The Library Eclectica - The Medical Aisle


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Comtesse Reviews Recommendations



Medical Curiosities Robert M. Youngson (Compiler) Carroll & Graf Amazon says, "This remarkable collection of true medical stories contains more than 200 varied accounts, illuminated by Dr. Youngson's lifetime experience in clinical medicine. Sometimes plausible, occasionally incredible, these stories include life-saving therapies involving bacon, toads, and other strange items; the often extreme limitations of medical science and training; myriad weird symptoms, and more." However, judging by the reviews, it looks like this one is a bit of a disappointment. (Not Yet Reviewed)
A Morning's Work: Medical Photographs From The Burns Archive & Collection Stanley B. Burns, M.D. Twin Palms Publishers Stanley Burns is a physician and a collector of medical history photographs. You may remember his previous book of mortuary photographs entitled "Sleeping Beauty" which is long out of print and fetches incredible sums among used book dealers. Well, you'd be wise to pick this beauty up before it goes the way of "Sleeping Beauty"! "A Morning's Work" is a collection of 127 vintage photographs from 1843 to 1939 along with a helpful narrative explanation of the photographs and their cultural significance. Although some of the pictures are more historically significant than interesting, the bulk of the images are of medical curiosities - and some of them are absolutely head-scratchingly bizarre. Among the images featured are mortuary photographs, images of amputations, surgical procedures, disfigurement, and a wide assortment of congenital and acquired diseases. The title "A Morning's Work" is taken from an image of a pile of amputated limbs taken during the Civil War, when the horrific injuries inflicted by the large leadshots used at the time resulted in amputations for even the smallest of injuries. Many of the photographs take us back to the Dark Days of medicine, before antiseptic procedures were implemented, and when a small wound could result in a deadly infection in a matter of days. The narrative explanations of the photographs adds a special poignance to them. For example, a photograph of a dead man would not be nearly so interesting were it not for Burns' explanation that the man was Dr. James Howe who contracted Cholera while treating patients during the St. Louis epidemic of 1849 and was fatally afflicted. That one sombre portrait seems to symbolize the bravery and sacrifice of physicians the world over during times of pestilence, and if there's anything that you come away with after viewing this book, it's a newfound appreciation for modern medicine. All told, "A Morning's Work" is a fascinating book - and a must for enthusiasts of the bizarre and medical historians alike. All photographs are culled from "A Morning's Work" and may not be reprinted without permission of the publisher... you know, the usual... NNNNN - Wonderfully Compelling!
Mütter Museum: Of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia Edited by Gretchen Worden Blast Books If you don't have the calendars, this is an excellent way to get some of the delightfully artistic photographs of the creepy exhibits at the Mütter Museum. My primary complaint is that the text is often a bit short on detail, but it could very well be that not that much is known about some of the specimens. Also, the lack of photographs of some of the most interesting exhibits - such as the Soap Lady and the Giant Colon - is annoying, especially since they don't let you take pictures yourself at the museum. But there are more than enough fascinating photographs to make this a worthwhile addition to morbid coffee tables everywhere! "Home to over 20,000 mind-boggling anatomic specimens, plaster casts, wax models, and paintings, the Mütter Museum, founded in 1858, is part of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. This book features over 100 photographs by a select group of renowned photographers whose work appears in the award-winning Mütter Museum calendars. Highlights include a bust of an early-19th-century Parisian widow with a six-inch horn protruding from the forehead; the connected livers of Chang and Eng, the world-famous Siamese twins; the skeleton of a 7’6" giant from Kentucky; and a collection of 139 skulls showing anatomic variation among ethnic groups in central and eastern Europe. Historical photographs from the museum’s archives, brief background texts about the collection, stunning photographs by acclaimed photographers including William Wegman and Joel-Peter Witkinand, and an introductory essay on the museum are also included." (Amazon Review) NNNN - A Great Coffee Table Filler
The Nazi Doctors By Robert Lifton Basic Books From Amazon.Com: "Nazi doctors did more than conduct bizarre experiments on concentration-camp inmates; they supervised the entire process of medical mass murder, from selecting those who were to be exterminated to disposing of corpses. Lifton (The Broken Connection; The Life of the Self shows that this medically supervised killing was done in the name of 'healing,' as part of a racist program to cleanse the Aryan body politic. After the German eugenics campaign of the 1920s for forced sterilization of the 'unfit,' it was but one step to 'euthanasia,' which in the Nazi context meant systematic murder of Jews. Building on interviews with former Nazi physicians and their prisoners, Lifton presents a disturbing portrait of careerists who killed to overcome feelings of powerlessness. He includes a chapter on Josef Mengele and one on Eduard Wirths, the 'kind,' 'decent' doctor (as some inmates described him) who set up the Auschwitz death machinery. Lifton also psychoanalyzes the German people, scarred by the devastation of World War I and mystically seeking regeneration. This profound study ranks with the most insightful books on the Holocaust." (Not Yet Reviewed)
The Plutonium Files: America's Secret Medical Experiments in the Cold War By Eileen Welsome Dell Books Recommended by an anonymous Asylum Inmate: "Government scientists scrambled to find out, fearing cancer outbreaks and worse, but in their urgency conducted classified experiments that bordered on the horrific: MIT researchers fed radioactive oatmeal to residents of a state boys' school outside Boston; prisoners in Washington and Oregon were subjected to crippling blasts of direct radiation; and patients with terminal illnesses (or so it was hoped) were secretly injected with large doses of plutonium--survivors were surreptitiously monitored for years afterward." (Not Yet Reviewed)
An Underground Education By Richard Zacks Anchor Books An absolutely marvelous examination of those historical tid-bits that they never teach you in school, like the indecent forgotten parts of the Bible, the sexual side of slavery, and the evolution of underwear. Ah, but we're here to discuss the morbid side of life, and there's a lot of disturbing darkness scattered throughout the book, especially in the "Crime & Punishment" and "Medicine" chapters. An immensely fascinating and enlightening book - highly, highly recommended! NNNNN - Enthralling Arcana!!

