History of medicine Books

Book SynopsisOne doctor’s surprising answer to the epidemic of chronic disease and essential reading for everyone concerned with the health of the next generation ..[T]he further we move away from nature the sicker we become, and it is our children who pay the heaviest price for what modern civilization is doing to our environment and our bodies. This book will make the reader think. I warmly recommend it! Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD, author of Gut and Psychology Syndrome Over the past fifty years, rates of autoimmunity and chronic disease have exploded. While some attribute this rise to increased awareness and diagnosis, Thomas Cowan, MD, argues for a direct causal relationship to a corresponding increase in the number of vaccines children typically receive. Dr. Cowan looks at emerging evidence that certain childhood illnesses are actually protective of disease later in life; examines the role of fever, the gut and cellular fluid in immune health; argues that vaccination is an ineffective (and harmful) attempt to shortcut a complex immune response; and asserts that the medical establishment has engaged in an authoritarian argument that robs parents of informed consent. His ultimate question, from the point of view of a doctor who has decades of experience treating countless children is: What are we really doing to children when we vaccinate them? Dr. Cowan intelligently educates us on the complicated and beautiful workings of our immune system, clearly explains how and why its malfunction is harming us, and elucidates why our precious children are so vulnerable to these diseases. Lindy Woodard, MD, Pediatric AlternativesTrade Review“Dr. Tom Cowan has created an entertaining, compelling, and readily accessible book explaining the risks involved in today’s overaggressive vaccination campaign. I particularly appreciate his emphasis on the risks to autoimmune disease inherent in antibody induction through vaccines. This book is a great addition to the growing body of literature revealing why vaccination is not the best strategy for protection against infectious diseases.”—Stephanie Seneff, senior research scientist, MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory“I would like to thank Dr. Tom Cowan for writing this book! Humanity seems to have forgotten that human body is part of nature; the further we move away from nature the sicker we become, and it is our children who pay the heaviest price for what modern civilization is doing to our environment and our bodies. This book will make the reader think. I warmly recommend it!”—Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD, author of Gut and Psychology Syndrome“Dr. Cowan does a great job explaining in clear and common-sense terms that the practice and the rationale of vaccination is deeply flawed, and, astoundingly, is not evidence-based but rather fear-based. The vaccine paradigm is upheld by the consensus, but the consensus in not based on a free and unbiased reading of all the evidence, rather only on a small part of it, while much is ignored. Dr. Cowan contributes greatly to a much-needed correction of this misleading and misled consensus.”—Philip Incao, MD, advisor, Physicians for Informed Consent“Tom Cowan’s Vaccines, Autoimmunity, and the Changing Nature of Childhood Illness is both brilliant and beautifully simple. He shares facts not taught in medical school, that reflect ancient wisdom, common sense, and trust in the intelligence of life itself. Understanding the role of childhood illnesses such as chickenpox and measles is critical to our survival as a species. Tom does an outstanding job of connecting the dots and giving reason to what is often misunderstood!”—Cilla Whatcott, producer of the film Real Immunity; author of There is a Choice“As a pediatrician for thirty-five years, I have seen the enormous rise in autoimmune diseases like asthma, allergies, eczema, and autism. We no longer need to scratch our heads wondering why, because the reasons are clear. In Vaccines, Autoimmunity, and the Changing Nature of Childhood Illness, Dr. Cowan intelligently educates us on the complicated and beautiful workings of our immune system, clearly explains how and why its malfunction is harming us, and elucidates why our precious children are so vulnerable to these diseases. Most importantly, perhaps, Dr. Cowan charts the clear, concise path to healing, offering a better, healthier life for us, our children, and the planet.”—Lindy Woodard, MD, Pediatric Alternatives“We westerners must wake up to the fact that vaccination is driving our modern epidemics of autism, dementia, autoimmunity, and allergies. In Vaccines, Autoimmunity, and the Changing Nature of Childhood Illness, Dr. Thomas Cowan whistle-blows on Big Pharma and the medical profession. Quite rightly, too. Human misery aside, these diseases are debilitatingly expensive. Autism usually results in care for life. “The arguments Dr. Cowan makes are not only biologically plausible, but are based in good science. He states what, for many, is the obvious: we must learn to live within the laws of nature, not fight against them as if they were some evil force. Evolution has the answers! We have lived with microorganisms for millions of years, and many confer significant survival benefits. Cowan details this with devastating logic. Childhood infections such as chickenpox and measles are desirable; they program the immune system in such a way as to protect us from disease later in life. “This book gives parents the intellectual ammunition they need to fight back against the pro-vaccine medical establishment. They clearly need such. I have seen parents driven by fear into vaccinating their children entirely against their parental instincts. By not vaccinating, Cowan shows us how children can be protected from allergy, autoimmunity, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, asthma, and autism. This book is essential reading for all concerned with the health of the next generation.”—Dr. Sarah Myhill, author of Sustainable Medicine and Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Myalgic Encephalitis“Thomas Cowan, MD, is a gifted physician and scientist. He is also a man of integrity who sticks his neck out for the truth. In addition he has the talent for making complex and urgent topics easy to read and understand for the intelligent layperson. He has accomplished this with his book, Human Heart, Cosmic Heart, the best book out there on holistically healing cardiovascular diseases. Now he has done it again with Vaccines, Autoimmunity, and the Changing Nature of Childhood Illness. “Vaccination has been a controversial topic for decades with informed parents around the world having to struggle with regulatory authorities and doctors over the necessity and effectiveness of vaccination to prevent childhood diseases. Now Dr. Cowan comes out with a powerful book giving a clear scientific voice to the intuition of many parents regarding the dangers of vaccination. Tamper with our immune system through one-sided interventions, and pay a tragic price. “This book is a global wake-up call to defend, against those who would destroy it, the awesome wisdom of the human body to wage its own battle against the myriad diseases that seek to overcome our internal defense system. This book will have a profound, beneficial impact on human health around the world in the years and decades to come. It is a courageous and pioneering work worthy of admiration and support.”—Nicanor Perlas, recipient, Right Livelihood Award

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Book SynopsisThe story of poison is the story of power... The Royal Art of Poison is a hugely entertaining work of popular history that traces the use of poison as a political - and cosmetic - tool in the royal courts of Western Europe from the Middle Ages to the Kremlin today.Trade Review'In her gruesome book… Herman explores assassinations and stories of poison… and questions if some stories of death by poison could be inaccurate… truly scary' Daily Mail, Book of the Week'The Royal Art of Poison by Eleanor Herman will, for once in your life, make you happy you are not a princess or a queen or someone who lives in a palace. The book is amazing and really makes me wonder how we've managed to survive. It will make you glad to be in your own home' Forbes 'Books to Travel With for the Holidays''Reads like juicy historical gossip, looking at the ways royals throughout history have been poisoned — not only by others, but often, unwittingly, by themselves' BuzzFeed 'The Ultimate Book Gift Guide''Agatha Christie's spirit must be loving this poisonous new historical entertainment' Spectator'This fantastic work combines morbid curiosity and royal gossip. In it, readers will not only find out about who could've poisoned whom, but also why and with what. Lovers of Tudor history, costume dramas, and high fantasy will rejoice' Washington Independent Review of Books, 50 Favourite Books of 2018'Herman has a delightful appreciation for all things beautiful and terrible. With her dishy signature style and a dazzling command of the facts, she brews up a heady mix of erudite history and delicious gossip' Aja Raden, New York Times bestselling author of Stoned'Whether deliberate, accidental or the result of an antidote, the gruesome outcome of ingestion of toxins is deftly described in The Royal Art of Poison. Add political intrigue, disgusting sanitation, ubiquitous filth, horrendous medical procedures, and every sort of vermin and you get a very different picture to what we romantically assume to be the 'good old days' Penny Le Couteur, author of Napoleon's Button

