If you only read one book in your lifetime make it this one...., 01 Dec 2008
I saw some of the TV series on which this book is based and found it utterly fascinating so I just had to buy the book to find out the bits I missed on TV. The title makes it sound very gruesome and whilst some of the techniques covered live up to this title the way it is written makes it very enjoyable and entertaining to read without making you feel in the least bit queazy. It really highlights the way the surgical techniques we have today have been founded on the ideas of pioneers who came up with inventions ranging from the astounding to the downright bizarre and morally questionable. Throughout the book I was constantly asking myself "how on earth did they come up with that?!" These really are people who were prepared to try absolutely anything in the pursuit of medical advancement. There are also some excellent pictures and photos which illustrate the techniques discussed. This is really the most interesting book I have ever read and I'd recommend it to anyone.

Readable and Engaging, 25 Aug 2008
Blood and Guts is a pithy and readable history of surgery that does not hold back on the successes and the botches.

One of the most amusing anecdotes became known as the "night of the pigs" and takes place in the National Heart Hospital in London in 1969.

Surgeon Donald Longmore waits for a delivery of pigs. He plans to graft a pig's heart and lungs into a patient to keep him alive. One pig has other ideas and makes its escape onto Wimpole Street, pursued by gowned, capped, masked and booted theatre staff.

The pig, now secured by the expert team, is taken to the mortuary to be put to sleep, but the anaesthetist assigned to the task is Jewish. Another anaesthetist is found, but there is another problem: the patient is also Jewish and unconscious so unable to take any decisions for himself. Mr. Longmore calls a rabbi who in fits of laughter gives the go ahead for a genuine attempt to save the patient's life. Unfortunately, the operation fails in its final stages owing to an unforeseen reaction of pig heart to an injection of calcium.

Medical mavericks seem to have been responsible for much surgical progress, so it's surprising to read how often innovations we now take for granted were at first rejected by established leaders and institutions. Plus ca change!

If you only read one book in your lifetime make it this one...., 01 Dec 2008
I saw some of the TV series on which this book is based and found it utterly fascinating so I just had to buy the book to find out the bits I missed on TV. The title makes it sound very gruesome and whilst some of the techniques covered live up to this title the way it is written makes it very enjoyable and entertaining to read without making you feel in the least bit queazy. It really highlights the way the surgical techniques we have today have been founded on the ideas of pioneers who came up with inventions ranging from the astounding to the downright bizarre and morally questionable. Throughout the book I was constantly asking myself "how on earth did they come up with that?!" These really are people who were prepared to try absolutely anything in the pursuit of medical advancement. There are also some excellent pictures and photos which illustrate the techniques discussed. This is really the most interesting book I have ever read and I'd recommend it to anyone.

Readable and Engaging, 25 Aug 2008
Blood and Guts is a pithy and readable history of surgery that does not hold back on the successes and the botches.

One of the most amusing anecdotes became known as the "night of the pigs" and takes place in the National Heart Hospital in London in 1969.

Surgeon Donald Longmore waits for a delivery of pigs. He plans to graft a pig's heart and lungs into a patient to keep him alive. One pig has other ideas and makes its escape onto Wimpole Street, pursued by gowned, capped, masked and booted theatre staff.

The pig, now secured by the expert team, is taken to the mortuary to be put to sleep, but the anaesthetist assigned to the task is Jewish. Another anaesthetist is found, but there is another problem: the patient is also Jewish and unconscious so unable to take any decisions for himself. Mr. Longmore calls a rabbi who in fits of laughter gives the go ahead for a genuine attempt to save the patient's life. Unfortunately, the operation fails in its final stages owing to an unforeseen reaction of pig heart to an injection of calcium.

Medical mavericks seem to have been responsible for much surgical progress, so it's surprising to read how often innovations we now take for granted were at first rejected by established leaders and institutions. Plus ca change!



Gripping without being sensationalist, 24 Nov 2008
I started reading this book quite late at night and I could not put it down. Meticulously researched, it sets out in measured prose the unfolding details of a terrible story - and one that could all too easily happen again.

If you only read one book in your lifetime make it this one...., 01 Dec 2008
I saw some of the TV series on which this book is based and found it utterly fascinating so I just had to buy the book to find out the bits I missed on TV. The title makes it sound very gruesome and whilst some of the techniques covered live up to this title the way it is written makes it very enjoyable and entertaining to read without making you feel in the least bit queazy. It really highlights the way the surgical techniques we have today have been founded on the ideas of pioneers who came up with inventions ranging from the astounding to the downright bizarre and morally questionable. Throughout the book I was constantly asking myself "how on earth did they come up with that?!" These really are people who were prepared to try absolutely anything in the pursuit of medical advancement. There are also some excellent pictures and photos which illustrate the techniques discussed. This is really the most interesting book I have ever read and I'd recommend it to anyone.

Readable and Engaging, 25 Aug 2008
Blood and Guts is a pithy and readable history of surgery that does not hold back on the successes and the botches.

One of the most amusing anecdotes became known as the "night of the pigs" and takes place in the National Heart Hospital in London in 1969.

Surgeon Donald Longmore waits for a delivery of pigs. He plans to graft a pig's heart and lungs into a patient to keep him alive. One pig has other ideas and makes its escape onto Wimpole Street, pursued by gowned, capped, masked and booted theatre staff.

