Tag: Medical History

Review: Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy

February 17, 2026

“It is the most fatal virus in the world, a pathogen that kills nearly 100 percent of its hosts in most species, including humans.” Rabid is all about the most fatal virus known to science, Rabies. This discusses the history of the disease, the cultural impact of it, and how it has been handled throughout … More Review: Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy

Review: Out Cold: A Chilling Descent into the Macabre, Controversial, Lifesaving History of Hypothermia by Phil Jaekl

February 5, 2026

Out Cold chronicles the history of using cold in medicine and hyperthermia. This covers experimentations, accidents, and all different kinds of medical marvels. This is a topic that is not really something that I have ever really thought of when it comes to medical history, but it ended up being a really fascinating one.  I … More Review: Out Cold: A Chilling Descent into the Macabre, Controversial, Lifesaving History of Hypothermia by Phil Jaekl

Review: The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore

December 20, 2025

The Radium Girls discusses the lives, careers, trials, and death of the women who worked in factories painting watches, clocks, and other military dials with radium so they will illuminate. They were repeatedly told that radium wasn’t harmful, and taught to make their paint brushes into a point using their mouths. So when the women … More Review: The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore

Review: Nine Pints; A Journey Through the Money, Medicine, and Mysteries of Blood by Rose George

December 15, 2025

Blood is not something that I ever thought I would be interested in learning more about but Rose George really made this a fascinating topic. This book takes us through history by talking about the use of blood in medicine, like leeches and transfusions; to blood donation, menstruation, HIV/AIDs, hemophilia, vampirism, and quite a few … More Review: Nine Pints; A Journey Through the Money, Medicine, and Mysteries of Blood by Rose George

Review: Dead Ends!: Flukes, Flops & Failures That Sparked Medical Marvels by Lindsey Fitzharris and Adrian Teal

November 15, 2025

Lindsey Fitzharris is back with another fantastic medical history book for kids. Dead Ends! is all about the many weird medical cures that were mostly useless and often harmful, but sometimes led to an occasional discovery that would lead to an actually helpful thing. This book covers things like bloodletting, beheadings, body snatching, CPR, brains, … More Review: Dead Ends!: Flukes, Flops & Failures That Sparked Medical Marvels by Lindsey Fitzharris and Adrian Teal

Review: Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy by Mary Roach

October 19, 2025

The body is the most complex machine in the world and because of that you cannot easily replace what breaks. This book goes over various surgeries, research, and trials that are working to replace various parts of the body. Each chapter discusses a different topic of the body, like skin graphs, human and animal organ … More Review: Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy by Mary Roach

Review: Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green

April 14, 2025

“One estimate…maintains that TB has killed around one in seven people who ever lived.” Tuberculosis is something that I knew was a thing that killed a lot of people but I didn’t realize it was still so rampant and that it is still killing on such a wide scale. Green does a great job at … More Review: Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green

Review: Get Well Soon: History’s Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them by Jennifer Wright

January 11, 2025

“Diseases are the most fundamental enemy of the human race, and we must be at constant war against them.” This was a fascinating book about thirteen different plagues and how they were handled. I have only heard about most of these but never done deeper research into them. This book provided a great introduction to … More Review: Get Well Soon: History’s Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them by Jennifer Wright

Cover for Madame Restell by Jennifer Wright

Review: Madame Restell: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Old New York’s Most Fabulous, Fearless, and Infamous Abortionist by Jennifer Wright

February 9, 2024

TW: discussions of abortions, rape, sexual harassment/coercion in the workplace, alcoholism, homelessness, starvation, abandonment of children, death of children, drug overdose (including in children), sex work, death of husband, incest, child kidnapping, incarceration, racism, lynching, the Civil War, torture, death of family members, suicide.  “Restell was a businesswoman, a scofflaw, an immigrant, and an abortionist. … More Review: Madame Restell: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Old New York’s Most Fabulous, Fearless, and Infamous Abortionist by Jennifer Wright

Cover for Plague-Busters! by Lindsey Fitzharris and Adrian Teal

Review: Plague-Busters!: Medicine’s Battles with History’s Deadliest Diseases by Lindsey Fitzharris

December 14, 2023

Medical Historian and author Lindsey Fitzharris is back and talking about plagues, but geared towards children. This book takes a look at six of history’s most deadliest plagues and how the world dealt with them. Each chapter explores a different disease, its symptoms, the history of finding a cure, and ends with a section on … More Review: Plague-Busters!: Medicine’s Battles with History’s Deadliest Diseases by Lindsey Fitzharris

Cover for The Facemaker by Lindsey Fitzharris

ARC Review: The Facemaker: One Surgeon’s Battle to Mend the Disfigured Soldiers of World War I by Lindsey Fitzharris

June 7, 2022

The Facemaker tells the story of pioneering plastic surgeon Harold Delf Gillies, who dedicated his life to reconstructing the faces of injured soldiers in his care during World War I. After reading The Butchering Art, Fizharris’ first book, I knew that I would want to read any future books that she wrote. This book surpassed … More ARC Review: The Facemaker: One Surgeon’s Battle to Mend the Disfigured Soldiers of World War I by Lindsey Fitzharris

Cover for Written in Bone by Sue Black

Review: Written in Bone: Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind by Sue Black

March 14, 2022

Trigger Warnings: Discussions of pedophilia, murder, serial killers, prostitution, child death and abuse, rape, molestation, survivors guilt, torture, and executions. Graphic descriptions of dead bodies.  Forensic anthropologist Sue Black takes on a journey to show how pieces of our remains can be used to solve crimes. She draws on her own experiences and case work … More Review: Written in Bone: Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind by Sue Black