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Book Synopsis‘Jauhar weaves his own personal and family story into his history of the heart…very effectively… This gives a certain dramatic tension to the book, as it tells the fascinating and rather wonderful history of cardiology.’ –Henry Marsh, New Statesman A Mail on Sunday Book of the Year The heart lies at the centre of life. For cardiologist Sandeep Jauhar it is an obsession. In this fascinating history he interweaves gripping scenes from the operating theatre with the moving tale of his family’s history of heart problems – from the death of his grandfather to the ominous signs of how he himself might die. Jauhar looks at the pioneers who risked patients’ lives and their own careers, and confronts the limits of medical technology, arguing that how we live is more important than any device or drug we may invent. Heart is the all-encompassing story of the engine of life.Trade Review‘A book of unusual depth and richness about a subject that concerns us all…Heart: A history is elegantly conceived and still more elegantly executed…Sandeep Jauhar writes with a vital, pulsating energy.’ * TLS *‘Jauhar weaves his own personal and family story into his history of the heart…very effectively… This gives a certain dramatic tension to the book, as it tells the fascinating and rather wonderful history of cardiology.’ * Henry Marsh, New Statesman *‘[An] absorbing book about the vital organ that keeps us alive.’ * Mail on Sunday, Books of the Year 2018 *‘This is a vital book. A charming, honest and unflinching exploration of a most fascinating organ: the heart. Cardiologist and author Sandeep Jauhar beautifully weaves medical research with philosophy, science with personal stories – of patients and doctors, including his very own. The depth of his knowledge is remarkable but the breadth of his compassion even more so.’ -- Elif Shafak, Chair, 2019 Wellcome Book Prize‘A moving narrative echoing to the beat of “this organ, prime mover and citadel”.’ * Nature *‘Gripping… Jauhar hooks the reader of Heart from the first few pages… Most chapters launch with a riveting scene… Fun facts are sprinkled throughout… Heart is chock-full of absorbing tales that infuse fresh air into a topic that is often relegated to textbooks or metaphors about pumps, plumbing, or love.’ * New York Times Book Review *‘Dr. Jauhar expertly weaves little-known tales from medical history into his own personal and professional experiences to create a richly detailed book about the human heart. Thoroughly engrossing and full of historical gems.’ -- Lindsey Fitzharris, author of The Butchering Art‘Jauhar…is our trusty guide through a compelling story about what makes each and every one of us tick… Both primer and ode, Heart is a fascinating education for those of us who harbour this most hallowed organ but know little about it.’ * Washington Post *‘Sandeep Jauhar writes with the eye of a doctor and the heart of a poet. His latest book, Heart: A History, is a superb tribute to our most vital organ.’ -- Marilyn Yalom, Stanford University, author of The Amorous Heart: An Unconventional History of Love‘Part-memoir, part-history of his medical specialty, Heart links the physical organ with the emotional one.’ * Spectator *‘The cardiologist Sandeep Jauhar has become a Dante of modern medicine… Heart: A History is something of a “Paradiso,” pointing to the field’s brightest and noblest stars while recognizing just how much darkness is still left in the firmament… Poignant and chattily erudite.’ * Wall Street Journal *‘Cardiologist Jauhar moves beautifully between “dual tracks” of “learning about the heart…but also what was in my heart,”… Covering enough physiology to make scientific details easily understood, Jauhar emphasizes how brave, desperate, and sometimes foolhardy experiments led to important developments, such as the heart-lung machine… Jauhar is thoughtful, self-reflective, and profoundly respectful of doctors and patients alike; readers will respond by opening their own hearts a little bit, to both grief and wonder.’ * Publisher’s Weekly, starred review *‘In Heart: A History, Sandeep Jauhar, one of the most talented physician-writers of our era, takes us on an enlightening, uplifting journey through the major milestones and advances of heart disease – while at the same time anchoring his intimate, personal experiences.’ -- Eric Topol, Scripps Research Institute, author of The Patient Will See You Now

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Book SynopsisA foundation of Chinese life sciences and medicine, this title is available in an annotated English translation. Combining the views of different schools, it relies on natural law as conceptualized in "yin/yang" and Five Agents doctrines to define health and disease, and repeatedly emphasizes personal responsibility for the quality of one's life.

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Book SynopsisChronicles how our understanding of stroke has evolved over the centuries, drawing on primary sources to place the research in its historical context. Featuring the accounts of those present at key points in the history of stroke, this book covers both the successes and blind alleys of stroke research.Table of Contents1. The ventricles(apoplexy in the 16th century); 2. The force of blood (apoplexy in the 17th century); 3. Congestion (apoplexy in the 'long 18th century'); 4. Forgotten forms of apoplexy; 5.Haemorrhage; 6.Ramollissement; 7. Thrombosis and embolism; 8. No man's land: the neck arteries; 9. Lacunes; 10. Stroke warnings; 11. Saccular aneurysms; 12. Cerebral venous thrombosis.

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Book Synopsis'Indecently entertaining.' A Daily Mail Book of the WeekAn Amazon US Best Book of 2022''A fascinating tale of poisons and poisonous deeds which both educates and entertains.'' Kathy ReichsAs any reader of murder mysteries can tell you, poison is one of the most enduring and popular weapons of choice for a scheming murderer. It can be slipped into a drink, smeared onto the tip of an arrow or the handle of a door, even filtered through the air we breathe. But how exactly do these poisons work to break our bodies down, and what can we learn from the damage they inflict?In a fascinating blend of popular science, medical history, and narrative crime nonfiction, Dr Neil Bradbury explores this most morbidly captivating method of murder from a cellular level. Alongside real-life accounts of murderers and their crimes some notorious, some forgotten, some still unsolved are the equally compelling stories of the poisons involved: eleven molecules of death that work their way through the humanTrade Review‘This very splendid book is essentially a detailed primer on how to dispose of your enemies. … A winning mixture of hard science and true crime stories, is almost indecently entertaining.’ Daily Mail ‘Lively … Bradbury is an engaging, cheerful tour guide.’ New York Times Book Review ‘Captivating in its storytelling and just enough science for the geeks. A tremendously entertaining dip into the dark and compelling world of death.’ Professor Dame Sue Black, author of All That Remains: A Life in Death ‘We’ve all seen Colonel Mustard dead in the library from poisoning. Instead of telling us why, in this original and invigorating book, Neil Bradbury focuses on how, exploring the workings of crime from a scientific basis. Fascinating.’ Judith Flanders, author of The Invention of Murder 'Neil Bradbury writes with wit, flair, and authority.' Lindsey Fitzharris, bestselling author of The Butchering Art ‘An engrossing history of poisons, poisonings and poisoners. Alongside the very human stories of the people who fall victim to these deadly substances, it’s packed with quirky detail and easily digestible (pun intended) science.’ Kate Morgan, author of Murder: The Biography 'Weaves jaw-dropping true stories and spellbinding histories behind the most infamous poisons.' Lydia Kang, bestselling author of Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything 'An unselfconsciously jaunty work of horror. Its stories may leave you eyeing your housemates and sniffing your coffee.' Judy Melinek, M.D. and T.J. Mitchell, bestselling authors of Working Stiff ‘An accessible and fascinating study.’ Publishers Weekly starred review ‘Appealing to any true crime fan … genre-bending.’ Booklist ‘A frightening romp … fascinating, edifying, and terrifying.’ Library Journal

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Book SynopsisMedicine carries the burden of its own troubling history. Over centuries, women''s bodies have been demonised and demeaned until we feared them, felt ashamed of them, were humiliated by them. But as doctors, researchers, campaigners and most of all as patients, women have continuously challenged medical orthodoxy. Medicine''s history has always been, and is still being, rewritten by women''s resistance, strength and incredible courage. In this ground-breaking history Elinor Cleghorn unpacks the roots of the perpetual misunderstanding, mystification and misdiagnosis of women''s bodies, illness and pain. From the ''wandering womb'' of ancient Greece to today''s shifting understanding of hormones, menstruation and menopause, Unwell Women is the revolutionary story of women who have suffered, challenged and rewritten medical misogyny. Drawing on Elinor''s own experience as an unwell woman, this is a powerful and timely exposé of the medical world and woman''s place

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Book SynopsisThis leather-bound version of the original 1858 first edition of Gray’s Anatomy is ideal for students and those with a keen interest in medicine.In 1858, Dr. Henry Gray published the first edition of what has become known as “the doctor’s Bible,' with assistance from his colleague at St. George’s Hospital in London, the anatomist and medical illustrator Henry Vandyke Carter. Their efforts led to the most famous reference book on human anatomy, which continues to be updated and revised today. This leather-bound edition of Gray’s Anatomy contains the original text and black-and-white illustrations from the first edition, providing valuable historical insights into the study and discussion of human anatomy. Also included is an insert with several key illustrations presented in full color. Dr. R. Shane Tubbs, Neurosurgery Professor and Anatomical Research Director at Tulane University Clinical Neuroscience Research Center, provides a scholarly introduction with details about Henry Gray’s life and career, and examines the impact that the text has had on generations of medical practitioners, students, and the general public. 

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Book SynopsisThe Archaeology of Disease shows how the latest scientific and archaeological techniques can be used to identify the common illnesses and injuries that humans suffered from in antiquity. In order to give a vivid picture of ancient disease and trauma the authors present the results of the latest scientific research and incorporate information gathered from documents, from other areas of archaeology and from art and ethnography. This comprehensive approach to the subject throws fresh light on the health of our ancestors and on the conditions in which they lived, and it gives us an intriguing insight into the ways in which they coped with the pain and discomfort of their existence.

