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Reviews tagging 'Ableism'
The Facemaker: A Visionary Surgeon's Battle to Mend the Disfigured Soldiers of World War I by Lindsey Fitzharris
7 reviews
hullosweetpea's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Medical content, Medical trauma, and War
cyberhavok's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, War, Ableism, Blood, Death, and Gun violence
beepbeep101's review
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, War, Medical content, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Ableism, Medical trauma, Gun violence, and Alcohol
Minor: Homophobia, Deadnaming, and Transphobia
georgierose's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Ableism, and Medical trauma
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic
hullomoon's review against another edition
medium-paced
4.5
I really enjoyed how this was formatted to be category focused instead of chronological. My knowledge about historical plastic surgery is minimal and while it took a little bit to learn new terms it wasn't jargon heavy enough to be prohibitive. I appreciate that Fitzharris took the time to include the points of view of the injured soldiers, those working with Gillies, and his peers, providing additional context that I appreciated. The epilogue was a bit rushed which I think comes down to the fact that the major focus was during the war and trying to cram in the rest of Gillies career in the epilogue is a monumental task.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Medical content
Moderate: Ableism
sarahbythebook's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
"Don't worry, sonny. You'll be alright and have as good a face as most of us before we're finished with you."
Dr. Harold Gillies would become a leader in the field of facial reconstructive surgery during its infancy under the dark clouds of World War I, and the world as a whole was better for him.
A kind and charismatic doctor, Harold Gillies would work endlessly to restore form and function to his patient's faces, recognizing the psychological impact of a destroyed face. In a very real way, the wounds soldiers received from bullets or shrapnel or civilians from fire and accidents lost their identities when they lost their most recognizable features. He also had a humility all too often lacking from those at the heads of their profession. Gillies recognized when his own knowledge fell short, enlisting the aid of dentists, artists, and many other skilled men and women to bring some amount of peace and confidence to the people whom he served.
His kindness did not end after the war, as author Lindsey Fitzharris demonstrates through the words of those who knew him. Gillies regularly was struggling financially because he hated discussing it with his patients and would provide steep discounts to those who needed his help. Despite the lack of financial gain, Gillies was eventually recognized by the British government for his contributions to the war, but more importantly, he was loved and remembered fondly by those who benefited under his scalpel.
The most moving story that Fitzharris includes doesn't even take place during the war, but after. Gillies' lack of prejudice in helping a trans man medically transition is moving and discredits any theories that everyone was transphobic at the time. He stood by his patient even after he was unwillingly outed. All in all, Harold Gillies seems like a descent human being first and foremost and a brilliant plastic surgeon second.
"The science of healing stood battle with the science of destroying."
The strides that Gillies and the team he assembled made in plastic surgery was brought about from horrible necessity. The First World War was unlike anything anyone in Europe had seen before despite its history of military conflicts.
As a historian, I focused on WWI, and as a teacher, I always tried to stress the importance of this war as the first real scientific war. The world saw chemical warfare, advanced war machinery, and advances in medical sciences at such a rapid pace, it was shocking. While I had focused in the past more on the weapons created, Fitzharris highlights in The Facemaker just one category of medical advances, though there are nods to the development of early psychiatry and the amazing progress made in practices like blood transfusions.
War is a tragedy no matter how it is examined, but Fitzharris does a masterful job showing off the progress that came out of trauma and the advances made possible because of the mass casualties, specifically in facial reconstruction. I'm so glad I read this book despite the fact that I generally don't do well with medical histories. (I'm specifically thinking of The Butchering Art by the same author).
If you have any history in medical histories, war histories, or just plain good and accessible nonfiction, I could not recommend The Facemaker highly enough.
Dr. Harold Gillies would become a leader in the field of facial reconstructive surgery during its infancy under the dark clouds of World War I, and the world as a whole was better for him.
A kind and charismatic doctor, Harold Gillies would work endlessly to restore form and function to his patient's faces, recognizing the psychological impact of a destroyed face. In a very real way, the wounds soldiers received from bullets or shrapnel or civilians from fire and accidents lost their identities when they lost their most recognizable features. He also had a humility all too often lacking from those at the heads of their profession. Gillies recognized when his own knowledge fell short, enlisting the aid of dentists, artists, and many other skilled men and women to bring some amount of peace and confidence to the people whom he served.
His kindness did not end after the war, as author Lindsey Fitzharris demonstrates through the words of those who knew him. Gillies regularly was struggling financially because he hated discussing it with his patients and would provide steep discounts to those who needed his help. Despite the lack of financial gain, Gillies was eventually recognized by the British government for his contributions to the war, but more importantly, he was loved and remembered fondly by those who benefited under his scalpel.
The most moving story that Fitzharris includes doesn't even take place during the war, but after. Gillies' lack of prejudice in helping a trans man medically transition is moving and discredits any theories that everyone was transphobic at the time. He stood by his patient even after he was unwillingly outed. All in all, Harold Gillies seems like a descent human being first and foremost and a brilliant plastic surgeon second.
"The science of healing stood battle with the science of destroying."
The strides that Gillies and the team he assembled made in plastic surgery was brought about from horrible necessity. The First World War was unlike anything anyone in Europe had seen before despite its history of military conflicts.
As a historian, I focused on WWI, and as a teacher, I always tried to stress the importance of this war as the first real scientific war. The world saw chemical warfare, advanced war machinery, and advances in medical sciences at such a rapid pace, it was shocking. While I had focused in the past more on the weapons created, Fitzharris highlights in The Facemaker just one category of medical advances, though there are nods to the development of early psychiatry and the amazing progress made in practices like blood transfusions.
War is a tragedy no matter how it is examined, but Fitzharris does a masterful job showing off the progress that came out of trauma and the advances made possible because of the mass casualties, specifically in facial reconstruction. I'm so glad I read this book despite the fact that I generally don't do well with medical histories. (I'm specifically thinking of The Butchering Art by the same author).
If you have any history in medical histories, war histories, or just plain good and accessible nonfiction, I could not recommend The Facemaker highly enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Medical content, War, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Vomit and Ableism
ehmannky's review
emotional
medium-paced
4.0
A really fascinating nonfiction book about the dawn of plastic surgery. It honestly made me think differently about the entire field. I think Fitzharris did a good job balancing the idea of this man being a true gamechanger in his field without painting him as an isolated genius who didn't need/want to rely on anyone. Gillies honestly just seemed like a really rad dude all around.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, War, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Ableism
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