thing I will say is while I appreciated the "tall tales" section for the dubious medical stories, I felt it was a bit unnecessary when the book was loaded with so many other more credibly (?) noted cases.
But, overall a must read if you love weird medical history!
The subject matter couldn't be any more in my wheelhouse.
The author writes with a great sense of humor and his translation/commentary of the historical documentation is almost always just as entertaining as the subject of the case.
I gasped and groaned to myself while reading this book and felt compelled to share (uninvited, usually) the particularly gruesome or weird cases with whomever was unfortunate enough to be within earshot.
One thing I will say is while I appreciated the "tall tales" section for the dubious medical stories, I felt it was a bit unnecessary when the book was loaded with so many other more credibly (?) noted cases.
But, overall a must read if you love weird medical history!