The pig, now secured by the expert team, is taken to the mortuary to be put to sleep, but the anaesthetist assigned to the task is Jewish. Another anaesthetist is found, but there is another problem: the patient is also Jewish and unconscious so unable to take any decisions for himself. Mr. Longmore calls a rabbi who in fits of laughter gives the go ahead for a genuine attempt to save the patient's life. Unfortunately, the operation fails in its final stages owing to an unforeseen reaction of pig heart to an injection of calcium.

Medical mavericks seem to have been responsible for much surgical progress, so it's surprising to read how often innovations we now take for granted were at first rejected by established leaders and institutions. Plus ca change!



Gripping without being sensationalist, 24 Nov 2008
I started reading this book quite late at night and I could not put it down. Meticulously researched, it sets out in measured prose the unfolding details of a terrible story - and one that could all too easily happen again.


Excellent introduction into the 5 Elements Theory, 10 Sep 2000
The British School of Shiatsu-Do have chosen this book as our Year 1 course book for students. It presents students with a clear introduction of the 5 Elements approach to Oriental Medicine. With references to Feng Shui and Qi Gong, the student can gain further insight into how the 5 Element theory premeates the the Eastern approach to live. For the general reader it is easy to read, in some areas thought provoking, and can start you on a different road to life!

superbly written, brilliant insights into ancient philosophy, 27 Feb 2000
this book contains absolute gems of information and insight into this ancient healing tradition. It really is an inspirational read. I love it!

Samuel Johnson once called the medical profession "the greatest benefit to mankind." In the 20th century, the quality of that benefit has improved more and more rapidly than at any other comparable time in history. With all the capabilities of modern medicine's practitioners, however, we as a people are as worried about our health as ever.

Roy Porter, a social historian of medicine at London's Wellcome Institute, has written a dauntingly thick history of how medical thinking and practice has risen to the challenges of disease through the centuries. But delve into its pages and you'll find one marvellous piece of history after another. The obvious highlights are touched upon--Hippocrates introduces his oath, Pasteur homogenises, Jonas Salk produces the polio vaccine and so on--but there's also Dr. Francis Willis' curing of the madness of King George III, W.T.G. Morton's aggressive use of ether in surgery and research on digestion conducted using a man with a stomach fistula (if you don't know what that means, you may not want to know). Porter is straightforward about his deliberate focus on Western medical traditions, citing their predominant influence on global medicine, and with The Greatest Benefit to Mankind he has produced a volume worthy of that tradition's legacy.

If you only read one book in your lifetime make it this one...., 01 Dec 2008
I saw some of the TV series on which this book is based and found it utterly fascinating so I just had to buy the book to find out the bits I missed on TV. The title makes it sound very gruesome and whilst some of the techniques covered live up to this title the way it is written makes it very enjoyable and entertaining to read without making you feel in the least bit queazy. It really highlights the way the surgical techniques we have today have been founded on the ideas of pioneers who came up with inventions ranging from the astounding to the downright bizarre and morally questionable. Throughout the book I was constantly asking myself "how on earth did they come up with that?!" These really are people who were prepared to try absolutely anything in the pursuit of medical advancement. There are also some excellent pictures and photos which illustrate the techniques discussed. This is really the most interesting book I have ever read and I'd recommend it to anyone.

Readable and Engaging, 25 Aug 2008
Blood and Guts is a pithy and readable history of surgery that does not hold back on the successes and the botches.

One of the most amusing anecdotes became known as the "night of the pigs" and takes place in the National Heart Hospital in London in 1969.

Surgeon Donald Longmore waits for a delivery of pigs. He plans to graft a pig's heart and lungs into a patient to keep him alive. One pig has other ideas and makes its escape onto Wimpole Street, pursued by gowned, capped, masked and booted theatre staff.

The pig, now secured by the expert team, is taken to the mortuary to be put to sleep, but the anaesthetist assigned to the task is Jewish. Another anaesthetist is found, but there is another problem: the patient is also Jewish and unconscious so unable to take any decisions for himself. Mr. Longmore calls a rabbi who in fits of laughter gives the go ahead for a genuine attempt to save the patient's life. Unfortunately, the operation fails in its final stages owing to an unforeseen reaction of pig heart to an injection of calcium.

Medical mavericks seem to have been responsible for much surgical progress, so it's surprising to read how often innovations we now take for granted were at first rejected by established leaders and institutions. Plus ca change!



Gripping without being sensationalist, 24 Nov 2008
I started reading this book quite late at night and I could not put it down. Meticulously researched, it sets out in measured prose the unfolding details of a terrible story - and one that could all too easily happen again.


Excellent introduction into the 5 Elements Theory, 10 Sep 2000
The British School of Shiatsu-Do have chosen this book as our Year 1 course book for students. It presents students with a clear introduction of the 5 Elements approach to Oriental Medicine. With references to Feng Shui and Qi Gong, the student can gain further insight into how the 5 Element theory premeates the the Eastern approach to live. For the general reader it is easy to read, in some areas thought provoking, and can start you on a different road to life!

superbly written, brilliant insights into ancient philosophy, 27 Feb 2000
this book contains absolute gems of information and insight into this ancient healing tradition. It really is an inspirational read. I love it!

Dual purpose book well written interesting read for anyone., 14 Jul 2004
I have had this book since it was first published and it has been worth it's weight (considerable) in gold. I was nursing at the time so obviously had an interest in the medical side. However, this is an excellant history book and of interest to those who like to find out odd facts or the roots of colloquialisms.
It is so interesting it hooks you into actually reading all of it. I have, so has my daughter and my best friend (also a nurse).
However, it is factually correct and written well enough to be deemed a suitable source for academic studies. So after reading it for pleasure I found it was a recommended course book for a module in my Health & Social Policy degree. My friend has also delved into it again for her Nursing Studies degree.
This is a book that you keep and visit now and again, not like other academic texts that you cannot wait to sell on the Marketplace.

