Week 3: (November 16-20) – Be The Expert/Ask the Expert/Become the Expert (Rennie [me!] @ What’s Nonfiction [here!]): Three ways to join in this week! You can either share 3 or more books on a single topic that you have read and can recommend (be the expert), you can put the call out for good nonfiction on a specific topic that you have been dying to read (ask the expert), or you can create your own list of books on a topic that you’d like to read (become the expert).
One of my favourite non-fiction topics is medical history. I’ve done a lot of work in medical law and it’s just generally something I find interesting.
Here are my favourites:
The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister’s Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine by Lindsey Fitzharris
This is part biography of Joseph Lister (the man who developed germ theory and came up with the concept and application of antiseptics), and part general history of surgical improvements. It won’t surprise you that implementing change was an uphill struggle.
It’s accessible and riveting, and it made me go on the hunt for other works about Joseph Lister – unfortunately I just couldn’t find any. He made such a huge impact on the medical field and whilst I wouldn’t say he is unknown, it’s oddly difficult to find out more. I’ll also be keeping an eye out for other books by Lindsey Fitzharris.
Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy
Although this seems like a very narrow focus, it’s actually more varied than you think. Rabid deals with the werewolf myth and the development of vaccines by Louis Pasteur (my favourite historical figure ever), as well as the history and treatment of rabies itself. It’s such a fascinating read.
Each chapter relates to a different Rabies-related topics, and ties in pop culture to keep it relevant. I learned so much, and so many things, from this one relatively short book.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Fun fact: I did a Masters in Biotechnology Law as a result of reading this book. I even actually reviewed it.
The majority of today’s cancer cures and treatments are based of cells taken from one woman, Henrietta Lacks, without her knowledge or consent. She subsequently died and her family remained poor and penniless, despite the billions of dollars made by others as a result of the work done on her cells.
This is a human and moving account of the medical industry’s sacrifice of an individual’s rights for the greater good.
Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore
I reviewed this one too! Radium Girls broke my heart – I rarely cry at books, especially non-fiction, but I sobbed. Essentially, in the 1920s, young women were employed to paint watch dials with radium so they would glow in the dark. They were encouraged to put the paint brushes in their mouths and often painted their faces with the shiny material… to the obvious (to us) end.
This is fascinating (and awful) from both a medical and legal standpoint, and if you only read one book from this list, I recommend this one.
Bad Faith: When Religious Belief Undermines Modern Medicine by Dr Paul Offit
Also reviewed. On a roll here.
This is only sort-of history, but I’m including it here anyway as it does have some medical history intertwined. I should add that it’s not a rant book. Dr Offit obviously has his opinions, but the point of Bad Faith is certainly not ‘aren’t all religious people stupid.’ Instead it’s a balanced look at how the two doctrines intertwine, and the incidents where that has gone wrong.
Do you have any similar books you could recommend? I’m always on the look out for more!
I am SO on board with this topic and list! I added Bad Faith to my list immediately – that one sounds so fascinating. I loved The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, and have been curious about The Butchering Art but worried I might be too squeamish still for that one. Rabid sounds really good too!
The Ghost Map is one of my favorite medical histories, about the discovery of what was causing the cholera epidemic in London. It was just fascinating and very well written, although I think the general story around is one of the better known in medical history. Spillover by David Quammen is a great one I read this year in trying to better understand the history of zoonoses. It read like a kind of detective story in parts, and covered so many different viruses while being more informative than scary. I also loved Biography of Resistance by Muhammad Zaman. Each chapter covers a different incident that’s contributed to our misuse or overuse of antibiotics. It spans so many years and has stories from all around the globe. It was excellent, and felt like very important information to be aware of. Stiff by Mary Roach about the history of using cadavers is also on my list and seems like it might overlap with your interests.
Thanks for taking part and sharing this wonderful list!
Thank you 🙂 Bad Faith is brilliant. The same author also wrote a book about homeopathic medicine which I haven’t read yet, although the reviews seem to be better for this one. I don’t recall The Butchering Art being too graphic. Obviously there will be some mentions of surgery, but it’s more about aftercare and germ theory than the surgery itself (I think).
The Ghost Map! I remember learning about John Snow and the cholera outbreak back in Sixth Form history. I’ve added that to my wishlist now.
I’ve actually read Biography of Resistance and I really liked it. I’ve also read Stiff, as well as Smoke Gets In Your Eyes: Lessons From The Crematorium, by Caitlin Doughty, which was actually very insightful. I have Spook by Mary Roach still to read 🙂
I loved Rabid. I’m a vet so it was super relevant to me.
The Emperor of All Maladies is sone of my all time favorites.
Ah of course! I’d completely forgot about Emperor of all Maladies, but I loved that too.
I also find this topic to be intriguing. Coming up in my reading schedule I have The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine by Janice P. Nimura .
Also in my to reading list that might interest you is Bellevue: Three Centuries of Medicine and Mayhem at America’s Most Storied Hospital by David M. Oshinsky
I have Women to Medicine on my TBR shelf as well. I’m looking forward to seeing what you think of it.
The Bellevue book looks interesting as well, although I hadn’t heard of it before. Onto the wishlist it goes!