Mary Roach in fine form! Gulp is gross, irreverent, and utterly delightful. I learned about the mouth and on down, with emphasis on the down--I never Mary Roach in fine form! Gulp is gross, irreverent, and utterly delightful. I learned about the mouth and on down, with emphasis on the down--I never expected the subject of rectal smuggling to be so fascinating....more
I've really enjoyed Jen Gunter's other books, and I was excited that my local library acquired her new release as soon as it came out! Blood has a verI've really enjoyed Jen Gunter's other books, and I was excited that my local library acquired her new release as soon as it came out! Blood has a very specific focus on menstruation: what's normal, what's abnormal, what some causes of abnormalities may be, what treatments can be used for certain symptoms, etcetera. I appreciated her inclusive language--and her few pointed tirades against the patriarchy.
There is some overlap with the content of previous books, but it's been years since I read them, so I approached this one with fresh eyes. As ever, I learned a lot of incredibly useful scientific facts, things that will make me much more educated in future doctor visits. She does, at times, delve deep into medical terminology; there were a few pages where I had to skim because the content was going beyond me. There are frequent illustrations, however, to help explain concepts....more
There is something amusing about getting my first full-assault migraine in two months as I read Sacks's book Migraine. I suppose my brain wanted to saThere is something amusing about getting my first full-assault migraine in two months as I read Sacks's book Migraine. I suppose my brain wanted to sadistically illustrate the text--if so, grand job! This book is not an easy read, even when one can read with both eyes. There is heavy medical jargon. Even so, it proved to still be an informative work to skim, and I did pick up a few new terms to employ. Though the book is certainly out of date in relation to new medical interventions, it is still powerful because it presents a sort of literary history of the migraine going back to writers of ancient Greece. I was amazed to see how much I had in common with other sufferers--and how much worse my plight could be. (I was horrified that some people, when seeing visual distortions, in truth believed that chunks of their reality were gone.)...more
I've been curious about this book for decades, as it was referenced more than once during psych classes I took during college. It's a short, thoughtfuI've been curious about this book for decades, as it was referenced more than once during psych classes I took during college. It's a short, thoughtful read of about 240 pages, discussing different and highly unusual cases of psychological and physiological patients encountered by Dr. Sacks in his practice. Some of them are quite disturbing, yet are consistently intriguing.
As the book is compiled of material written in the 1970s and 1980s, it's important to note that the book's terminology and breadth is quite dated, and must be regarded in the context of the time; this was particularly clear to me in the last section, which discussed some patients who are described as 'retarded' and 'autistic.' I kept cringing, and had to remind myself that we've come a long way in the past few years. Back at the time this was published, Sacks would have been outright progressive for his open-mindedness and positive outlook....more
I received an advance edition of this book via NetGalley.
"Apparently there is nothing of lower value than an aging woman's body, and many in our socieI received an advance edition of this book via NetGalley.
"Apparently there is nothing of lower value than an aging woman's body, and many in our society treat menopause not as a phase of life, but rather as a phase of death. Sort of a pre-death."
Jen Gunter confronts the subject of menopause through a distinctly matter-of-fact, feminist view in her book The Menopause Manifesto. She is an OB/GYN with decades of experience in her field, but also speaks from personal experience, having recently gone through 'the change' herself. As a person of 41 years, most definitely in perimenopause, I found her perspective refreshing. She discusses subjects like sex, bleeding, and hot flashes in blunt terms, and confronts the immense misinformation put forth by the media and lousy doctors. She brings in the history behind the very term and idea of menopause.
The book isn't always an easy read. While the subject is always interesting, some stretches were a bit dry. This wasn't something I could sit and read straight through, but in patches here and there. I found tremendous value in her words. Her humor is wry and witty, and her attitude wonderfully positive. For example, she points out, "Fat-phobia among health care providers has caused many women with hot flushes and night sweats to be dismissed. 'If you'd just lose weight' isn't appropriate medical therapy nor is it compassionate, and the horrible implication is some women deserve their symptoms." PREACH IT, JEN.