A great all round history of medicine, 21 Nov 2000
This book balances the social history with the anecdotes that bring the history of medicine alive It's incredibly dense and stands a lot of rereading an excellent history of medicine with fascinating looks at some often neglected areas such as Jewish and Arabic medicine of the Middle Ages

If you only read one book in your lifetime make it this one...., 01 Dec 2008
I saw some of the TV series on which this book is based and found it utterly fascinating so I just had to buy the book to find out the bits I missed on TV. The title makes it sound very gruesome and whilst some of the techniques covered live up to this title the way it is written makes it very enjoyable and entertaining to read without making you feel in the least bit queazy. It really highlights the way the surgical techniques we have today have been founded on the ideas of pioneers who came up with inventions ranging from the astounding to the downright bizarre and morally questionable. Throughout the book I was constantly asking myself "how on earth did they come up with that?!" These really are people who were prepared to try absolutely anything in the pursuit of medical advancement. There are also some excellent pictures and photos which illustrate the techniques discussed. This is really the most interesting book I have ever read and I'd recommend it to anyone.

Readable and Engaging, 25 Aug 2008
Blood and Guts is a pithy and readable history of surgery that does not hold back on the successes and the botches.

One of the most amusing anecdotes became known as the "night of the pigs" and takes place in the National Heart Hospital in London in 1969.

Surgeon Donald Longmore waits for a delivery of pigs. He plans to graft a pig's heart and lungs into a patient to keep him alive. One pig has other ideas and makes its escape onto Wimpole Street, pursued by gowned, capped, masked and booted theatre staff.

The pig, now secured by the expert team, is taken to the mortuary to be put to sleep, but the anaesthetist assigned to the task is Jewish. Another anaesthetist is found, but there is another problem: the patient is also Jewish and unconscious so unable to take any decisions for himself. Mr. Longmore calls a rabbi who in fits of laughter gives the go ahead for a genuine attempt to save the patient's life. Unfortunately, the operation fails in its final stages owing to an unforeseen reaction of pig heart to an injection of calcium.

Medical mavericks seem to have been responsible for much surgical progress, so it's surprising to read how often innovations we now take for granted were at first rejected by established leaders and institutions. Plus ca change!



Gripping without being sensationalist, 24 Nov 2008
I started reading this book quite late at night and I could not put it down. Meticulously researched, it sets out in measured prose the unfolding details of a terrible story - and one that could all too easily happen again.


Excellent introduction into the 5 Elements Theory, 10 Sep 2000
The British School of Shiatsu-Do have chosen this book as our Year 1 course book for students. It presents students with a clear introduction of the 5 Elements approach to Oriental Medicine. With references to Feng Shui and Qi Gong, the student can gain further insight into how the 5 Element theory premeates the the Eastern approach to live. For the general reader it is easy to read, in some areas thought provoking, and can start you on a different road to life!

superbly written, brilliant insights into ancient philosophy, 27 Feb 2000
this book contains absolute gems of information and insight into this ancient healing tradition. It really is an inspirational read. I love it!

Dual purpose book well written interesting read for anyone., 14 Jul 2004
I have had this book since it was first published and it has been worth it's weight (considerable) in gold. I was nursing at the time so obviously had an interest in the medical side. However, this is an excellant history book and of interest to those who like to find out odd facts or the roots of colloquialisms.
It is so interesting it hooks you into actually reading all of it. I have, so has my daughter and my best friend (also a nurse).
However, it is factually correct and written well enough to be deemed a suitable source for academic studies. So after reading it for pleasure I found it was a recommended course book for a module in my Health & Social Policy degree. My friend has also delved into it again for her Nursing Studies degree.
This is a book that you keep and visit now and again, not like other academic texts that you cannot wait to sell on the Marketplace.

A great all round history of medicine, 21 Nov 2000
This book balances the social history with the anecdotes that bring the history of medicine alive It's incredibly dense and stands a lot of rereading an excellent history of medicine with fascinating looks at some often neglected areas such as Jewish and Arabic medicine of the Middle Ages

Wow, 16 Feb 2004
What can I say, I could hardly put this book down! Its a facinating look at medicine's development throughout the centuries right back from cave man times up to modern day diagnostic techniques for diseases such as AIDS and SARS. I would recomend it to any student doing a science course,not just medicine and it even would be of interest to those just interested in the subject as it does not contain too much technical jargon.

A definate read!

A quick and unsettling read, 13 Nov 2003
In a sense this is a "lite" version of the late Roy Porter's well-received history of medicine from 1997, entitled The Greatest Benefit to Mankind. He is also the editor of The Cambridge Illustrated History of Medicine (1996) and was until his death professor of social history at University College London.

But let's face it, the history of medicine has not been a pretty story, nor could it have been. Most of history's physicians were flailing about in the dark, the surgeons as sawbones and barbers performing crude amputations and such without the aid of either anaesthetics or disinfectants, the practitioners as faith healers and quacks, dispensing placebos or poisons often without knowing which was which. It wasn't until the late 19th century that the medical profession began to achieve some understanding of the real causes of illness and indeed understand how living things work and how and why they don't work. Porter recalls some of the controversies about the vivisection of cadavers, and arguments about the causes of infectious disease: an argument made difficult because of course the microbes could not be discerned until about the time of Pasteur.

