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timgrubbs's review against another edition
5.0
Considering medical debates go back centuries…look at the evolution of medicine throughout the 19th century tied to some of the smallest components of medicine…simple germs…
The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine by Lindsey Fitzharris is a historical retrospective on the progress of medical understanding throughout the time of Queen Victoria.
While the major theme of the book is Joseph Lister and his study of germs and infection, much of the book also covers other elements of the medical field at the time (specifically Europe).
From Louis Pasteur to resurrection men to various medical technology of the time that would be horrifying by modern standards…take a look at the world of nearly two centuries ago and delight that things have evolved to the point where patients can actually recover in hospitals, expectant movers aren’t treated by doctors the same day as they conduct autopsies, and cleaning was more of a recommendation (if taken into consideration at all).
The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine by Lindsey Fitzharris is a historical retrospective on the progress of medical understanding throughout the time of Queen Victoria.
While the major theme of the book is Joseph Lister and his study of germs and infection, much of the book also covers other elements of the medical field at the time (specifically Europe).
From Louis Pasteur to resurrection men to various medical technology of the time that would be horrifying by modern standards…take a look at the world of nearly two centuries ago and delight that things have evolved to the point where patients can actually recover in hospitals, expectant movers aren’t treated by doctors the same day as they conduct autopsies, and cleaning was more of a recommendation (if taken into consideration at all).
chaosetc's review against another edition
4.0
I was more riveted by the history of surgery than by the biography of Lister himself, although by the end I was able to appreciate why the book focused on him. His efforts lead to a revolutionary change in hospital sanitation within his own lifetime. I've heard about this time period before, but the conditions in which people lived never cease to be horrifying. The story was also an excellent object lesson in how politics can delay critical science in painfully detrimental ways. Many lives were shortened or at the very least made considerably more miserable by an astonishing lack of curiosity among doctors who clung to unproven doctrine.
My one reservation about this book is that Lister sounds a little too good to be true. Did the man have no faults? Of course he did, because we all do. Maybe the author didn't see any value in including that type of info, or maybe the details have been lost to history, but it makes me wonder what other inconvenient truths might have been overlooked.
An enthusiastic fist bump for the audio version - the voice of the narrator was a joy and felt very appropriate for the story.
My one reservation about this book is that Lister sounds a little too good to be true. Did the man have no faults? Of course he did, because we all do. Maybe the author didn't see any value in including that type of info, or maybe the details have been lost to history, but it makes me wonder what other inconvenient truths might have been overlooked.
An enthusiastic fist bump for the audio version - the voice of the narrator was a joy and felt very appropriate for the story.
cecebreze's review against another edition
5.0
"Der Horror der frühen Medizin" ist eigentlich eine gut recherchierte Biografie über den Mediziner Joseph Lister. Dieser war ein Medizinstudent zu der Zeit, als Chirurgen noch Handwerker waren und in dreckigen Theaterartigen Sälen voller Zuschauer Körperteile absäbelten. Kein Wunder also, dass kaum jemand diese "OPs" jemals überlebte. Lister forschte intensiv an der frage, warum die sterberat nach den OPs so hoch war und entwickelt schließlich ein Desinfektionsmittel, das die Medizin und die Chirurgie grundlegend verändert hat.
Lindsey Fitzharris beschreibt die damaligen Zustände trocken und äußerst detailliert, es wird schonmal haarklein beschrieben, wie ein Bein abgesäbelt wird, oder wie unhygienisch die Umstände waren. Das Buch war für mich sehr interessant und informativ zu lesen, was durch den angenehmen Schreibstil erleichtert wurde.
Auch das Cover passt wie ich finde gut zum Thema, Rot für das Blut, das geflossen ist und schwarz für den schaurigen Teil des Buches. Den Buchtrailer fand ich im übrigen auch super!
Auch wenn "Der Horror der frühen Medizin" ein trockenes Sachbuch ist, lohnt es sich auch für alle Nicht-Mediziner, dieses Buch zu lesen!
Lindsey Fitzharris beschreibt die damaligen Zustände trocken und äußerst detailliert, es wird schonmal haarklein beschrieben, wie ein Bein abgesäbelt wird, oder wie unhygienisch die Umstände waren. Das Buch war für mich sehr interessant und informativ zu lesen, was durch den angenehmen Schreibstil erleichtert wurde.
Auch das Cover passt wie ich finde gut zum Thema, Rot für das Blut, das geflossen ist und schwarz für den schaurigen Teil des Buches. Den Buchtrailer fand ich im übrigen auch super!
Auch wenn "Der Horror der frühen Medizin" ein trockenes Sachbuch ist, lohnt es sich auch für alle Nicht-Mediziner, dieses Buch zu lesen!
wadd3's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.5