Accidentally, on Purpose: The Making Of A Personal Injury Underworld In America by Ken Dornstein (Palgrave) Recommended by Jacques Le'Disco: "My favorite chapter covers The House of Pain, where the inhabitants specialized in burning, and mutilating insurance scam artists (sometimes in vain)." Sounds fascinating to me!
The Age of Agony : The Art of Healing, 1700-1800 by Guy R. Williams (Academy Chicago Pub) "This book deals with the art of healing as it was practised, all too tragically, during the 18th century."
Bloody Moments by Gael Jennings and Roland Harvey (Annick Press) "It's a children's cartoon history about medicine, chock full of blood guts and gore. It's a very entertaining read and the illustrations are just great. The target age group is 9-12. The School Library Journal review on Amazon was less then flattering but teachers have been known to be humorless."
Deadly Feasts: Tracking The Secrets Of A Terrifying New Plague by Richard Rhodes (Simon & Schuster) Recommeded by Sam Mori: "A book that I am happy to say I am reading for a biology class, and that so far has not been recommended by anybody (shocking!) is Deadly Feasts by Richard Rhodes. It goes into detail about the discovery and diagnosis of various encephalopathy throughout the mid-to-late-twentieth century. The first part is particularly interesting, detailing kuru (a brain disease passed on by endocannibalism—the eating of one’s relative’s brains) and a Fore tribe’s cannibal feast. I recommend the book just for that, really. I hope you and your readers enjoy the book."
Encyclopaedia Anatomica (Taschen) Recommeded by John. From the eccentric Museo La Specola in Florence comes this amazing collection of waxworks depicting the human anatomy in all its dazzling complexity. A selection of wax bodies and body part and organ studies from the museum’s collection is presented here; from skeletons to vein structures, organs to nerves, and arteries to the delicate pores of the skin, the human body is mapped out in meticulous and exacting detail. Texts explaining the human anatomy in laypersons’ terms and exploring the historical and cultural significance of the wax figures complete this "total body experience."
The Excruciating History of Dentistry: Toothsome Tales & Oral Oddities from Babylon to Braces by James Wynbrandt (St. Martin's Griffin) "One's next oral health visit will never be the same after soaking up the dread results of one's ancestors' experiences with dental dismay. Do, please, enjoy."
Mutants: On Genetic Variety and the Human Body by Armand Marie Leroi (Penguin) Recommended by Keith: "Mutants is rapidly becoming one of my favorite books. The book covers all sorts of human genetic mutations and what causes them. It is both readable and entertaining. Although it does not actually explain how to recreate the mutations in lab animals, it does explain how the experiments were performed. I whole-heartedly recommend it, although I wish there were more pictures." Also recommended by Em: "I highly recommend Armand Leroi's book Mutants. It manages to be inexplicably upbeat while, at the same time, horribly depressing, a neat trick to be sure. Anyway, it's a beautifully written and thoroughly engrossing book, complete with a few choice anatomical illustrations and photos. It isn't just a cheap freak show in book form, but instead presents a meticulously researched picture of genetic mutation and its study, one that does not sensationalize its examples. Leroi depicts his subject clearly and unflinchingly. It's morbid fun, but the kind where you learn something and no one gets arrested for necrophilia. The quote on the back cover reads 'Who are the mutants? We are all mutants.' If that doesn't scream Comtesse-worthy morbidity, I don't know what does."
Plagues and Peoples by William H. McNeill (Anchor) "I had to read this my freshman year of college and could not put it down. It details the spread of disease and infection through the course of human history. I think it provides an interesting perspective on disease epidemics of the past - it doesn't romanticize the situations one way or the other. For once."
The Strange Case of the Walking Corpse: A Chronicle of Medical Mysteries, Curious Remedies,and Bizarre but True Healing Folklore by Nancy Butcher (Avery) Suggested by Anna. This one sounds interesting on first glance, but the reviews at Amazon would seem to indicate that it's not very well executed after all. Pity.

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