Porter outlines this sobering story from the time of the Greeks to the present day in an objective and easily assimilated style. He organizes the material into eight chapters focusing on Disease, Doctors, The Body, The Laboratory, Therapies, Surgery, The Hospital, and Medicine in Modern Society. Along the way he delves into the politics (some sexual) and into the sociology of medicine around the globe. There are suggestions for Further Reading and an Index.

There are also about 40 rather appalling (some amusing) illustrations from previous centuries in this (for a change) accurately named little tome, showing the horrors of past medical practices. They enliven Porter's text, but you may need a magnifying glass to catch all the nuances--as though you might want to do that!--since some of the prints, while small enough to fit the page are not large enough for the unaided eye.

In short, this is a quick and unsettling read that may make the reader wonder about how future generations will view some of the medical procedures practiced today.

Informative but brief account of medical history, 25 Apr 2003
This book does not have lots of blood and guts in it. What it does have is a series of linked episodes that together describe the history behind many medical practises still in use today.

The story the book is trying to put across relates to societies attitude to medicine and surgery as well as the treatments that went with them.

It shows that in many ways society is just as prudish as it was hundreds of years ago in how it feels about medical practise.

The book can be read in sections to cover each turn of the medical establishment in line with social prejudice.

An easy read, and a book that can be dipped into a chapter or to at a time for bedtime reading.

A brief and superficial history of medicine, 27 Feb 2003
In "Blood & Guts", Roy Porter recounts a brief history of medicine, from the the effects of disease on the earliest human populations, through the catastrophic plagues and epidemics that afflicted towns and cities as population densities increased, to the modern day, when people who have never been healthier worry more about their health and spend more money on it than any of their ancestors.
While the historical sections of the book are interesting, though fairly superficial, Porter's treatment of the "socialization of medicine and the medicalization of society" is too perfunctory. There is no discussion of either the benefits or the dangers of increased application of science and technology to drug discovery or surgical technique, nor is there any mention of the rise in iatrogenic (physician-induced) illness or the alienation of patients from their own bodies. It isn't the place of a book like this to proffer models for improved healthcare systems but a discussion of how medicine itself might have developed differently and what difference that would have made to society would be welcome.

If you only read one book in your lifetime make it this one...., 01 Dec 2008
I saw some of the TV series on which this book is based and found it utterly fascinating so I just had to buy the book to find out the bits I missed on TV. The title makes it sound very gruesome and whilst some of the techniques covered live up to this title the way it is written makes it very enjoyable and entertaining to read without making you feel in the least bit queazy. It really highlights the way the surgical techniques we have today have been founded on the ideas of pioneers who came up with inventions ranging from the astounding to the downright bizarre and morally questionable. Throughout the book I was constantly asking myself "how on earth did they come up with that?!" These really are people who were prepared to try absolutely anything in the pursuit of medical advancement. There are also some excellent pictures and photos which illustrate the techniques discussed. This is really the most interesting book I have ever read and I'd recommend it to anyone.

Readable and Engaging, 25 Aug 2008
Blood and Guts is a pithy and readable history of surgery that does not hold back on the successes and the botches.

One of the most amusing anecdotes became known as the "night of the pigs" and takes place in the National Heart Hospital in London in 1969.

Surgeon Donald Longmore waits for a delivery of pigs. He plans to graft a pig's heart and lungs into a patient to keep him alive. One pig has other ideas and makes its escape onto Wimpole Street, pursued by gowned, capped, masked and booted theatre staff.

The pig, now secured by the expert team, is taken to the mortuary to be put to sleep, but the anaesthetist assigned to the task is Jewish. Another anaesthetist is found, but there is another problem: the patient is also Jewish and unconscious so unable to take any decisions for himself. Mr. Longmore calls a rabbi who in fits of laughter gives the go ahead for a genuine attempt to save the patient's life. Unfortunately, the operation fails in its final stages owing to an unforeseen reaction of pig heart to an injection of calcium.

Medical mavericks seem to have been responsible for much surgical progress, so it's surprising to read how often innovations we now take for granted were at first rejected by established leaders and institutions. Plus ca change!



Gripping without being sensationalist, 24 Nov 2008
I started reading this book quite late at night and I could not put it down. Meticulously researched, it sets out in measured prose the unfolding details of a terrible story - and one that could all too easily happen again.


Excellent introduction into the 5 Elements Theory, 10 Sep 2000
The British School of Shiatsu-Do have chosen this book as our Year 1 course book for students. It presents students with a clear introduction of the 5 Elements approach to Oriental Medicine. With references to Feng Shui and Qi Gong, the student can gain further insight into how the 5 Element theory premeates the the Eastern approach to live. For the general reader it is easy to read, in some areas thought provoking, and can start you on a different road to life!

superbly written, brilliant insights into ancient philosophy, 27 Feb 2000
this book contains absolute gems of information and insight into this ancient healing tradition. It really is an inspirational read. I love it!

Dual purpose book well written interesting read for anyone., 14 Jul 2004
I have had this book since it was first published and it has been worth it's weight (considerable) in gold. I was nursing at the time so obviously had an interest in the medical side. However, this is an excellant history book and of interest to those who like to find out odd facts or the roots of colloquialisms.
It is so interesting it hooks you into actually reading all of it. I have, so has my daughter and my best friend (also a nurse).
However, it is factually correct and written well enough to be deemed a suitable source for academic studies. So after reading it for pleasure I found it was a recommended course book for a module in my Health & Social Policy degree. My friend has also delved into it again for her Nursing Studies degree.
This is a book that you keep and visit now and again, not like other academic texts that you cannot wait to sell on the Marketplace.