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Book SynopsisThe Making of Mr Gray's Anatomy tells the story of one of the most iconic scientific books ever published: a textbook of anatomy that is still a household name 150 years since its first edition. It is the story of the remarkable and dedicated characters who created it, of poverty, class, and science and society in Victorian London.Trade ReviewFascinating. * Christopher Hirst, The Independent *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. The Words: Mr Gray of Belgravia ; 2. The Pictures: Dr Carter of Scarborough ; 3. The Enterprise: J.W.Parker & Son of West Strand ; 4. The Process of Creation: Person or Persons Unknown ; 5. The Raw Material: The Friendless Poor of London ; 6. The Process of Creation ; 7. The Process of Production ; 8. 1858: The Book Appears ; 9. Calamity ; 10. Futurity ; Acknowledgements ; References ; Bibliography ; Index

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 2015 Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-FictionShortlisted for the Wellcome Book PrizeA Sunday Times and New York Times bestsellerForeword by Oliver SacksWhat is autism: a devastating developmental condition, a lifelong disability, or a naturally occurring form of cognitive difference akin to certain forms of genius? In truth, it is all of these things and more - and the future of our society depends on our understanding it. Following on from his groundbreaking article 'The Geek Syndrome', Wired reporter Steve Silberman unearths the secret history of autism, long suppressed by the same clinicians who became famous for discovering it, and finds surprising answers to the crucial question of why the number of diagnoses has soared in recent years.Going back to the earliest autism research and chronicling the brave and lonely journey of autistic people and their families through the decades, Silberman provides long-sought solutions to the autism puzzle while casting light on the growing movement of 'neurodiversity' and mapping out a path towards a more humane world for people with learning differences.Trade ReviewStunning... Highly original... Outstanding. * Spectator, Best Books of 2015 *A sprawling and fascinating dissection of the role autism has played in shaping human history. * Daily Telegraph, Best Books of 2015 *Whatever the future of autism...Mr Silberman has surely written the definitive book about its past. * The Economist, Best Books of 2015 *A rich amalgam of social history and contemporary reportage. * Financial Times, Best Books of 2015 *[An] epic history of autism. * Sunday Telegraph *Ambitious, meticulous and largehearted... Beautifully told, humanizing, important. * New York Times, Best Books of 2015 *Silberman's phenomenal book goes a long way to uncovering some of the myths about this particular "tribe" and is all for recognising their incredible talents and contributions to society. * The Sun *Brilliant and sparklingly humane. * Guardian, Best Books of 2015 *NeuroTribes is deeply felt. * The Times, Best Books of 2015 *Powerful, authoritative... This is a significant book. * The Sunday Times, Best Books of 2015 *It's not just a book about autism but a journey through the history of cognitive difference and our evolving attitudes towards it. * Metro, Best Books of 2015 *Silberman sheds a sage and humane light on a much-misrepresented aspect of human nature. * Independent, Best Books of the Year *Steve Silberman explores in fascinating, near-encyclopaedic depth how autism has evolved. It's a gripping narrative written with journalistic verve. * Observer *Silberman is a skilled storyteller... [He] researches with scientific rigour... A powerful voice: NeuroTribes offers keen insight. * New Statesman *Silberman's sweeping history is always sensitive and builds a persuasive argument that the ability to think differently is useful, necessary even, for the success of the modern world. * New Scientist *This excellent book is the result of fifteen years of work. As the late Oliver Sacks put it, "I know of no one else who has spent so much time simply listening, trying to understand what it is like to be autistic." -- William Leith * Evening Standard, Best Books of 2015 *A tome that beautifully, compassionately and brutally traces the history of autism from centuries past into the present and possible future... Everyone needs to read this book. Everyone. * Forbes *NeuroTribes is remarkable. Silberman has done something unique: he's taken the dense and detailed history of autism and turned the story into a genuine page-turner. The book is sure to stir considerable discussion. -- John Elder Robison, author of Look Me in the EyeA lively, readable book... To read NeuroTribes is to realize how much autistic people have enriched the scope of human knowledge and diversity, and how impoverished the world would be without them. * San Francisco Chronicle, Best Books of 2015 *A comprehensive history of the science and culture surrounding autism studies... An essential resource. * Nature magazine *Breathtaking... As emotionally resonant as any [book] this year. * The Boston Globe, Best Books of 2015 *It's a readable, engaging story. But it's also a serious political and sociological critique, couched in a 500-page-long piece of original historical scholarship. * Salon *Nothing short of a revelation... Sweeping and lovingly detailed. * Parent.co *The monks who inscribed beautiful manuscripts during the Middle Ages, Cavendish an 18th century scientist who explained electricity, and many of the geeks in Silicon Valley are all on the autism spectrum. Silberman reviews the history of autism treatments from horrible blaming of parents to the modern positive neurodiversity movement. Essential reading for anyone interested in psychology. -- Temple Grandin, author of Thinking in Pictures and The Autistic BrainIt is a beautifully written and thoughtfully crafted book, a historical tour of autism, richly populated with fascinating and engaging characters, and a rallying call to respect difference. * Science magazine *Epic and often shocking... Everyone with an interest in the history of science and medicine - how it has failed us, surprised us and benefited us - should read this book. * Chicago Tribune *The best book you can read to understand autism. * Gizmodo *This is perhaps the most significant history of the discovery, changing conception and public reaction to autism we will see in a generation. * TASH.org *A well-researched, readable report on the treatment of autism that explores its history and proposes significant changes for its future... In the foreword, Oliver Sacks writes that this "sweeping and penetrating history...is fascinating reading" that "will change how you think of autism." No argument with that assessment. * Kirkus Reviews *Stunning...a remarkable narrative...one of the most fascinating accounts of autism I have ever read. -- Simon Baron-Cohen * The Lancet *Essential reading if you have an autistic child; highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the workings of the mind. * The Tablet *The story of autism reads more like a novel, with a vivid cast of characters, power struggles, obsessions - and heroic efforts of insight. * The Psychologist *

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Book SynopsisA Sunday Times Book of the Year As featured on the BBC Radio 2 Book Club Dr James Barry: Inspector General of Hospitals, army surgeon, duellist, reformer, ladykiller, eccentric. He performed the first successful Caesarean in the British Empire, outraged the military establishment and gave Florence Nightingale a dressing down at Scutari. At home he was surrounded by a menagerie of animals, including a cat, a goat, a parrot and a terrier. Long ago in Cork, Ireland, he had also been a mother. This is the amazing tale of Margaret Anne Bulkley, the young woman who broke the rules of Georgian society to become one of the most respected surgeons of the century. In an extraordinary life, she crossed paths with the British Empire’s great and good, royalty and rebels, soldiers and slaves. A medical pioneer, she rose to a position that no woman before her had been allowed to occupy, but for all her successes, her long, audacious deception also left her isolated, even costing her the chance to be with the man she loved.Trade Review‘A scintillating portrait of Barry’s life…that feels almost Dickensian in style.’ * Guardian *‘An astounding story – of obstinacy, ambition, genius, fearlessness and pioneering feminism.’ * Daily Mail *‘Thoroughly engaging.’ * Sunday Times, Books of the Year *‘Gripping, unusual, moving.’ * Times, Books of the Year *‘A comprehensive account.’ * London Review of Books *'Fascinating’. * History Today *‘Thoroughly researched, stimulating…Highly recommended’. * The Lady *‘Fascinating’ * Irish Independent *‘An irresistible little byway in 18th-century medical and social history’. * Oldie *‘An elegant and sensitive biography…du Preez and Dronfield have done Margaret Buckley and her alter ego proud in this absorbing book.’ * The Times *‘At each turn of this quite gripping biography I found myself gasping in disbelief…the excavations of Michael du Preez…and Jeremy Dronfield…have yielded startling new evidence about the period…Their research is authoritative and prodigious’. * Literary Review *‘This fantastic book is so much more than a biography of a very remarkable woman. The thread of her personal story weaves its way through a meticulously researched record of a fascinating period in world history…compulsive reading.’ -- Dame Margaret Turner-Warwick, first female President, Royal College of Physicians‘A cracking story’. -- Maggie Fergusson * Spectator *‘This is a fascinating account of the life and career of Dr James Barry as a doctor working in the early nineteenth century. Although Dr Barry obtained a Diploma from this College in 1813 it is only now through this book we are able to fully understand and recognise her achievements.’ -- Clare Marx, President, the Royal College of Surgeons of England‘I found the book immensely enjoyable. It’s a fascinating story, told with verve, sensitivity and skill – the result of an awe-inspiring amount of research and detective work, managed with delicacy and flair. I felt the book had a real feel for the times and I appreciated its firm historical grounding, and the way in which imagination and a rigorous approach to fact played so well together. A marvellous read, and a story worth telling.’ -- Rodney Bolt, author of The Impossible Life of Mary Benson‘This is the extraordinary and remarkable story of the transformation of Margaret Bulkley, a red-haired Irish girl from Cork, into Dr James Barry, physician, medical reformer, friend of the rich, friend of the poor and fearless and irascible scourge of the stupidity, complacency, ineptitude and greed of Britain’s Colonial establishment. Dr James Barry kept his great secret for over fifty years and the truth that he was, in fact, a woman was only revealed to an incredulous public after his death. Meticulously researched and written with great verve, this biography is about as good as it gets.’ -- Neil McKenna, author of Fanny & Stella: The Young Men Who Shocked Victorian England'Extensively researched, a fascinating story of a woman taking extreme measures to work in a man’s world.’ -- Richard Hollingham, author of Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery

