sophiebarlow's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark informative reflective medium-paced

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ceredonia's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark informative slow-paced

2.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

beepbeep101's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris has become a must-read author for me. I read her second book, The Facemaker, first, which was one of the best books I read last year. I highly anticipate anything else she comes out with, should she publish more in the future! 

Her writing reads, if not like fiction, as smoothly as a novel in most places. I grew up hearing medical terms around the dinner table, as my dad is a family physician, so I may have a head start on other readers - but there were few times that I had to stop to re-read a section or look up a term. Fitzharris defines concepts well for the layman. Most of the times I had to re-read anything were quotes using antiquated jargon. 

I remember learning about pasteurization in school, and I, as many today, take for granted all of the antiseptic steps we go through today with even just treating scrapes. But learning about the process we went through to get there and about the lives of these individuals brings so much more perspective! I knew roughly the timeline for transitioning from miasma to germ theory, but reading in more detail about how we figured it out and the reactions of the medical community is fascinating and just….awe-inspiring. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

erinsampson91's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.75


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

tblobitz's review against another edition

Go to review page

informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

nicolesbookreviews's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark informative tense medium-paced

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

abbycole's review against another edition

Go to review page

informative tense medium-paced

4.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

yourfriendgil's review against another edition

Go to review page

informative medium-paced

4.5

Surgery during the 1800s is explained in a way that is detailed and thorough, leaving little to the imagination. I got about 30 pages in before I thought ‘am I going to be able to keep reading this?’ 

My interest in the topic won over my uneasy digestive system. The writing is both comprehensive yet lacking the dullness of a history textbook. 

I found myself not wanting the book to be over. Which is odd for a book like this.

It is wild to me how things we don’t think twice about today were once unknown … 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

carlafiorenzo's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark informative fast-paced

4.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

thecozyrogue's review against another edition

Go to review page

informative inspiring medium-paced

4.75


Expand filter menu Content Warnings