A great all round history of medicine, 21 Nov 2000
This book balances the social history with the anecdotes that bring the history of medicine alive It's incredibly dense and stands a lot of rereading an excellent history of medicine with fascinating looks at some often neglected areas such as Jewish and Arabic medicine of the Middle Ages

Wow, 16 Feb 2004
What can I say, I could hardly put this book down! Its a facinating look at medicine's development throughout the centuries right back from cave man times up to modern day diagnostic techniques for diseases such as AIDS and SARS. I would recomend it to any student doing a science course,not just medicine and it even would be of interest to those just interested in the subject as it does not contain too much technical jargon.

A definate read!

A quick and unsettling read, 13 Nov 2003
In a sense this is a "lite" version of the late Roy Porter's well-received history of medicine from 1997, entitled The Greatest Benefit to Mankind. He is also the editor of The Cambridge Illustrated History of Medicine (1996) and was until his death professor of social history at University College London.

But let's face it, the history of medicine has not been a pretty story, nor could it have been. Most of history's physicians were flailing about in the dark, the surgeons as sawbones and barbers performing crude amputations and such without the aid of either anaesthetics or disinfectants, the practitioners as faith healers and quacks, dispensing placebos or poisons often without knowing which was which. It wasn't until the late 19th century that the medical profession began to achieve some understanding of the real causes of illness and indeed understand how living things work and how and why they don't work. Porter recalls some of the controversies about the vivisection of cadavers, and arguments about the causes of infectious disease: an argument made difficult because of course the microbes could not be discerned until about the time of Pasteur.

Porter outlines this sobering story from the time of the Greeks to the present day in an objective and easily assimilated style. He organizes the material into eight chapters focusing on Disease, Doctors, The Body, The Laboratory, Therapies, Surgery, The Hospital, and Medicine in Modern Society. Along the way he delves into the politics (some sexual) and into the sociology of medicine around the globe. There are suggestions for Further Reading and an Index.

There are also about 40 rather appalling (some amusing) illustrations from previous centuries in this (for a change) accurately named little tome, showing the horrors of past medical practices. They enliven Porter's text, but you may need a magnifying glass to catch all the nuances--as though you might want to do that!--since some of the prints, while small enough to fit the page are not large enough for the unaided eye.

In short, this is a quick and unsettling read that may make the reader wonder about how future generations will view some of the medical procedures practiced today.

Informative but brief account of medical history, 25 Apr 2003
This book does not have lots of blood and guts in it. What it does have is a series of linked episodes that together describe the history behind many medical practises still in use today.

The story the book is trying to put across relates to societies attitude to medicine and surgery as well as the treatments that went with them.

It shows that in many ways society is just as prudish as it was hundreds of years ago in how it feels about medical practise.

The book can be read in sections to cover each turn of the medical establishment in line with social prejudice.

An easy read, and a book that can be dipped into a chapter or to at a time for bedtime reading.

A brief and superficial history of medicine, 27 Feb 2003
In "Blood & Guts", Roy Porter recounts a brief history of medicine, from the the effects of disease on the earliest human populations, through the catastrophic plagues and epidemics that afflicted towns and cities as population densities increased, to the modern day, when people who have never been healthier worry more about their health and spend more money on it than any of their ancestors.
While the historical sections of the book are interesting, though fairly superficial, Porter's treatment of the "socialization of medicine and the medicalization of society" is too perfunctory. There is no discussion of either the benefits or the dangers of increased application of science and technology to drug discovery or surgical technique, nor is there any mention of the rise in iatrogenic (physician-induced) illness or the alienation of patients from their own bodies. It isn't the place of a book like this to proffer models for improved healthcare systems but a discussion of how medicine itself might have developed differently and what difference that would have made to society would be welcome.

A Wonderful Read, 08 Jun 2008
This is an excellent biography of John Hunter, one of the most famous surgeons to ever have lived. The author is an expert writer and whilst it can be a cliché to speak of history reading like fiction that certainly is the case in this book. We map the progress of his life and the discoveries he makes within the field of medicine and science. Most of the science is wonderfully explained so that even most lay reader will be able to appreciate the discoveries. The sinister side is not left out either, whilst Hunter may have been a medical genius it is certain that he engaged in less praiseworthy activities such as robbing bodies from graves. Hunter's personal details are given here also, we see his upbringing, his marriage and his feuds with his brother. We see also of his successes, the pupils he inspired include Edward Jenner who developed the smallpox inoculation, Abernethy who founded the medical school at Bart's and Blizzard who founded one on the Royal London. But it wasn't only doctors that became Hunter's pupil, both Adam Smith and Edward Gibbon were pupils of his anatomy school. This is an extraordinary story of an extraordinary man whose legacy is still with us today.

A Truly Brilliant Biography, 15 Aug 2007
As far as biography's go, The Knife Mans is probably the best I have ever read. Although the brilliance of the book is significantly aided by its extraordinary subject matter, Wendy Moores fluid, informal writing style and indefatigable research make this one of the most entertaining, eloquent, informative and above all readable non-fiction books in publication.

