Scan barcode
superlegitjoy's review against another edition
5.0
Good insomnia read. Nice balance of interesting facts, humor/narrator insertion without stealing the show, and sometimes delicate, sometimes strange subject matter. It’s no Oranges, but I don’t have anything bad to say. Very good pacing.
alanyoung's review against another edition
4.0
A very interesting read made more so by personal experience with leeches (in Nepal) and having had a career as a doctor. Also in the hills Nepal we used relatives as blood donors in the absence of a blood bank.
The disquieting theme throughout was the distorting and dangerous effect of a non-voluntary service where the profit motive (whether personal or corporate) was a threat to quality and safety.
The disquieting theme throughout was the distorting and dangerous effect of a non-voluntary service where the profit motive (whether personal or corporate) was a threat to quality and safety.
cgkinsley's review against another edition
3.0
While some chapters were definitely less interesting than others, overall this was a nice, relatively easy trip through all things blood—interesting and informative!
rsaguilar's review
4.0
Not what I was expecting and not a bad thing. Part history of old health practices/beliefs, part menstruation experiences around the world, and part blood borne pathogens.
sfletcher26's review against another edition
1.0
A complete disappointment of a book. Sloppy research and a
monstrously journalistic style make this not really worth reading.
monstrously journalistic style make this not really worth reading.
obscuredbyclouds's review against another edition
3.0
When I told my friend I was reading a book about blood, she shook her head and asked why.
"Because my boyfriend gave it to me as a present."
"But why?"
"Because he knows that's the kind of stuff I'm interested in..?"
Sometimes I forget that not everyone jumps up at the idea of learning new things about stuff as important and vital as blood! I was super thrilled to dive into this book, and the first chapter really delivered - then my interest started to wane a little. See, where I had hoped this would be a book about blood, it is instead a book about different topics related to blood. There's one chapter on leeches and their usage in medicine (super interesting), one about the taboo of periods, one about HIV... None of which are boring, not at all. It was just a bit like reading different articles that were loosly connected through the topic of blood. It's worth a read and easy to follow, but now I'm on a hunt for a good book on blood itself.
"Because my boyfriend gave it to me as a present."
"But why?"
"Because he knows that's the kind of stuff I'm interested in..?"
Sometimes I forget that not everyone jumps up at the idea of learning new things about stuff as important and vital as blood! I was super thrilled to dive into this book, and the first chapter really delivered - then my interest started to wane a little. See, where I had hoped this would be a book about blood, it is instead a book about different topics related to blood. There's one chapter on leeches and their usage in medicine (super interesting), one about the taboo of periods, one about HIV... None of which are boring, not at all. It was just a bit like reading different articles that were loosly connected through the topic of blood. It's worth a read and easy to follow, but now I'm on a hunt for a good book on blood itself.
brontherun's review against another edition
3.0
I thoroughly enjoyed Rose George's research, ability to submerge herself in her topic, and her writing style. Parts of this book held to those very well. She breaks her book into 9 chapters - one for each pint. The stronger ones seem to be in the first half of the book. She manages to connect the wonder of blood with science and mystery - "There is nothing like it. It is stardust and the sea. The iron in our blood comes from the death of supernovas, like all iron on our planet."
Perhaps my favorite chapter is the one centered around leeches, from the biological, historical, and medical perspective. It was informative and enjoyable, to the point I was contemplating leech imports. The chapter on HIV was particularly moving during these pandemic times. While COVID-19 is respiratory and HIV is not, many of the descriptions of the mutability of the virus she describes seems apt for comparison. We are reminded to beware of treatment, media, and donor fatigue. We are reminded that "Despite many millions of dollars and forty years of research and countless remarkable minds working on curing HIV, it is only contained and only contained for now. What does HIV like best? Presumption and assumption that it is beaten." This seems like dire warnings to our current situation, if we are only smart enough to learn from science and learn from our history.
Unfortunately I struggled to make it through some of the later chapters in the book, although several of the topics did interest me, particularly around menstrual taboos and hygiene. Really wish I could give it 4 starts, but like much of the medical research she discusses, while fascinating in its own way, it falls a bit short of expectations.
Perhaps my favorite chapter is the one centered around leeches, from the biological, historical, and medical perspective. It was informative and enjoyable, to the point I was contemplating leech imports. The chapter on HIV was particularly moving during these pandemic times. While COVID-19 is respiratory and HIV is not, many of the descriptions of the mutability of the virus she describes seems apt for comparison. We are reminded to beware of treatment, media, and donor fatigue. We are reminded that "Despite many millions of dollars and forty years of research and countless remarkable minds working on curing HIV, it is only contained and only contained for now. What does HIV like best? Presumption and assumption that it is beaten." This seems like dire warnings to our current situation, if we are only smart enough to learn from science and learn from our history.
Unfortunately I struggled to make it through some of the later chapters in the book, although several of the topics did interest me, particularly around menstrual taboos and hygiene. Really wish I could give it 4 starts, but like much of the medical research she discusses, while fascinating in its own way, it falls a bit short of expectations.
abeth_parker's review against another edition
3.0
There were portions I had to slog through, and portions I devoured voraciously. My eyes swam a bit when the science was over my head. But then I was reading about the history of people who pioneered blood donation. And the way women (and girls) who are menstruating are treated in different countries (insert angry face). There's a chapter about a man who has developed a low cost machine to produce sanitary napkins and gives away the plans for free. It is being widely used in several third world countries.
Blood is our life force, and we still don't know so many things about it. I hope the day will come when menstruation is not talked about in whispers. I also hope for the day when a viable blood substitute can be given to trauma patients until blood is available.
Blood is our life force, and we still don't know so many things about it. I hope the day will come when menstruation is not talked about in whispers. I also hope for the day when a viable blood substitute can be given to trauma patients until blood is available.