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A review by dragonterriers
The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine by Lindsey Fitzharris
dark
funny
informative
medium-paced
5.0
incredibly informative yet witty and keeps you interested. if you’re into medical info, history, and the assorted shenanigans of those kooky ol’ victorians who could saw off a limb in 60 seconds or less but wouldn’t wash their hands or equipment between surgeries, this is an excellent read. feels almost like it should be semi-required reading for medical professionals to remember the often less-than-ethical ways that our current medical practices have developed, and how what we do now may be interpreted by the generations after us. very thought-provoking.
likely goes without saying, but there are detailed descriptions of surgery (some from the pre-ether/anesthesia days), medical procedures, and the less-than-ideal hospital ethos of the times. also some talk of animal experiments which unfortunately is unavoidable with much medical history, mostly fairly brief here but it is a recurring theme with a couple more in-depth descriptions.
likely goes without saying, but there are detailed descriptions of surgery (some from the pre-ether/anesthesia days), medical procedures, and the less-than-ideal hospital ethos of the times. also some talk of animal experiments which unfortunately is unavoidable with much medical history, mostly fairly brief here but it is a recurring theme with a couple more in-depth descriptions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse and Violence