My gosh, but I wish I'd had a doctor like her early in my life. I wish I had a doctor like her now! I have a feeling that I will be returning to this book many, many times in the coming years....more
This book was everything I hoped it'd be: a comprehensive, frank-talking discussion of the vagina, vulva, and the surrounding plumbing. How it works (This book was everything I hoped it'd be: a comprehensive, frank-talking discussion of the vagina, vulva, and the surrounding plumbing. How it works (and doesn't), the outlook of history, possible diseases and conditions, a breakdown of persistent myths--this book does a great job of taking much-maligned 'dirty' parts and making them fresh without need of some ridiculous April-fresh douche. This is a resource I can see myself referencing in the future....more
This was the perfect first book for the New Year, and one of the more useful mental health books I've ever read. Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess, is upThis was the perfect first book for the New Year, and one of the more useful mental health books I've ever read. Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess, is upfront about her struggles against her own mind and the blessings and curses along the way. I can relate. What I appreciate about this is that it feels like anecdotes and conversation with a friend who gets it--this isn't some preachy doctor telling you think this or do this and you'll be "normal." Nope. What the heck is normal, anyway?
The books features Jenny's own line drawings throughout, and she encourages readers to use it as a coloring book or for destructive art or anything they want. The art is pleasant to behold and I enjoyed reading the text she worked into the images.
I think I'll be keeping You Are Here within arm's reach to flip through as needed to help me through 2019....more
This absolutely fabulous book explores healing techniques in civilizations across the ancient world, including Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Arabia, ChiThis absolutely fabulous book explores healing techniques in civilizations across the ancient world, including Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Arabia, China, India, Alexandra, and Rome and the works of Galen. There are photographs and illustrations throughout. This is not a mere overview for the general public, but a book written by a doctor, for doctors; so yes, some of the descriptions and pictures are a bit on the gory side. I appreciated Majno's emphasis on the showing the original text and how translations are made, and why translating can be rather precarious.
I have a first edition of the book and some of the wording is archaic (a few references to primitive peoples being civilized) but overall it's a surprisingly fast and pleasant read. This book is a must for authors who write about the ancient world....more
Bleed, Blister, and Purge is a nonfiction historical reference I'll be keeping handy for future writing projects. Steele is a doctor himself with overBleed, Blister, and Purge is a nonfiction historical reference I'll be keeping handy for future writing projects. Steele is a doctor himself with over a half century of experience, plus a childhood observing his father as a physician in rural Arkansas. The beginning and end were a bit slow, but overall, it made for a fascinating (albeit morbid) read. Of particular interest was the chapter on the Lewis and Clark expedition, complete with frostbitten penises and venereal diseases galore; the data and anecdotes on early doctoring throughout the rural west; and information of infectious diseases and contamination. Much of Steel's life was spent in Montana, and the book draws a great deal of material from the state; I found this emphasis refreshing. I also appreciated the way he compassionately wrote about the plight of Native Americans throughout the colonization period and up to modern times.
Trigger warning: there are some black and white pictures that might disturb some readers, like maggots at work and people with illnesses like measles. I welcomed them and the other illustrations that accompanied the text, but other readers should be aware. ...more
If you have any interest in poisons and/or Agatha Christie, do check out this new book. It's absolutely fascinating. It goes into deep detail about thIf you have any interest in poisons and/or Agatha Christie, do check out this new book. It's absolutely fascinating. It goes into deep detail about the history of the poisons, how they work, if there are antidotes, and how Christie used the poison and her accuracy (which tends to be quite high). A is for Arsenic is a fast read. The chapters are short, and the way that it mixes Christie's fiction with fact works very well.
I would categorize the book along with The Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum for how it tackles history and science together; needless to say, I love Poisoner's Handbook as well. It's a book I have referred to multiple times in my writing. Harkup's book will likewise gain reference use. It actually already made me pause, as I think I need to make corrections to a manuscript I'll be editing soon.