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Book SynopsisOn the night of December 2, 1943, the Luftwaffe bombed a critical Allied port in Bari, Italy, sinking seventeen ships and killing over a thousand servicemen and hundreds of civilians. Caught in the surprise air raid was the John Harvey,an American Liberty ship carrying a top-secret cargo of 2,000 mustard bombs to be used in retaliation if the Germans resorted to gas warfare.After young sailors began suddenly dying with mysterious symptoms, Lieutenant Colonel Stewart Alexander, a doctor and chemical weapons expert, was dispatched to investigate. He quickly diagnosed mustard gas exposure, which Churchill denied. Undaunted, Alexander defied British officials and persevered with his investigation. His final report on the Bari casualties was immediately classified, but not before his breakthrough observations about the toxic effects of mustard on white blood cells caught the attention of Colonel Cornelius P. Rhoads - a pioneering physician and research scientist as brilliant as he was arrogant and self-destructive - who recognized that the poison was both a killer and a cure, and ushered in a new era of cancer research.Deeply researched and beautifully written, The Great Secret is the remarkable story of how horrific tragedy gave birth to medical triumph.Trade ReviewIn a history that reads like a novel, Conant connects the 1943 bombing by the Nazis of an American ship containing banned mustard gas to the development of chemotherapy as a cancer treatment. * Editors’ Choice, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW *[A] compelling narrative. . . . fascinating. * Wall Street Journal *Engrossing. . . . Convey[s] a fast-paced medical detective story that demonstrates how careful scientific observation can yield unexpected benefits and serves as a reminder of the difficult choices made by governments to balance public health and secrecy in matters of security. * Science *Conant delights in the devilish details, the hidden, overlooked, and deeply personal stories that constitute our collective historical record. In her deft and experienced hands, readers will discover great delight as well. * Air Mail *With a keen understanding of medical science, cancer, and the history of World War II, as well as an amazing range of sources, Conant dramatically illuminates a dark moment in history that eventually led to the medical breakthrough of chemotherapy. * National Book Review (US) *[A] fast-paced history-cum-detective story * Bloomberg News *the gripping story of a chemical weapons catastrophe, its cover-up, and how one army doctor's discovery led to the development of chemotherapy * Daily Times *the book succeeds as a history of chemotherapy's origins * Nature *Jennet Conant unravels the remarkable story of a World War Two chemical weapons disaster which inspired one of the twentieth century's greatest breakthroughs in medicine with verve and precision. The Great Secret reads like a wartime adventure and political thriller combined. -- Wendy Moore, author of ENDELL STREETWith a scintillating detective-tale plot rendered with an accomplished novelist's flair, Jennet Conant peels back the layers of deception employed by Allied authorities-including Winston Churchill-to conceal the fact that many of those who died at the Bari disaster in December 1943 perished from unprecedented exposure to mustard gas and immersion in ship fuel oil. This fast-paced narrative alone would make The Great Secret a landmark work, but Conant surpasses this with the even more astonishing chronicle of how insights into the Bari deaths ultimately galvanized the creation of the whole field of cancer chemotherapy. This is a heartbreaking and inspiring tale of tragedy leading to triumph. -- Richard B. Frank, author of TOWER OF SKULLS: A History of the Asia-Pacific War, July 1937–May 1942A ripping good yarn, jam-packed with marvelous prose, wonderful historical characters, and superb research on a little known but critical chapter in the history of medicine and the Second World War. I could not put this book down until I reached the final page. -- Howard Markel, MD, PhD, George E. Wantz Distinguished Professor of the History of MedicineAuthor and journalist Jennet Conant has uncovered a humdinger of a tale, one that is equal parts war story, conspiracy thriller and medical mystery. More than anything, The Great Secret shows how the dogged efforts of a handful of scientists were able to turn a wartime tragedy and coverup into one of society's greatest gifts. This is a rare jewel of a story that readers will love and fellow historians will covet. -- James M. Scott, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of TARGET TOKYO and RAMPAGERemarkable...the story of a genuinely extraordinary man [told] uncommonly well. * Washington Post on TUXEDO PARK *A brilliant account of the all but vanished reputation of an amateur physicist who became a friend and peer of the greatest scientists of his time. -- Kurt Vonnegut on TUXEDO PARKTable of ContentsPrologue: "Little Pearl Harbor" Chapter One: "A Regiment of Wizards" Chapter Two: "The Die Is Cast" Chapter Three: "Angels in Long Underwear" Chapter Four: "Journey into the Nightmare" Chapter Five: "A Special Affinity" Chapter Six: "Recommendation to Secrecy" Chapter Seven: "Magnum Opus" Chapter Eight: "Forgotten Front" Chapter Nine: "A Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery" Chapter Ten: "Frontal Attack" Chapter Eleven: Trials and Tribulations Chapter Twelve: "The Sword and the Ploughshare" Epilogue: Belated Justice

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Book SynopsisPPPP . . . To compress 200 years of psychiatric theory and practice into a compelling and coherent narrative is a fine achievement . . . . What strikes the reader [most] are Shorter''s storytelling skills, his ability to conjure up the personalities of the psychiatrists who shaped the discipline and the conditions under which they and their patients lived.--Ray Monk The Mail on Sunday magazine, U.K. An opinionated, anecdote-rich history. . . . While psychiatrists may quibble, and Freudians and other psychoanalysts will surely squawk, those without a vested interest will be thoroughly entertained and certainly enlightened.--Kirkus Reviews. Shorter tells his story with immense panache, narrative clarity, and genuinely deep erudition.--Roy Porter Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine. In A History of Psychiatry, Edward Shorter shows us the harsh, farcical, and inspiring realities of society''s changing attitudes toward and attempts to deal wTable of ContentsPreface 1 The Birth of Psychiatry vii A World without Psychiatry 1 Traditional Asylums 4 Heralding the Therapeutic Asylum 8 Organizing the Therapeutic Asylum 18 Nervous Illness and Nonpsychiatrists 22 Toward a Biological Psychiatry 26 Romantic Psychiatry 29 2 The Asylum Era 33 National Traditions 34 The Pressure of Numbers 46 Why the Increase? 48 Redistribution of Illness 49 Rising Rate of Psychiatric Illness 53 Dead End 65 3 The First Biological Psychiatry 69 Enter Ideas 69 A German Century 71 French Disasters 81 Anglo-Saxon Laggards 87 Degeneration 93 The End of the First Biological Psychiatry 99 An American Postscript 109 4 Nerves 113 Nerves Better than Madness 114 The Flight of Madness into the Spa 119 Tired Nerves and the Rest Cure 129 Neurology Discovers Psychotherapy 136 5 The Psychoanalytic Hiatus 145 Freud and His Circle 146 The Battle Begins 154 American Origins 160 The Arrival of the Europeans 166 Triumph 170 Psychoanalysis and the American Jews 181 6 Alternatives 190 Fever Cure and Neurosyphilis 192 Early Drugs 196 Prolonged Sleep 200 Shock and Coma 207 Electroshock 218 The Lobotomy Adventure 225 Social and Community Psychiatry 229 7 The Second Biological Psychiatry 239 The Genetic Strand 240 The First Drug That Worked 246 The Cornucopia 255 Neuroscience 262 Antipsychiatry 272 Return to “the Community” 277 The Battle over ECT 281 8 From Freud to Prozac 288 Maintaining Market Share 289 A Nation Hungers for Psychotherapy 293 Science versus Fashion in Diagnosis 295 The Decline of Psychoanalysis 305 Cosmetic Psychopharmacology 314 Why Psychiatry? 325 Notes 329 Index 421

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Book Synopsis#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “The story of modern medicine and bioethics—and, indeed, race relations—is refracted beautifully, and movingly.”—Entertainment WeeklyNOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM HBO® STARRING OPRAH WINFREY AND ROSE BYRNE • ONE OF THE “MOST INFLUENTIAL” (CNN), “DEFINING” (LITHUB), AND “BEST” (THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER) BOOKS OF THE DECADE • ONE OF ESSENCE’S 50 MOST IMPACTFUL BLACK BOOKS OF THE PAST 50 YEARS • WINNER OF THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE HEARTLAND PRIZE FOR NONFICTIONNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • Entertainment Weekly • O: The Oprah Magazine • NPR • Financial Times • New York • Indepen

