If you are squeamish, neither of these books are for you! Under the Knife and Dr. Mütter’s Marvels have accurate, if not sometimes perhaps graphic, descriptions of surgery and bodily functions. However, if you enjoy all of those things, these books are pretty amazing.
Under the Knife: A History of Surgery in 28 Remarkable Operations
Under the Knife, by Arnold van de Laar, is by no means a definitive history of surgery or medicine. Medicine, after all, has been around likely since the first person fell sick or broke a limb. But it discusses an expansive history from all ages. My favourite parts? The history of abortion and contraception promoted by the Catholic church, the reason why women in the western world give birth in the manner which we do (an infuriating reason), and the 300% mortality rate operation also discussed in Dr. Mütter’s Marvels performed by Dr. Robert Liston.
4/5 stars
“Anyone who claims that contraception and abortion are incompatible with the prevailing views of the Vatican should take a look at this book by Pope John XXI”
Dr. Mütter’s Marvels: A True Tale of Intrigue and Innovation at the Dawn of Modern Medicine
Dr. Thomas Dent Mütter was an American physician of particular prominence during the early 1800s in Philadelphia and France. He has several surgical procedures named after him as well as a fantastical collection of wax medical replicas of abnormalities and intrigues which now sit in the Mütter Museum ( a place now on my bucket list), located in Philadelphia. But do not get the wrong impression of Dr. Mütter. He was not a man who enjoyed the ‘freakshow’. He was the opposite. A doctor who treated his patients as people regardless of their looks or maladies. A professor who taught that empathy to his students. A collector who sought to save the fantastical and grotesque not to be gawked at, but to be learned from.
5/5 stars
“It was later described as “the only operation in history with a 300 percent mortality [rate].”
REVIEWING NON-FICTION
I struggle to review non-fiction books as I’m not usually an expert when it comes to the content I’m reading about. The history of medicine and surgery is certainly not in my wheelhouse of education. It means I enjoy reading many books about a similar subject to find where the truth is and where interpretation starts. Both of these books covered similar topics, were well written, and seem to spread more truth than fiction. They are simple enough for laymen to read, but speak with enough technicality to not talk down to the reader (or in my case, listener).
I sincerely hope that both of these books are added to your non-fiction TBR pile.
- L.J.
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