Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetuated in the Name of Science by Sam Kean

11 reviews

siobhanward's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

3.5

 

Usually these kinds of books don't get to me, but this one had some moments that just put me on edge. This book is filled with graphic descriptions, so please check TWs before reading, since a good deal of it could be triggering.

All that to say, this was an interesting read overall. I appreciated that the chapters were fairly long, which meant an in-depth look at the topics at hand, rather than short, disjointed pieces. I will say, however, that a good deal of this felt like an advertisement for Kean's podcast - so many footnotes just ended with "for more info, check out episode x of my podcast" which got annoying pretty quickly.

Overall, Kean handles a number of sensitive topics with respect - the topics he chose were interesting and seemingly well-researched, and I enjoyed learning more about things I only had a general knowledge of before (including what an ice pick is apparently, because I realized while reading, I always pictured ice axes before...).

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, Medical content, Child abuse, Gore, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Blood, Dysphoria, Excrement, Confinement, Colonisation, Body horror, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Abortion and Antisemitism

gk1412's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious reflective fast-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Antisemitism, Death, Racism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Deportation, Hate crime, Transphobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence

monstersinspace's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective fast-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Ableism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, and Child abuse

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Blood, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Slavery, Body horror, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Racism, and Suicide

kbergsten's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Gore, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Torture, Transphobia, Ableism, Abortion, Animal death, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Physical abuse, and Rape

kc_onmybookshelf's review against another edition

dark informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Medical trauma, Animal cruelty, and Medical content

Moderate: Murder, Suicide, and Torture

panthalassa's review against another edition

dark informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Medical content, Medical trauma, Slavery, Transphobia, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Mental illness, Murder, and Racism

Moderate: Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Deadnaming, Grief, and Dysphoria

Minor: Rape, Addiction, and Abortion

laurenkimoto's review against another edition

challenging funny informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

Here are some non coherent thoughts on this book as my brain is still reeling from it and the appendix…

The transitions between chapters and delightful little paragraphs that are reminiscent of the “next time on…” that follow tv shows 

Kean’s sense of humour, sarcasm, and wit shine through on occasion to bring some relief when talking about such a serious topic. 

I appreciate that the section breaks in each chapter are little pictures of objects that relate to the content of each chapter. 

The book starts off “easy” talking about pirates but then hits you with the trans Atlantic slave trade. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Transphobia, Torture, and Slavery

Moderate: Ableism, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Blood, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Genocide, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Torture, Suicide, War, and Toxic relationship

clarabooksit's review

dark informative reflective slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Dysphoria, Xenophobia, Violence, Torture, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Classism, Mental illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racism, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Genocide, Colonisation, Child abuse, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Suicide and Suicide attempt

Minor: Addiction and Alcoholism

nyearthmama's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

If there were a category for speculative non-fiction, this book would be in it. I am looking up many things the author mentions in the book for more information and confirm accuracy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Racism

akazzy8's review against another edition

challenging dark funny informative mysterious medium-paced

4.75

This book was excellent! I was looking for a good spooky season book, and this was really the perfect option for me. It has notes of creepiness and dark themes, but isn't a murder mystery which is a genre I can't stand and really dominates the spooky book aisles. It is extra creepy as it talks about real happenings, and like any history book as a way to educate and make adjustments for a more equitable future.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Xenophobia, War, Violence, Transphobia, Torture, Slavery, Racism, Murder, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Gore, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death, Colonisation, Antisemitism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Alcohol

While there are many content warnings, I would mention they are stated in more of a detached academic fashion. While there are horrible portions, it is not always written like a story, so readers detachment from some of these acts make this book less "graphic". This certainly is not to say that these warnings aren't still there!