Progressing with infinite detail worthy of the man himself the book follows the life of John Hunter from his impoverished birth in Scotland through his many achievements in London and finally to his death in 1793. Throughout Moores gives both detailed accounts of all his work as well as fascinating anecdotes concerning other famous figures connected with the hunters such as Samuel Johnson, Edward Jenner and Benjamin Franklin to name but three. She also quotes many contemporary sources while resisting the temptation to cite long and unnecessary paragraphs.

The books only floor is the slightly 'saint-like' picture of Hunter that Moore portrays. Although she is not afraid to confront the darker issues of his life, she seems to do so only so that she can jump to his defence. A staunch disciple, she condemns anyone who dares say a word against Hunter as either ignorant or jealous despite there being several occasions when he clearly acted immorally.

However this is a small price to pay for such a terrific account of Georgian surgery and society, and particularly of the remarkable life of John Hunter. As long as you take his 'golden-boy' image with a slight pinch of salt you will be enthralled by this book. I wait expectantly for Wendy Moores next literary venture!

Fascinating Book, 05 Dec 2006
The Hunter brothers are a complete breed of their own. It amazes me to see how far we have progressed on in both science and medicine. Certainly, ethical issues were raised then but played less than a major role then compared to now!

Wendy Moore has written a brilliant book which has been very well researched. I am very impressed with the way she has written the book. She has manage to take you through the 17th century explaining what the present society is like, what the Hunter brothers achieved, done and given to the world, the elite medical society and the customers it serves. It explains very well the many significant symbols and discoveries in modern medicine and how science and medicine (or the medical professionals) will do anything both in quest of knowledge and to achieve name and glory. The book is not dull at all as it takes you through to the life of John Hunter during his childhood, his adolescent and adulthood. She also involves those surrounding him and explains each of their role, to whom their life is related to him or stood independently. She talks about the squabbles and the disagreement between members of the medical professionals and the competitiveness felt between them during that era.

It is not for the faint-hearted as there are descriptions of body parts (described brilliantly - it makes your stomach churned!) and how they are dismembered and obtained, in the name of science.

I do recommend this book. A visit to the Hunterian Museum at Glasgow University should be followed up upon completion of this book to give a better appreciation of the things described. There is an original copy of the Gravid Uterus based I think at Glasgow University Library. Certainly you can still see the plaster casts of the stages in pregnancy at the Anatomy Museum based also at Glasgow University.

A Brilliant and Detailed Biography of the British Vesalius, 06 Jun 2006
When John Hunter was born in 1728, medicine and surgery was still in a dark age riven with ancient beliefs, an unwillingness to accept proven discoveries and an even great unwillingness to change.

John Hunter, by sheer hard work and dedication opened up the human body as no surgeon or anatomist had done for over 150 years, and people looked, listened and many learned. His influence on his students would see great names in surgery such as John Abernethy and Percival Pott, who, in their own right, took Hunter's teaching and practice into the operating theatres of Britain. This was the beginning of a new dawn for surgery, anatomy and science.

Wendy Moore has created a masterpiece for historians of medicine and science, as this book has been sourced from many primary sources, which she has brought together to provide a readable, if somewhat gruesome account of John Hunter, who by all accounts has to be the British Vesalius.

Although books on the history of medicine come and go, Knife Man will be up there with the front runners. This book will be an excellent and informative read for students of the history of medicine, doctors, surgeons and those with a fascination for the medical past. It is very reasonably priced and deserves every one of the five stars I have awarded.

Blood and brilliance, 06 Apr 2006
This book describes the adventures of a man who injected himself with syphillis, was a major exponent of the art of bodysnatching, was famed and feared for his experiments on live an dead creatures, who transplated teeth and who debunked many of the classical theories on medicine. In short the book, even for a non-scientist like myself, is fascinating with its insights into Georgian society and the way in which it charts the emergerence of John Hunter as one of the founders of modern science. An outstanding read.

If you only read one book in your lifetime make it this one...., 01 Dec 2008
I saw some of the TV series on which this book is based and found it utterly fascinating so I just had to buy the book to find out the bits I missed on TV. The title makes it sound very gruesome and whilst some of the techniques covered live up to this title the way it is written makes it very enjoyable and entertaining to read without making you feel in the least bit queazy. It really highlights the way the surgical techniques we have today have been founded on the ideas of pioneers who came up with inventions ranging from the astounding to the downright bizarre and morally questionable. Throughout the book I was constantly asking myself "how on earth did they come up with that?!" These really are people who were prepared to try absolutely anything in the pursuit of medical advancement. There are also some excellent pictures and photos which illustrate the techniques discussed. This is really the most interesting book I have ever read and I'd recommend it to anyone.

Readable and Engaging, 25 Aug 2008
Blood and Guts is a pithy and readable history of surgery that does not hold back on the successes and the botches.

One of the most amusing anecdotes became known as the "night of the pigs" and takes place in the National Heart Hospital in London in 1969.

Surgeon Donald Longmore waits for a delivery of pigs. He plans to graft a pig's heart and lungs into a patient to keep him alive. One pig has other ideas and makes its escape onto Wimpole Street, pursued by gowned, capped, masked and booted theatre staff.

The pig, now secured by the expert team, is taken to the mortuary to be put to sleep, but the anaesthetist assigned to the task is Jewish. Another anaesthetist is found, but there is another problem: the patient is also Jewish and unconscious so unable to take any decisions for himself. Mr. Longmore calls a rabbi who in fits of laughter gives the go ahead for a genuine attempt to save the patient's life. Unfortunately, the operation fails in its final stages owing to an unforeseen reaction of pig heart to an injection of calcium.