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Book Synopsis‘Powerful and affecting’ Mail on Sunday‘Flesh and Blood is living drama extracted like buried treasure from old documents and the hand-me-down stories of his relatives. I couldn't put it down’Jenny Agutter 'Intelligently structured and eloquently written, McGann’s book is a powerful homage to his family and Irish ancestry, to modern medicine and the welfare state.  Packed with lively anecdotes and insights on social history, Flesh and Blood is a humble human story with a majestic theme' Times Literary Supplement.  'Drama and reality repeatedly intersect in unexpected ways in this powerful and revealing memoir' Mail on Sunday  'Eloquent in its metaphors, this book is about memory, how it shapes us, and what we choose to pass on' Irish Times  'With its mix of readable sciTrade Review‘Drama and reality repeatedly intersect in unexpected ways in this powerful and revealing memoir’ -- Mail on Sunday‘With its mix of readable science and passionate sensibility, Flesh and Blood is essentially an attempt to heal the old rift between science and art’ -- Radio Times‘It is an artful, honest book, marked by the author’s clear-eyed examination of how his family’s lives were entwined with history’s often terrible markers’ -- New Statesman‘Each event becomes real, in one breath fascinating with medical detail, in the next an emotional contraction. Elegant in its metaphors, this book is about memory, how it shapes us, and what we choose to pass on. If all that remains of us is the story we tell, then McGann’s narrative is an insightful, beautiful legacy’ -- The Irish Times‘Flesh and Blood is living drama extracted like buried treasure from old documents and the hand-me-down stories of his relatives. I couldn't put it down’ -- Jenny Agutter

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Book SynopsisA groundbreaking twentieth-century history of transgender children With transgender rights front and center in American politics, media, and culture, the pervasive myth still exists that today’s transgender children are a brand new generation—pioneers in a field of new obstacles and hurdles. Histories of the Transgender Child shatters this myth, uncovering a previously unknown twentieth-century history when transgender children not only existed but preexisted the term transgender and its predecessors, playing a central role in the medicalization of trans people, and all sex and gender.Beginning with the early 1900s when children with “ambiguous” sex first sought medical attention, to the 1930s when transgender people began to seek out doctors involved in altering children’s sex, to the invention of the category gender, and finally the 1960s and ’70s when, as the field institutionalized, transgender children began to take hormones, change their names, and even access gender confirmation, Julian Gill-Peterson reconstructs the medicalization and racialization of children’s bodies. Throughout, they foreground the racial history of medicine that excludes black and trans of color children through the concept of gender’s plasticity, placing race at the center of their analysis and at the center of transgender studies.Until now, little has been known about early transgender history and life and its relevance to children. Using a wealth of archival research from hospitals and clinics, including incredible personal letters from children to doctors, as well as scientific and medical literature, this book reaches back to the first half of the twentieth century—a time when the category transgender was not available but surely existed, in the lives of children and parents.Trade Review"Histories of the Transgender Child is a tour de force contribution to transgender studies, tracing little-noticed pathways from the past toward convergences that increasingly take center stage in the next field. An elegant combination of sophisticated theorization with equally sophisticated attention to archival and historical materials, this is one of the best books in trans studies in recent years."—Susan Stryker, University of Arizona"Jules Gill-Peterson excavates the history of medicine, introducing readers to a century’s worth of gender nonconforming youth. This remarkable book is not merely a backward glance; it offers an urgent call to reimagine trans as a form of self-knowledge children can hold and for an ethics of care that focuses on affirmation."—Tey Meadow, author of Trans Kids"Meticulously researched and compellingly argued, this book is a welcome addition to a number of fields, including trans of color critique, childhood studies, and queer and trans history."—C. Riley Snorton, author of Black on Both Sides"This work fills a gap in queer history; older trans, intersex, and nonbinary people who work through the dense, theoretical prose may find their experiences reflected in Gill-Peterson’s history, and younger ones may discover that their “uncovering of a century of untold stories” provides a tether to an underexplored legacy."—Publishers Weekly "You have to start somewhere. Indeed, few things begin in a vacuum: you need an idea, then experiments and practice to create a masterpiece. Nothing magically just appears. And in the new book “Histories of the Transgender Child” by Jules Gill-Peterson,you’ll see that that’s true, too, about knowledge and change." —South Florida Gay News "For children’s literature scholars who work on gender and sexuality, this book is essential reading for its insights that transgender children are not new and that binary sex and gender are extremely recent and fragile ideas reliant on a dehumanizing, racially coded conceptualization of the child as plasticity." —The Lion and the UnicornTable of ContentsPrefaceIntroduction: Toward a Trans-of-Color Critique of Medicine1. The Racial Plasticity of Gender and the Child2. Before Transsexuality: The Transgender Child from the 1900s to the 1930s3. Sex in Crisis: Intersex Children in the 1950s and the Invention of Gender4. From Johns Hopkins to the Midwest: Transgender Childhood in the 1960s5. Transgender Boyhood, Race, and Puberty in the 1970sConclusion: How to Bring Your Kids Up TransAcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisQueen Victoria''s son, Prince Leopold, died from haemophilia, but no member of the royal family before his generation had suffered from the condition. Medically, there are only two possibilities: either one of Victoria''s parents had a 1 in 50,000 random mutation, or Victoria was the illegitimate child of a haemophiliac man. However the haemophilia gene arose, it had a profound effect on history. Two of Victoria''s daughters were silent carriers who passed the disease to the Spanish and Russian royal families. The disease played a role in the origin of the Spanish Civil War; and the tsarina''s concern over her only son''s haemophilia led to the entry of Rasputin into the royal household, contributing directly to the Russian Revolution. Finally, if Queen Victoria was illegitimate, who should have inherited the British throne? The answer is astonishing.Table of ContentsGod save you! where's the princesse?; dynastic climbers; Victoire and Victoria; the ugly ducking; the bleeders; mutation or bastard?; crowns rolling about the floor; the pretenders; the Coburgs and haemophilia in Iberia; later generation; a breed apart.

