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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
The two subjects of the book are interesting, but I didn't enjoy the way the book was written.
I thoroughly enjoyed this, though perhaps not as much as I enjoyed the Diane Rehm Show interview with the author last year. Hearing Diane, god love her, go on and on about goat testicles in her frail little voice was an amazing experience.
Anyway.
If you're interested in medical history, goat testicles, quackery, snake oil salesmen, goat testicles, the history of country and Tex-Mex music, or goat testicles, I suspect you'll enjoy this book. Brock follows the rise and fall of two men - John Brinkley, the greatest quack of his day, and Morris Fishbein, the editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association who had Brinkley in his sights. Along the way, we learn about the rejuvenation craze and all the bizarre things men (and women) had implanted in their bodies in order to regain their youth - as well as the creative ways that Brinkley leveraged technology, the new field of public relations, and the radio waves to serve his purposes.
Really, this was a fun and interesting read, and I'm planning on giving a copy to my dad for Christmas. Don't spoil the surprise, though!
Anyway.
If you're interested in medical history, goat testicles, quackery, snake oil salesmen, goat testicles, the history of country and Tex-Mex music, or goat testicles, I suspect you'll enjoy this book. Brock follows the rise and fall of two men - John Brinkley, the greatest quack of his day, and Morris Fishbein, the editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association who had Brinkley in his sights. Along the way, we learn about the rejuvenation craze and all the bizarre things men (and women) had implanted in their bodies in order to regain their youth - as well as the creative ways that Brinkley leveraged technology, the new field of public relations, and the radio waves to serve his purposes.
Really, this was a fun and interesting read, and I'm planning on giving a copy to my dad for Christmas. Don't spoil the surprise, though!
Simply amazing, not just for the acts of Brinkley himself but the unintentional benefits he created such as the Wolfman. And now you know the rest of the story.
Wow... were there a lot of desperate people during the Depression. The amount of goat testicals implanted in men during this time period--including some pretty famous ones, is really mind-blowing. Really, all you need to do is say goat testicles out loud for you to think twice about having them implanted in your own, shouldn't it? And yet, this was all the rage.
I think I picked this up because it was on the shelf near something I was looking for and I liked the font of the cover. (Why, how do you pick books?) I had no idea what I was in for, but, wow. (Quick summary: many people were selling implantation of goat testicles into humans to recapture, ah, youth.)
It's not like I was trying to read another history about the 20s, but the quacks in this book were an interesting contrast to the Ossian Sweet case I'd just finished reading about in [b:Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age|298924|Arc of Justice A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age|Kevin Boyle|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1332100357s/298924.jpg|3562].
This book was a lot more engrossing than the other, and I actually learned a lot of things. Also while the other book showed that the racism thing is recycled, this book showed how Americans distrust of erudition is also a recurring theme. (*sigh*)
The other major takeaway for me was about the Mexican radio station that launched the Carter Family (XERA/XERF)and so many others. I was vaguely aware that this had happened from living in Texas, but now I know why. And that makes everything so much weirder.
Highly recommended.
It's not like I was trying to read another history about the 20s, but the quacks in this book were an interesting contrast to the Ossian Sweet case I'd just finished reading about in [b:Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age|298924|Arc of Justice A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age|Kevin Boyle|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1332100357s/298924.jpg|3562].
This book was a lot more engrossing than the other, and I actually learned a lot of things. Also while the other book showed that the racism thing is recycled, this book showed how Americans distrust of erudition is also a recurring theme. (*sigh*)
The other major takeaway for me was about the Mexican radio station that launched the Carter Family (XERA/XERF)and so many others. I was vaguely aware that this had happened from living in Texas, but now I know why. And that makes everything so much weirder.
Highly recommended.
I read this for bookclub. It was interesting and entertaining, but not a book I feel the need to rush out and recommend to all my friends. I'm most fascinated by the fact that the book talks of Dr. Brinkley's fame, particularly in the radio and marketing worlds, but I'd never heard of him until now. Having studied both radio and marketing in college, that seems odd to me.
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
An enjoyable and edifying listen. The story focuses on Dr. James Brinkley, a fake medical doctor in Kansas who pioneered quacky treatments in the 1920s and 1930s, notably goat testicle transplants. Dr. Brinkley was a complete fraud and killed several dozen patients, but he thrived in the Wild West of American medicine. The AMA prohibited its members from advertising, so legitimate medical doctors were unable to fight against Brinkley innovative radio and direct mail campaign to reach customers. Some interesting takeaways:
- Jacksonians deregulated medical standards in the 1820s-50s. Early American states were in the process of regulating medicine for the first few decades, but anti-elitist sentiments torn down those regimes. The result was nearly a century of quacks and unregulated peddlers of drugs, snake oil, surgery, training, etc. The Food and Drug Act in early 1900s was largely targeting these bullshit "pills" that didn't do anything at best and killed their patients at worst. We still feel the legacy of this "Wild West" mentality with the under-regulation of supplements and alternative medicine today. This include all the naturopaths, osteopaths, "straight" chiropractors, acupuncture, etc, etc.
- When Prohibition took hold, a substantial % of the alcohol was moved into under-regulated "tonics" which doctors could prescribe.
- In 1900, 50% of newspaper revenue was derived from advertisements for (fraudulent) medicine and doctors. Hearst and other journalists had an incentive NOT to call out quackery.
- Dr. Brinkeley was one of the first doctors and businessmen to use radio for advertising. At that point the radio was mostly for hillbilly music and dramas.
- Jacksonians deregulated medical standards in the 1820s-50s. Early American states were in the process of regulating medicine for the first few decades, but anti-elitist sentiments torn down those regimes. The result was nearly a century of quacks and unregulated peddlers of drugs, snake oil, surgery, training, etc. The Food and Drug Act in early 1900s was largely targeting these bullshit "pills" that didn't do anything at best and killed their patients at worst. We still feel the legacy of this "Wild West" mentality with the under-regulation of supplements and alternative medicine today. This include all the naturopaths, osteopaths, "straight" chiropractors, acupuncture, etc, etc.
- When Prohibition took hold, a substantial % of the alcohol was moved into under-regulated "tonics" which doctors could prescribe.
- In 1900, 50% of newspaper revenue was derived from advertisements for (fraudulent) medicine and doctors. Hearst and other journalists had an incentive NOT to call out quackery.
- Dr. Brinkeley was one of the first doctors and businessmen to use radio for advertising. At that point the radio was mostly for hillbilly music and dramas.
I liked it, though it's sad that people are still so easily taken advantage of.
Easily the best book I've ever read about someone becoming rich and famous by injecting people with goat testicles. While I can't say I've read tons of books about someone becoming rich and famous by injecting people with goat testicles, I'd happily read more should more be published.