Medical mavericks seem to have been responsible for much surgical progress, so it's surprising to read how often innovations we now take for granted were at first rejected by established leaders and institutions. Plus ca change!



Gripping without being sensationalist, 24 Nov 2008
I started reading this book quite late at night and I could not put it down. Meticulously researched, it sets out in measured prose the unfolding details of a terrible story - and one that could all too easily happen again.


Excellent introduction into the 5 Elements Theory, 10 Sep 2000
The British School of Shiatsu-Do have chosen this book as our Year 1 course book for students. It presents students with a clear introduction of the 5 Elements approach to Oriental Medicine. With references to Feng Shui and Qi Gong, the student can gain further insight into how the 5 Element theory premeates the the Eastern approach to live. For the general reader it is easy to read, in some areas thought provoking, and can start you on a different road to life!

superbly written, brilliant insights into ancient philosophy, 27 Feb 2000
this book contains absolute gems of information and insight into this ancient healing tradition. It really is an inspirational read. I love it!

Dual purpose book well written interesting read for anyone., 14 Jul 2004
I have had this book since it was first published and it has been worth it's weight (considerable) in gold. I was nursing at the time so obviously had an interest in the medical side. However, this is an excellant history book and of interest to those who like to find out odd facts or the roots of colloquialisms.
It is so interesting it hooks you into actually reading all of it. I have, so has my daughter and my best friend (also a nurse).
However, it is factually correct and written well enough to be deemed a suitable source for academic studies. So after reading it for pleasure I found it was a recommended course book for a module in my Health & Social Policy degree. My friend has also delved into it again for her Nursing Studies degree.
This is a book that you keep and visit now and again, not like other academic texts that you cannot wait to sell on the Marketplace.

A great all round history of medicine, 21 Nov 2000
This book balances the social history with the anecdotes that bring the history of medicine alive It's incredibly dense and stands a lot of rereading an excellent history of medicine with fascinating looks at some often neglected areas such as Jewish and Arabic medicine of the Middle Ages

Wow, 16 Feb 2004
What can I say, I could hardly put this book down! Its a facinating look at medicine's development throughout the centuries right back from cave man times up to modern day diagnostic techniques for diseases such as AIDS and SARS. I would recomend it to any student doing a science course,not just medicine and it even would be of interest to those just interested in the subject as it does not contain too much technical jargon.

A definate read!

A quick and unsettling read, 13 Nov 2003
In a sense this is a "lite" version of the late Roy Porter's well-received history of medicine from 1997, entitled The Greatest Benefit to Mankind. He is also the editor of The Cambridge Illustrated History of Medicine (1996) and was until his death professor of social history at University College London.

But let's face it, the history of medicine has not been a pretty story, nor could it have been. Most of history's physicians were flailing about in the dark, the surgeons as sawbones and barbers performing crude amputations and such without the aid of either anaesthetics or disinfectants, the practitioners as faith healers and quacks, dispensing placebos or poisons often without knowing which was which. It wasn't until the late 19th century that the medical profession began to achieve some understanding of the real causes of illness and indeed understand how living things work and how and why they don't work. Porter recalls some of the controversies about the vivisection of cadavers, and arguments about the causes of infectious disease: an argument made difficult because of course the microbes could not be discerned until about the time of Pasteur.

Porter outlines this sobering story from the time of the Greeks to the present day in an objective and easily assimilated style. He organizes the material into eight chapters focusing on Disease, Doctors, The Body, The Laboratory, Therapies, Surgery, The Hospital, and Medicine in Modern Society. Along the way he delves into the politics (some sexual) and into the sociology of medicine around the globe. There are suggestions for Further Reading and an Index.

There are also about 40 rather appalling (some amusing) illustrations from previous centuries in this (for a change) accurately named little tome, showing the horrors of past medical practices. They enliven Porter's text, but you may need a magnifying glass to catch all the nuances--as though you might want to do that!--since some of the prints, while small enough to fit the page are not large enough for the unaided eye.

In short, this is a quick and unsettling read that may make the reader wonder about how future generations will view some of the medical procedures practiced today.

Informative but brief account of medical history, 25 Apr 2003
This book does not have lots of blood and guts in it. What it does have is a series of linked episodes that together describe the history behind many medical practises still in use today.

The story the book is trying to put across relates to societies attitude to medicine and surgery as well as the treatments that went with them.

It shows that in many ways society is just as prudish as it was hundreds of years ago in how it feels about medical practise.

The book can be read in sections to cover each turn of the medical establishment in line with social prejudice.

An easy read, and a book that can be dipped into a chapter or to at a time for bedtime reading.

A brief and superficial history of medicine, 27 Feb 2003
In "Blood & Guts", Roy Porter recounts a brief history of medicine, from the the effects of disease on the earliest human populations, through the catastrophic plagues and epidemics that afflicted towns and cities as population densities increased, to the modern day, when people who have never been healthier worry more about their health and spend more money on it than any of their ancestors.
While the historical sections of the book are interesting, though fairly superficial, Porter's treatment of the "socialization of medicine and the medicalization of society" is too perfunctory. There is no discussion of either the benefits or the dangers of increased application of science and technology to drug discovery or surgical technique, nor is there any mention of the rise in iatrogenic (physician-induced) illness or the alienation of patients from their own bodies. It isn't the place of a book like this to proffer models for improved healthcare systems but a discussion of how medicine itself might have developed differently and what difference that would have made to society would be welcome.