This is definitely one of my favorite nonfiction reads for the year. If you write fiction that involves poison, get it. If you love mysteries, get it. If you want to catch odd glances in public, get it (bonus points for how it has a cool vintage-style cover, too)...more
I approached this mammoth book with excitement, which soon dimmed as I slogged through the first 100 pages. It was all background on academic changes I approached this mammoth book with excitement, which soon dimmed as I slogged through the first 100 pages. It was all background on academic changes regarding science and research, especially in the forming of Johns Hopkins and the Rockefeller Institute, and key figures in this advancement. Interesting stuff, if in a small dose, but it dragged on as I was impatient to get to the actual influenza outbreak. Once I reached that part, I found the book I had hoped for and sped through hundreds of pages in a matter of days. I also jotted down notes related to writing projects. The last part of the book returned to the pivotal men mentioned at the front, and I pretty much skimmed just to have the thing done. So many names were thrown at me that I couldn't keep them straight.
It was a frustrating, disappointing book overall. If I wanted a book about medical science in general for that time period, I would find a book on that subject. This one is titled THE GREAT INFLUENZA. That should be the central subject. This text needed more editorial control--someone to lop off the first and last third....more
I have read many books, fiction and nonfiction, in search of information on medical practices in World War I. I have found some good books, but this--I have read many books, fiction and nonfiction, in search of information on medical practices in World War I. I have found some good books, but this--this is the volume I was seeking all along. Mayhew relies heavily on primary source material to describe the nurses, doctors, and personnel who labored among the injured in the trenches. It's brutal, ugly, and beautiful all at once. The true face of humanity emerges amidst the darkest, most dire of circumstances.
Chapters focus on different aspects of the journey: the point of view of those who were injured in various ways; the stretcher-bearers, so often ignored in chronicles of the war; regimental medical officers; surgeons; nurses; orderlies; chaplains; ambulance trains; railway stations where the wounded were piled; and the London Ambulance Column.
Mayhew's extensive citations will provide me with a great deal of additional research material as well.
If you have an interest in--and the stomach for--the evolution of medicine a century ago, do check out this book. It's a quick and engrossing read, and one that will enlighten you....more
I was provided a gratis ebook copy of this book through NetGalley.
This 200-page book packs a powerful punch. It's said that any book that's truly abou I was provided a gratis ebook copy of this book through NetGalley.
This 200-page book packs a powerful punch. It's said that any book that's truly about war is anti-war, and that's the case here. La Motte never judges the politics behind the Great War (the greatest open criticism she offers is in one section where she scoffs at the men who show off pictures of their wives and sniffle at how they miss her, then use convenient Belgian prostitutes), but she paints a visceral image of the consequences. The forward of the book says that the original publication sold well in America in 1916, but after the country entered the war, the government quietly banned its publication. That doesn't come as a huge surprise to me. The book is extremely graphic even by modern standards.
These are the two opening sentences in the first story: When he could stand it no longer, he fired a revolver up through the roof of his mouth, but he made a mess of it. The ball tore out his left eye, and then lodged somewhere under his skull, so they bundled him into an ambulance and carried him, cursing and screaming, to the nearest field hospital.
In particular, La Motte isn't shy about describing the conflicting stenches in the ward. I had to Google the term "anal fistula"--good times, there. As a writer who loves researching medical subjects, this book is gold. I will likely buy a print copy so I can easily bookmark sections. I can compare it to A Surgeon in Khaki by Arthur Anderson Martin, a WWI memoir of a doctor who died in duty soon after his book's publication; Martin is far more gentlemanly in his ward descriptions, instead going into detail about the different damage offered by varying types of bullets, and a constant frustration at Britain's lack of preparedness for the war. La Motte as a female and American nurse is much deeper into the psychology of the ward--she offered true vignettes, rather than stories. Both are excellent books, and the writers bring very different viewpoints to the same horrible place.