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Book Synopsis• Examines the success of homeopathic psychiatric asylums in the United States from the 1870s until 1920 • Focuses on New York’s Middletown State Homeopathic Hospital for the Insane, which had a treatment regime with thousands of successful outcomes • Details a homeopathic blueprint for treating mental disorders based on Talcott’s methods, including nutrition and side-effect-free homeopathic prescriptions In the late 1800s and early 1900s, homeopathy was popular across all classes of society. In the United States, there were more than 100 homeopathic hospitals, more than 1,000 homeopathic pharmacies, and 22 homeopathic medical schools. In particular, homeopathic psychiatry flourished from the 1870s to the 1930s, with thousands of documented successful outcomes in treating mental illness. Revealing the astonishing but suppressed history of homeopathic psychiatry, Jerry M. Kantor examines the success of homeopathic psychiatric asylums in America from the post–Civil War era until 1920, including how the madness of Mary Todd Lincoln was effectively treated with homeopathy at a “sane” asylum in Illinois. He focuses in particular on New York’s Middletown State Homeopathic Hospital, where superintendent Selden Talcott oversaw a compassionate and holistic treatment regime that married Thomas Kirkbride’s moral treatment principles to homeopathy. Kantor reveals how homeopathy was pushed aside by pharmaceuticals, which often caused more harm than good, as well as how the current critical attitude toward homeopathy has distorted the historical record. Offering a vision of mental health care for the future predicated on a model that flourished for half a century, Kantor shows how we can improve the care and treatment of the mentally ill and stop the exponential growth of terminal mental disorder diagnoses that are rampant today.Trade Review“Sane Asylums is a brilliant stroll through medical history, showing that homeopathic physicians were more than a hundred years ahead of their time. The homeopathic mental health institutions were truly sane asylums; that is, they integrated homeopathic treatment with nutritional therapy, physical exercise, play therapy, and respectful and caring personalized treatment. In terms of mental health care, we can now say that there really were the ‘good old days’ in this medical specialty.” * Dana Ullman, MPH, CCH, author of The Homeopathic Revolution *“Mental health professionals and patients alike can take heart from this thoroughly documented description of natural cures for mental illness at the turn of the last century. The actual cures came from the timeless science of homeopathy, whose safe and effective medicines remain in use today. In fact, we can still implement the same protocols that Jerry Kantor describes in Sane Asylums, complete with specific medicines for common diagnoses. Both scholarly and entertaining, Sane Asylums provides solid support for a more sane approach to mental illness today.” * Burke Lennihan, RN, CCH, classical homeopath and author of Your Natural Medicine Cabinet *“In Sane Asylums, Jerry Kantor digs into the past to reveal a surprising history, one that challenges current societal beliefs. The most joyful chapter in this book tells of ‘baseball therapy’ practiced at Middletown State Homeopathic Hospital for the Insane, with the Asylums, as the hospital’s team was known, posting a surprisingly good record in competition with other local New York baseball teams. You read this and can’t help but ask yourself, what does this reveal about our mental health care today?” * Robert Whitaker, author of Mad in America *“Jerry Kantor’s book is an amazing historical document that also provides insight into what can be done to improve the lives of those struggling with mental illness today. Homeopathy can work miracles. It is imperative that more people realize this at a time when modern medicine is increasingly harming rather than helping us.” * Amy L. Lansky, Ph.D., author of Impossible Cure: The Promise of Homeopathy *“Sane Asylums gives us an illuminating look into a time when visionary doctors treated mental illness with care, compassion, and gentle, effective homeopathic remedies. It is an important historical addition that will enlighten therapists as well as anyone interested in improving the treatment of those with severe mental illness. One can only hope that this history becomes better known so that all effective treatments, such as homeopathy, will flourish.” * Jane Tara Cicchetti, CCH, author of Dreams, Symbols, and Homeopathy *“Sane Asylums is a book that makes you want to travel back in time and go to 1875--1925 when mental asylums in the United States offered humane living conditions, compassionate care, sports therapy, and homeopathic remedies to thousands of people with mental illness and obtained successful cures. Sane Asylums shows what was possible back then and what can be achieved today if the homeopathic approach to mental illness is made available again and we, as a society, learn to invest in sanity.” * Vatsala Sperling, Ph.D., P.D.Hom, CCH, R.S.Hom, classical homeopath and author of The Ayurvedic Rese *“Highly recommended. Sane Asylums is an engaging, well-researched, and very much needed historical perspective on the role of homeopathy in the evolution of medicine in the United States. Rather than the ‘scrubbed’ historical version we are accustomed to finding in our history books, Sane Asylums sheds new light on homeopathy’s relevance for mental health care, medicine, nursing, and politics today. Well worth the read!” * Ann McKay, RN-BC, CCH, HWNC-BC, homeopath *“In an insane world, what better than to challenge our collective cognitive dissonance around psychiatry? Homeopathy is biological intelligence and inheritance. Seems we knew this once upon a time. ‘Mad’ props to Jerry Kantor for uncovering beautiful, forgotten, misunderstood, and disavowed parts of our medical history.” * Louise Kuo, health freedom activist and author of Vaccine Epidemic *“Do you like history, homeopathic history? Well then, you’re sure to appreciate Jerry Kantor’s inspiring scholarship in this psychological thriller. And what’s most unsettling is that it’s all true!” * Jay Yasgur, author of Yasgur’s Homeopathic Dictionary and Holistic Health Reference *“I love this book! Sane Asylums will be a great addition to the history of homeopathy literature and likely enjoy popularity in the mental health community. The chapter about Mary Todd Lincoln was fascinating. Learning of Selden Haines Talcott’s career and approach to the psychiatric patient personalized homeopathic history for me. The chapter on the development of the Middletown State Hospital was enlightening and the baseball chapter was surprising and just plain fun.” * Mark Brody, M.D., psychiatry doctor *Table of ContentsForeword by Eric Leskowitz, M.D. PrefaceINTRODUCTION The Dead Sea Scrolls of Homeopathy and Psychiatry 1 Who Are the Mad and Where Shall They Dwell? 2 The Dawn of Enlightened Mental Health Care3 Homeopathy to the Fore4 The Madness of Mary Todd Lincoln 5 Enter Selden Haines Talcott 6 Middletown State Homeopathic Hospital’s Utopian Agenda 7 Walking the Talk8 Play Ball! The Innovation of Baseball Therapy 9 Genius Physician and Nurse-Educator Clara Barrus10 Disciples and Satellites of the Mother Church 11 Concessions to the Spirit of the Times 12 Investing in Sanity Appendices 1 Compendium of Madness Perspectives 2 Exemplifying Nanomedicine: The Research of Dr. Iris Bell 3 Samuel Hahnemann’s Mental Health Aphorisms 4 Middletown State Homeopathic Hospital Treatments and Case Studies 5 The 1916 General Summary of Homeopathic Hospitals and Sanatoriums Resources Notes Bibliography IndexAbout the Author

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Book SynopsisA SUNDAY TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR 'A triumph' Guardian 'Glorious ... makes the past at once familiar, exotic and thrilling.' Dominic Sandbrook 'A brilliant book' Mail on Sunday Just like us, medieval men and women worried about growing old, got blisters and indigestion, fell in love and had children. And yet their lives were full of miraculous and richly metaphorical experiences radically different to our own, unfolding in a world where deadly wounds might be healed overnight by divine intervention, or the heart of a king, plucked from his corpse, could be held aloft as a powerful symbol of political rule. In this richly-illustrated and unusual history, Jack Hartnell uncovers the fascinating ways in which people thought about, explored and experienced their physical selves in the Middle Ages, from Constantinople to Cairo and Canterbury. Unfolding like a medieval pageant, and filled with saints, soldiers, caliphs, queens, monks and monstrous beasts, it throws light on the medieval body from head to toe - revealing the surprisingly sophisticated medical knowledge of the time in the process. Bringing together medicine, art, music, politics, philosophy and social history, there is no better guide to what life was really like for the men and women who lived and died in the Middle Ages. Medieval Bodies is published in association with Wellcome Collection.Trade ReviewA brilliant book ... beautifully illustrated ... A triumphant piece of historical writing -- Kathryn Hughes * Mail on Sunday *An extraordinary story and a wonderfully rich study of the Middle Ages ... Hartnell's idea of approaching the medieval worldview through the body is inspired ... This beautifully illustrated book succeeds brilliantly in bringing this much maligned period to life ... A triumph of scholarship. -- PD Smith * Guardian *One of the achievements of this splendid book is to make our world view seem more narrow and fragmented than that of the extensive period we place somewhere between the Dark Ages and the Renaissance ... at every point you'll encounter wit, learning and riveting stories. A wonderful read. -- Melanie McDonagh * Evening Standard *An erudite, wide-ranging, thoughtfully illustrated book -- Laura Freeman * The Times *'Glorious ... makes the past at once familiar, exotic and thrilling.' Dominic Sandbrook, The Sunday Times -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *A thick, spicy plum pudding of a book * London Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisA brilliant cultural history Scull's book fills a gap in the literature and deserves to be widely read outstanding' The TimesTrade Review'Perhaps the most comprehensive account of the history of psychiatry that has yet appeared in a single volume' - The Times Literary Supplement'A milestone text … No other monograph has accomplished such scope, perception and balance in covering madness’s haunting, shifting presence in civilization’s psyche ' - BBC History Magazine'Powerful and disturbing … a panoramic survey' - The Sunday Times'Learned, liberally humanitarian and wryly witty' - The SpectatorTable of ContentsEndorsements • 1. Confronting Madness • 2. Madness in the Ancient World • 3. The Darkness and the Dawn • 4. Melancholie and Madnesse • 5. Madhouses and MadDoctors • 6. Nerves and Nervousness • 7. The Great Confinement • 8. Degeneration and Despair • 9. The Demi-Fous • 10. Desperate Remedies • 11. A Meaningful Interlude • 12. A Psychiatric Revolution?

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Book SynopsisEvolutionary thinking provides insights into many different areas in the research and practice of medicine and public health. It takes specialties such as medical microbiology, epidemiology, oncology, gynecology, and psychiatry that had become increasingly siloed and places them in a larger framework. This foundational structure enables students to view medical knowledge as an integrated whole, underpinned by general principles rather than a loose collection of disparate facts. The discipline of evolutionary medicine continues to advance rapidly as new results come in showing where the insights pay off and where they do not. Its conceptual foundations have also been strengthened in papers not yet reflected in the textbooks, so a new edition is therefore timely. At the same time, the teaching of evolutionary medicine has also been steadily gaining momentum both in courses that prepare undergraduates for medical school in North America and in other contexts worldwide. Evolutionary Medici

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Book SynopsisA stunning tribute to our eternal fascination with the human bodyTrade Review'An astonishing range of medical illustrations, ancient artifacts, contemporary art and microscopic views form around the world... the kaleidoscopic volume inspires genuine awe.' - The New York Times Book Review 'The massive volume... displays, in democratic profusion, more than 250 attempts at anatomical visualization.' - The Wall Street Journal 'Visually interesting.' - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 'Fascinating.' - Art Quarterly

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Book SynopsisVolume I of the Loeb Hippocrates presents an exemplary selection of works by or attributed to the “Father of Medicine” that illustrate his fundamental contributions to the theory, philosophy, and practice of medicine. Included are Ancient Medicine; Airs, Waters, Places; Epidemics 1 and 3; Precepts; Nutriment; and the famous Hippocratic Oath.

