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A review by akazzy8
The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetuated in the Name of Science by Sam Kean
challenging
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
4.75
This book was excellent! I was looking for a good spooky season book, and this was really the perfect option for me. It has notes of creepiness and dark themes, but isn't a murder mystery which is a genre I can't stand and really dominates the spooky book aisles. It is extra creepy as it talks about real happenings, and like any history book as a way to educate and make adjustments for a more equitable future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Xenophobia, War, Violence, Transphobia, Torture, Slavery, Racism, Murder, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Gore, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death, Colonisation, Antisemitism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Alcohol
While there are many content warnings, I would mention they are stated in more of a detached academic fashion. While there are horrible portions, it is not always written like a story, so readers detachment from some of these acts make this book less "graphic". This certainly is not to say that these warnings aren't still there!