There are many books and reprints on World War I being released right now at this centennial of the war's begin. These chronicles are invaluable. They offer an important look at the past, but also show how little has changed. ...more
This highly-readable account of life in World War I was a fascinating and fast read for me. Martin doesn't simply describe campaigns and politics. He'This highly-readable account of life in World War I was a fascinating and fast read for me. Martin doesn't simply describe campaigns and politics. He's in the trenches. He's one of the men, and he's a highly frustrated one at that. He's appalled at how ill-prepared Britain was as it entered the war and how botched things were even months later. Doctors had to operate under terrible conditions, but the ignorance of the supply system made it far worse: a total lack of automobile ambulances (until Martin wrote back to connections in London to get things done, a move that likely made him unpopular with his superiors), no rubber gloves, and on and on.
He doesn't go into graphic detail about his daily duties, but he doesn't need to. For my research needs, I acquired knowledge on the different injuries of different bullets, signs of gas gangrene, lice and how they were treated, and the application of iodine for tender feet.
This is really a good book, and one that's made sadder because Martin died on duty during the war. Through his writing, he comes across as an intelligent, compassionate man--one who is even willing to address the subject of the rape of French women and how it bothered the men tremendously to see horses suffer. The word "hero" is bandied about too often these days, but this New Zealander was indeed a hero....more
My feelings on this book are mixed. It's not a bad book. It's not even dreadfully dull. But it also felt scattered in its approach and almost dizzyingMy feelings on this book are mixed. It's not a bad book. It's not even dreadfully dull. But it also felt scattered in its approach and almost dizzying with the number of names it introduces, and didn't live up to my expectations.
Chloroform is a fascinating subject matter. It's a powerful anesthetic. It's a tool of rapists and murderers. I was intrigued by the early debates against chloroform, especially regarding its use in labor--that a woman should experience pain, because it's God's edict against Eve. This was countered by one of my early champions of chloroform who pointed out that God sedated Adam while his rib was removed, so God understood the subject. However, too much of the book ended up covering the squabbles of Scotland versus London among their medical schools, and about ether versus chloroform. The book gains more focus near the end as it details scandalous Victorian cases where anesthesia was abused, including the infamous Holmes of Chicago, a mass murderer during the Chicago World's Fair (though I don't think that fact was even mentioned in this book; I know about Holmes from Devil in the White City).
I had hoped this book would provide useful medical material for research purposes, but it didn't. My existing book on Civil War medicine is just as useful, and has far more pictures....more
Germs. Viruses. Nasty little things made even nastier by scientific manipulation. This book, published in early 2001, explores the United State's effoGerms. Viruses. Nasty little things made even nastier by scientific manipulation. This book, published in early 2001, explores the United State's efforts in germ and biological warfare from the 1950s onward. Special attention is paid to the little-known food bar poisoning attack by the Rajneeshees in Oregon in the early 1980s, Soviet advances and the subsequent degrading of their program after communism's collapse, Iraq and the first Gulf War, and battles in Washington D.C. over funding and ethical problems.[return][return]I was reading this book for novel research, and I did place sticky tabs on various points of interest. However, I was more interested in the science itself and the creations and preventative measures more than the battles for funding or the see-saw regarding weapons inspectors in Iraq in the 1990s. There's also the issue of the book's timing of publication in mid-2001. The final chapter on the future had ominous notes about the potential for attacks by figures such as Osama bin Laden. I have a feeling this book would have had a different focus if it had come out six months later, after the 9/11 attacks and the anthrax mailing scare. Still, it made for an interesting (in parts) if slow read--it took me two weeks to finish it....more
I read Roach's book STIFF a few months ago, and loved it more than I ever thought possible considering the subject matter (i.e. the things you do withI read Roach's book STIFF a few months ago, and loved it more than I ever thought possible considering the subject matter (i.e. the things you do with dead people). She applies that same humor in PACKING FOR MARS. Though the subject matter isn't as morbid, it's still not your normal dinner-with-the-parents conversation material. But that's all part of the perverse joy. There are full chapters devoted to motion sickness and why it happens, the possibilities of sex in space (wherein I learned about dolphins and their prehensile anatomy), and the enormous problems caused by space food and toilet issues. It's fascinating, it's informative, it made me giggle like a 3rd grader hearing a naughty joke.[return][return]Really, if you love space and obscure trivia and always wanted to know how toilets work (and don't work) in space, get this book. I can already say that this will be one of my favorite reads of the year....more