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Elizabeth Longford prize for Historical Biography ''Engrossing'' Claire Tomalin / ''Superb'' Sunday Times / ''A triumph'' Daily Mail Whether honoured and admired or criticized and ridiculed, Florence Nightingale has invariably been misrepresented and misunderstood. As the Lady with the Lamp, ministering to the wounded and dying of the Crimean War, she offers an enduring image of sentimental appeal and one that is permanently lodged in our national consciousness. But the awesome scale of her achievements over the course of her 90 years is infinitely more troubling - and inspiring - than this mythical simplification. From her tireless campaigning and staggering intellectual abilities to her tortured relationship with her sister and her distressing medical condition, this vivid and immensely readable biography draws on a wealth of unpublished material and previously unseen family papers, disentangling the myth from the reality and reinv

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Book SynopsisDrawing from original correspondence penned by lobotomy patients and their families as well as from the professional papers of lobotomy pioneer and neurologist Walter Freeman, The Lobotomy Letters gives an account of the widespread acceptance of this controversial procedure. The rise and widespread acceptance of psychosurgery constitutes one of the most troubling chapters in the history of modern medicine. By the late 1950s, tens of thousands of Americans had been lobotomized as treatment for a host of psychiatric disorders. Though the procedure would later be decried as devastating and grossly unscientific, many patients, families, and physicians reported veritable improvement from the surgery; some patients were even considered cured. The Lobotomy Letters gives an account of why this controversial procedure was sanctioned by psychiatrists and doctors of modern medicine. Drawing from original correspondence penned by lobotomy patients andtheir families as well as from the professional papers of lobotomy pioneer and neurologist Walter Freeman, the volume reconstructs how physicians, patients, and their families viewed lobotomy and analyzes the reasons for its overwhelming use. Mical Raz, MD/PhD, is a physician and historian of medicine.Trade ReviewIf you have read Jack Pressman's Last Resort, you may have concluded that you had read all you need to about the history of lobotomy. Mical Raz's book will make you think again. Through a close and thoughtful examination of lobotomist Walter Freeman, and especially his relations with patients, Raz has made a major contribution. * BULLETIN OF THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE *This volume provides a novel perspective on Walter Freeman's early training, linking it convincingly to his later professional practices and views. Highlighting that the efficacy of medical procedures is a complex and to some degree context-bound business, Raz's work is an important contribution to the history of twentieth-century American psychiatry. -- Andrew Scull, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Science Studies, University of California, San DiegoTable of ContentsIntroduction From French Neurology to American Lobotomy Locating Holism Between the Ego and the Ice Pick An Active Docility: Reconstructing the Clinical Encounter A Surgically Induced Childhood Lobotomized, in Good Working Condition Conclusion Notes Index

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Book SynopsisEver since we started huddling together in communities, the story of human history has been inextricably entwined with the story of microbes. They have evolved and spread amongst us, shaping our culture through infection, disease, and pandemic. At the same time, our changing human culture has itself influenced the evolutionary path of microbes. Dorothy H. Crawford here shows that one cannot be truly understood without the other. Beginning with a dramatic account of the SARS pandemic at the start of the 21st century, she takes us back in time to follow the interlinked history of microbes and man, taking an up-to-date look at ancient plagues and epidemics, and identifying key changes in the way humans have lived - such as our move from hunter-gatherer to farmer to city-dweller -- which made us vulnerable to microbe attack. Showing how we live our lives today -- with increasing crowding and air travel -- puts us once again at risk, Crawford asks whether we might ever conquer microbes completely, or whether we need to take a more microbe-centric view of the world. Among the possible answers, one thing becomes clear: that for generations to come, our deadly companions will continue to shape human history.Oxford Landmark Science books are ''must-read'' classics of modern science writing which have crystallized big ideas, and shaped the way we think.Trade ReviewAdmirably clear and engaging. * BBC History *Table of ContentsPreface Introduction 1: How It All Began 2: Our Microbial Inheritance 3: Microbes Jump Species 4: Crowds, Filth, and Poverty 5: Microbes Go Global 6: Famine and Devastation 7: Deadly Companions Revealed 8: The Fight Back Conclusion: Living Together Glossary Notes and References Index

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Book SynopsisMany people know that in 1928 Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin''s antibiotic potential while examining a stray mould that had bloomed in a dish of bacteria in his London laboratory. But few realise that Fleming worked only fitfully on penicillin until 1935, and that he is merely one character in the remarkable story of the antibiotic''s development as a drug. The others are Howard Florey, Professor of Pathology at Oxford University, where he ran the Dunn School; the German Jewish emigre and biochemist Ernst Chain; and Norman Heatley, one of the few scientists in Britain capable of the micro-analysis of organic substances. It was these three men and their colleagues at the Dunn School who would battle a lack of money, a lack of resources and even each other to develop a drug that would change the world. It was these three men and their colleagues who would be almost forgotten. Why this happened, why it took fourteen years to develop penicillin, and how it was finally done, is a story of quirky individuals, missed opportunities, medical prejudice, brilliant science, shoestring research, wartime pressures and misplaced modesty.Trade ReviewAdmirable, superbly researched ... Perhaps the most exciting tale of science since the apple dropped on Newton's head * Simon Winchester, NEW YORK TIMES *Veteran journalist and author Lax takes a revealing look back at the time when world-altering science was done on a shoestring, bringing to brilliant life the story of the first great antibiotic ... Informative and thoroughly enjoyable science history * KIRKUS REVIEWS *[Lax] tells the stories of these four remarkable scientists adroitly . . . and reinserts them into their rightful place in scientific history. * INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY *A fascinating story of serendipity, wounded egos and medical myths. * GUARDIAN *

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Book SynopsisConsiders the origins, development and history of medicines that generate high media interest and have a huge social and economic impact on society. This title provides coverage of pre-twentieth century drugs, the huge advances made in the twentieth century and the developments in drug research.Trade Review"... the book is of great value for everybody wanting to get brief, reliable information as well as for those using it as a starting point for further research." Die Pharmazie - An International Journal of Pharmaceutical SciencesTable of ContentsChapter 1 Introduction. Part 1 Legacy Of The Past. Chapter 2 The Prehistoric Period. Chapter 3 Pre-Hellenic Civilisations. Chapter 4 Greece and Rome. Chapter 5 The Arab World. Chapter 6 Herbals. Chapter 7 Chemical Medecines. Chapter 8 Systematic Medicine. Part 2 Drugs From Naturally Occurring Prototypes. Section I Phytochemicals. Chapter 9 Alkaloids. Chapter 10 Non-Alkaloid Plant Products. Chapter 11 Plant Product Analogues and Compounds Derived From Them. Section II Biochemicals. Chapter 12 The Origins Of Hormone Therapy. Chapter 13 Neurohormones. Chapter 14 Peptide Hormones. Chapter 15 Sex Hormones. Chapter 16 Adrenal Cortex Hormones. Chapter 17 Prostaglandins. Chapter 18 Hormone Analogues. Chapter 19 Vitamins. Chapter 20 Antimetabolites. Chapter 21 Blood and Biological Products. Section III Drugs from Microorganisms. Chapter 22 Antibiotics. Chapter 23 Antibiotic Analogues. Chapter 24 Pharmacodynamic Agents from Microorganisms. Chapter 25 Analogues of Pharmacodynamic Agents from Fungi. Part 3 Synthetic Drugs. Chapter 26 The First Synthetic Drugs and Their Analogues. Chapter 27 Drugs Originating from the Screening of Dyes. Chapter 28 Drugs Originating from the Screening of Organic Chemicals. Chapter 29 Drugs Discovered through Serendipitous Observations Involving Humans. Chapter 30 Drugs Disocvered through Serendipity in the Laboratory. Chapter 31 Concluding Remarks.

