A review by sidewriter
Nine Pints: A Journey Through the Money, Medicine, and Mysteries of Blood by Rose George

3.0

This is less a cohesive book about blood and more an anthology of long-form docu-essays loosely connected by a theme, but it was generally interesting. It takes a more historic and socio-political approach to its subject matter than a scientific one. It’s pretty straightforward, with chapters that dig a few feet past the superficial level on topics like the history of transfusion and blood donation, the business model for blood banks, how leeches factor into our medical knowledge, the history and cultural factors involved with battling HIV in Africa, the ways old views about menstruating women serve to oppress women in developing nations (and what people and movements are slowly changing that in places like India.) The audio version is very quietly recorded -- even at full volume, I often wanted to be able to turn it up.