I bought this for research purposes for my novel. I didn't end up getting any information out of it in that regard, but it was a fascinating read. ThiI bought this for research purposes for my novel. I didn't end up getting any information out of it in that regard, but it was a fascinating read. This book was published in 1996 in the heyday of the TV show ER, and is an anthology of different bizarre, funny, or sad incidents submitted by doctors and nurses from across the U.S. I felt rather voyeuristic while reading, but the material was so intriguing that I couldn't resist reading more. The stories range the regular drunks that filter through the system to some outright insane stories that I'll remember for a very long time.[return][return]In all, a good book that only raises my respect for those who work in emergency medicine. It's no wonder these folks burn out so quickly....more
I bought this book at the Pea Ridge Civil War Battlefield near Bentonville, Arkansas, with the intent of using it as story material. Lo and behold, onI bought this book at the Pea Ridge Civil War Battlefield near Bentonville, Arkansas, with the intent of using it as story material. Lo and behold, only a few months after purchasing it, I read it with that very goal in mind. In particular, I needed to know about Victorian battlefield practices, what a physician would carry, and other difficulties of the period. This book gave me everything I needed (and what Google could not).[return][return]The American Civil War was a time of transition in medical theory. It was a time when inflammation was regarded as a good thing, when illnesses were caused by bad spirits or air (mal-airia), and when abundant sweat was considered healthy (so Northern wives sent flannel hats for their men to wear during Southern summers). Cleanliness was also not considered a high priority. Florence Nightingale's nursing techniques in the Crimea were only a decade before, and the medical establishment did not readily change. The North did have an advantage in many ways: they founded a sanitation commission to increase camp morale and cleanliness, and they also had ready access to medicines like quinine. They were also more likely to develop new techniques in ambulances and hospital organizations. Confederate doctors soon realized that maggots may not be such a bad thing after all, as they only ate dead tissue.[return][return]The book includes artwork of the tools of the time. No medical volume on the Civil War could omit the use of bone saws. There are pictures of the various types of saws and the particular techniques used in cutting; it wasn't just a straight up and down cut, but was done with care so that extra muscle and tissue could cover the stump of bone. It also discusses injuries throughout the body, including fascinating excerpts on Abraham Lincoln's autopsy.[return][return]I was particularly interested in finding out more about germ theory of the time. Microscopes did exist and germs had been sighted (called zymes) but were thought to be a normal part of the healing process. It wasn't until after the war that Louis Pasteur made his great advances in Europe and Lister developed new sanitizing techniques, thus causing a dramatic drop in death rates.[return][return]One other curious thing about this book: I questioned buying it because the full 100-page book is done in an old-timey font. As I began to read, I quickly realized--it wasn't a font, it was hand-written! I soon became accustomed to the print and had no issues reading it.[return][return]CIVIL WAR MEDICINE obviously isn't a book for everyone, but I found it to be a great read and one I will keep on my shelf....more
I read the sequel to Paramedic about two months ago, and this first book is much of the same. This is part of my continued research for my novel. I'veI read the sequel to Paramedic about two months ago, and this first book is much of the same. This is part of my continued research for my novel. I've been reading so much about EMS that it's starting to creep into my dreams.[return][return]Peter Canning was a speechwriter with powerful connections throughout the northeast and Washington D.C. However, he gave up his big paycheck and nice office to go and work on the streets of Hartford, Connecticut, as a paramedic. He sees many of the same drunks day to day, is frustrated with the system, and every now and then makes a big save that makes everything worthwhile. For my selfish purposes, I wish he had gone into more details about some of the mundane details of dispatches and paperwork, but it still provides me with many ideas....more
Loading...