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Book SynopsisTheophrastus von Hohenheim (1493-1541), better known as Paracelsus, was a physician, natural magician and commentator on the social and religious issues of his day. This work considers Paracelsus' life and works, and explores his advocacy for total reform of the clerical, legal, and medical professions.Trade Review“Historians of science, medicine, and magic along with Reformation historians will benefit from this work.”--American Historical Review * American Historical Review *"Here it is at last, the Paracelsus book that some of us have been waiting for for years. . . . All in all this new account of that mysterious but compelling character Paracelsus will be widely welcome and will provide the stimulus for further study of this fascinating period of revolutionary strife in Europe, which its participants believed to be a turning point in world history."—Andrew Cunningham, The British Journal for the History of Science -- Andrew Cunningham * The British Journal for the History of Science *"In Webster's skillful hands, Paracelsus (1493-1541) is transformed from an alchemical quack into an engaging and sympathetic radical religious and medical reformer...Webster's erudite account is a wake-up call for scholars of the Radical Reformation to become acquainted with the ideas of reformers in other fields, such as medicine and philosophy."--Gary K. Waite, The Mennonite Quarterly Review -- Gary K. Waite * The Mennonite Quarterly Review *"This is a fascinating book, which shows vividly the urgency with which Paracelsus engaged with the world in which he lived, and the complexity of that world. It will doubtless become a standard work for those dealing with this complex figure."--Charlotte Methuen, The Journal of Ecclesiastical History -- Charlotte Methuen * The Journal of Ecclesiastical History *"[A] masterful new book, integrating Paracelsus's various pursuits as a coherent and urgent mission to reform a world in crisis on the brink of the End Times. . . . This learned, engaging, and comprehensive study will certainly remain the standard study of Paracelsus for some time, and deservedly so."—Tara Nummedal, Renaissance Quarterly -- Tara Nummedal * Renaissance Quarterly *"Webster's portrayal of Paracelsus reveals a multidimensional and more comprehensible figure. Webster is able to reshape our understanding of Paracelsus as a revolutionary reformer. . . . Webster's book is a substantial work that contextualizes Paracelsus, and entrenches the figure as a man worthy of note not only for his contributions to medicine and science, but also as relevant to discussions of sixteenth-century German religious reform."—Katherine Walker, The Sixteenth Century Journal -- Katherine Walker * The Sixteenth Century Journal *"A valuable resource."—Eric Lund, Church History -- Eric Lund * Church History *

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Book SynopsisA world-renowned psychiatrist reveals the fascinating story of psychiatry's origins, demise and redemption. Psychiatry has come a long way since the days of chaining 'lunatics' in cold cells and parading them as freakish marvels before a gaping public. But, as Jeffrey Lieberman reveals in his extraordinary and eye-opening book, the path to legitimacy for 'the black sheep of medicine' has been anything but smooth. In SHRINKS, Dr Lieberman traces the field from its birth as a mystic pseudo-science through its adolescence as a cult of 'shrinks' to its late blooming maturity since the Second World War as a science-driven profession that saves lives. With fascinating case studies and portraits of the luminaries of the field, from Sigmund Freud to Eric Kandel, SHRINKS is a gripping and illuminating read. It is also an urgent call-to-arms to dispel the stigma surrounding mental illness and to start treating it as a disease rather than a state of mind.Trade ReviewAs a retort to those that still believe there are no mental disorders, only diverse mentalities, Jeffrey Lieberman's historic and spirited defence of psychiatric diagnoses and treatments has much work to do ... This is a humane guide to psychiatry's internal conflicts and a candid account of its claims to scientific credibility -- Iain Finlayson * THE TIMES *Journeying through the history of psychiatry with Jeffrey A. Lieberman is not unlike being led by Voltaire's indomitable optimist, Professor Pangloss, through the seven years' war and the Lisbon earthquake ... [Lieberman is] a breezy, charming, and genial guide to a field fraught with difficulties ... [He is] an insider, with the kind of experience most professional historians cannot claim -- Lisa Appignanesi * THE OBSERVER *An informative book ... Given that the mind is a fragile faculty and the brain is a delicate organ, it is sobering to discover from his book what a haphazard discipline psychiatry was until the 1970s -- Jack Carrigan * CATHOLIC HERALD *SHRINKS is an excellent way into the world of modern psychiatry: its science, the limits and benefits of its diagnostic systems and treatments, how doctors make good decisions and why they make bad ones. SHRINKS is as thorough as it is lively -- Kay Redfield Jamison, author of AN UNQUIET MINDThe most authoritative exploration I have read of the state of contemporary psychiatry ... It is also the most hopeful. Jeffrey Lieberman's account of the scientific revolution in psychiatry - a revolution that he both participated in and helped to foster - is compelling. But it is his candour, lack of dogmatism, and sensitivity to suffering that will linger in your mind long after you've turned the last page -- Sylvia Nasar, author of A BEAUTIFUL MINDAn astonishing book: honest, sober, exciting, and humane. Lieberman writes with the authority of an expert, but with the humility of a doctor who has learned to treat the most profound and mysterious forms of mental illnesses ... This book brings you to the very forefront of one of the most amazing medical journeys of our time -- Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of THE EMPEROR OF ALL MALADIESJeffrey Lieberman has produced a masterful behind-the-scenes examination of psychiatry and, by extension, the human condition. His epic narrative charts the unlikely ascent of "the stepchild of medicine" from the earliest parlor-room charlatans of animal magnetism to the contentious Digital Age roll-out of the DSM-5, paralleling Lieberman's own professional transformation from eager psychoanalytic student of Freud to neuroscience-minded president of a reformed American Psychiatric Association. A wise and gripping book that tackles one of the most important questions of our time: what is mental illness? -- Andrew Solomon, author of FAR FROM THE TREE and THE NOONDAY DEMONSHRINKS is an excellent way into the world of modern psychiatry: its science, the limits and benefits of its diagnostic systems and treatments, how doctors make good decisions and why they make bad ones. SHRINKS is as thorough as it is lively -- Kay Redfield Jamison, author of AN UNQUIET MINDThe most authoritative exploration I have read of the state of contemporary psychiatry ... It is also the most hopeful. Jeffrey Lieberman's account of the scientific revolution in psychiatry - a revolution that he both participated in and helped to foster - is compelling. But it is his candour, lack of dogmatism, and sensitivity to suffering that will linger in your mind long after you've turned the last page -- Sylvia Nasar, author of A BEAUTIFUL MINDAn authoritative, often inspiring account of progress in psychiatry, balanced by frank and admirable openness about the field's historical missteps -- Peter D. Kramer, author of LISTENING TO PROZAC and AGAINST DEPRESSIONSHRINKS is a must-read for anyone who cares about the future of mental health care ... I've been a policy-maker and a patient for decades, yet there was much in here I never really understood before. And now that we have mental health parity, that understanding is more important than ever. A smart, important, accessible book -- Patrick J. Kennedy, former US congressman, founder of The Kennedy Forum, and co-founder of One MindOnly someone such as Jeffrey Lieberman ... has both the clinical and scientific vision to write a modern history of the evolution of psychiatry, from its primitive origins to its current promise for the future. This highly readable and fully accessible book puts the history of psychiatry into a modern perspective for the general reader -- Eric Kandel, University and Kavli Professor of Brain Science, Columbia University, and Nobel Prize winner for Medicine and Physiology 2000SHRINKS is a great read and is highly recommended. By combining clinical case histories and theoretical musings, it describes where psychiatry came from and where it is going. The author, a highly respected clinical, research, and academic psychiatrist and recent President of the American Psychiatric Association, does not hesitate to describe the soft underbelly of his profession "as it matured from a psychoanalytic cult of shrinks into a scientific medicine of the brain." Especially interesting are descriptions of the profession's meanderings into intellectual dead ends, from Wilhelm Reich to Thomas Szasz and Daniel Amen. Equally intriguing is the emergence of today's scientific psychiatry which, when practiced skillfully, can afford great relief for many psychiatric disorders -- E. Fuller Torrey, author of SURVIVING SCHIZOPHRENIA

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Book SynopsisWhat common condition can be treated with cow dung? How do crushed oystershells ease heartburn? Can eels cure deafness? And how do you stop a stubborn case of the hiccups? If someone was struck down by illness or injury in the late eighteenth century, the chances are that they would have referred to William Buchan's Domestic Medicine – with the result that they might have found themselves drinking a broth made from sheep brain or administering drops of urine in their ears. The book’s author, a Scottish physician, published his self-help manual in 1769 specifically for the benefit of people who were unable readily to access or afford medical assistance. Copies could be found in coffee-houses, in apothecary shops and private households, and in 1789 Fletcher Christian and his fellow mutineers took the sensible precaution of grabbing the copy from HMS Bounty before they fled to Pitcairn Island. Much of Dr Buchan's advice on how to live a healthy life and avoid disease is still sound and relevant today, such as eating a varied and healthy diet, breathing plenty of fresh air, and taking exercise. Many of his prescriptions are amusing when viewed in retrospect, such as his fondness for powdered Spanish fly and genital trusses. Other recommendations – bleeding a woman experiencing a difficult childbirth or administering mercury to treat numerous ailments – were downright dangerous. This edited selection of entries from one of the first medical self-help manuals gives a fascinating insight into popular treatments of the eighteenth century, derived both from folklore and the emerging medical science of the day.Trade ReviewBuchan’s focus on family, the value of love, the destructive nature of anger and its management, child-care, diet and exer¬cise are all commendable – though why he, like other contemporaries, thought the night air was injurious is a mystery. -- Robert Winston'Buchan didn’t always achieve his aim of protecting the general public against “the destructive influences of Ignorance, Superstition and Quackery”. In fact some of his tips should come with a health warning…' * Sunday Express *

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Book SynopsisPrinted in 1247, this is the oldest extant book on forensic medicine in the world. Written as a guide for magistrates in conducting inquests, the book is a major source on early Chinese knowledge of pathology and morbid anatomy. Includes a lengthy introductory essay by the translator.

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