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A review by rose_reads_books
An Anatomy of Addiction: Sigmund Freud, William Halsted, and the Miracle Drug Cocaine by Howard Markel
4.0
This book was a wonderful starting point for my journey of reading non fiction. It got recommended to me a few years ago as a must read for future med students and I have to say I get it. The book is engaging and offers a nice insight into the lives behind the names one always hears thrown around.
I decided to read it as a follow up of The Trafikant, which is a great fiction book, in which the life of Freud is discussed. I loved reading about the peculiar stories and battles Halstead and Freud had to battle and see their way of dealing with them. Even though the topic isn’t one I’m interested in, the problem with medical Durgs can be applied to today’s modern practice, especially in light of the opium crisis.
For me this was a humanization and demystification of very distant and well know individuals, that also helped me understand the book I previously read.
I decided to read it as a follow up of The Trafikant, which is a great fiction book, in which the life of Freud is discussed. I loved reading about the peculiar stories and battles Halstead and Freud had to battle and see their way of dealing with them. Even though the topic isn’t one I’m interested in, the problem with medical Durgs can be applied to today’s modern practice, especially in light of the opium crisis.
For me this was a humanization and demystification of very distant and well know individuals, that also helped me understand the book I previously read.