A Wonderful Read, 08 Jun 2008
This is an excellent biography of John Hunter, one of the most famous surgeons to ever have lived. The author is an expert writer and whilst it can be a cliché to speak of history reading like fiction that certainly is the case in this book. We map the progress of his life and the discoveries he makes within the field of medicine and science. Most of the science is wonderfully explained so that even most lay reader will be able to appreciate the discoveries. The sinister side is not left out either, whilst Hunter may have been a medical genius it is certain that he engaged in less praiseworthy activities such as robbing bodies from graves. Hunter's personal details are given here also, we see his upbringing, his marriage and his feuds with his brother. We see also of his successes, the pupils he inspired include Edward Jenner who developed the smallpox inoculation, Abernethy who founded the medical school at Bart's and Blizzard who founded one on the Royal London. But it wasn't only doctors that became Hunter's pupil, both Adam Smith and Edward Gibbon were pupils of his anatomy school. This is an extraordinary story of an extraordinary man whose legacy is still with us today.

A Truly Brilliant Biography, 15 Aug 2007
As far as biography's go, The Knife Mans is probably the best I have ever read. Although the brilliance of the book is significantly aided by its extraordinary subject matter, Wendy Moores fluid, informal writing style and indefatigable research make this one of the most entertaining, eloquent, informative and above all readable non-fiction books in publication.

Progressing with infinite detail worthy of the man himself the book follows the life of John Hunter from his impoverished birth in Scotland through his many achievements in London and finally to his death in 1793. Throughout Moores gives both detailed accounts of all his work as well as fascinating anecdotes concerning other famous figures connected with the hunters such as Samuel Johnson, Edward Jenner and Benjamin Franklin to name but three. She also quotes many contemporary sources while resisting the temptation to cite long and unnecessary paragraphs.

The books only floor is the slightly 'saint-like' picture of Hunter that Moore portrays. Although she is not afraid to confront the darker issues of his life, she seems to do so only so that she can jump to his defence. A staunch disciple, she condemns anyone who dares say a word against Hunter as either ignorant or jealous despite there being several occasions when he clearly acted immorally.

However this is a small price to pay for such a terrific account of Georgian surgery and society, and particularly of the remarkable life of John Hunter. As long as you take his 'golden-boy' image with a slight pinch of salt you will be enthralled by this book. I wait expectantly for Wendy Moores next literary venture!

Fascinating Book, 05 Dec 2006
The Hunter brothers are a complete breed of their own. It amazes me to see how far we have progressed on in both science and medicine. Certainly, ethical issues were raised then but played less than a major role then compared to now!

Wendy Moore has written a brilliant book which has been very well researched. I am very impressed with the way she has written the book. She has manage to take you through the 17th century explaining what the present society is like, what the Hunter brothers achieved, done and given to the world, the elite medical society and the customers it serves. It explains very well the many significant symbols and discoveries in modern medicine and how science and medicine (or the medical professionals) will do anything both in quest of knowledge and to achieve name and glory. The book is not dull at all as it takes you through to the life of John Hunter during his childhood, his adolescent and adulthood. She also involves those surrounding him and explains each of their role, to whom their life is related to him or stood independently. She talks about the squabbles and the disagreement between members of the medical professionals and the competitiveness felt between them during that era.

It is not for the faint-hearted as there are descriptions of body parts (described brilliantly - it makes your stomach churned!) and how they are dismembered and obtained, in the name of science.

I do recommend this book. A visit to the Hunterian Museum at Glasgow University should be followed up upon completion of this book to give a better appreciation of the things described. There is an original copy of the Gravid Uterus based I think at Glasgow University Library. Certainly you can still see the plaster casts of the stages in pregnancy at the Anatomy Museum based also at Glasgow University.

A Brilliant and Detailed Biography of the British Vesalius, 06 Jun 2006
When John Hunter was born in 1728, medicine and surgery was still in a dark age riven with ancient beliefs, an unwillingness to accept proven discoveries and an even great unwillingness to change.

John Hunter, by sheer hard work and dedication opened up the human body as no surgeon or anatomist had done for over 150 years, and people looked, listened and many learned. His influence on his students would see great names in surgery such as John Abernethy and Percival Pott, who, in their own right, took Hunter's teaching and practice into the operating theatres of Britain. This was the beginning of a new dawn for surgery, anatomy and science.

Wendy Moore has created a masterpiece for historians of medicine and science, as this book has been sourced from many primary sources, which she has brought together to provide a readable, if somewhat gruesome account of John Hunter, who by all accounts has to be the British Vesalius.

Although books on the history of medicine come and go, Knife Man will be up there with the front runners. This book will be an excellent and informative read for students of the history of medicine, doctors, surgeons and those with a fascination for the medical past. It is very reasonably priced and deserves every one of the five stars I have awarded.

Blood and brilliance, 06 Apr 2006
This book describes the adventures of a man who injected himself with syphillis, was a major exponent of the art of bodysnatching, was famed and feared for his experiments on live an dead creatures, who transplated teeth and who debunked many of the classical theories on medicine. In short the book, even for a non-scientist like myself, is fascinating with its insights into Georgian society and the way in which it charts the emergerence of John Hunter as one of the founders of modern science. An outstanding read.

An excellent source for medical historians, 11 Mar 2006
Yes, it is an excellent resource, but only if used in conjunction with the text, and as this is an Open University publication, it forms part of a course. However, it will appeal to students and readers of medieval history, scientific history and the history of medicine for that period.

Because of the high price, I can only give it a max. of four stars

Very Informative., 26 Nov 2005
I purchased this book as a 'set book' for an Open University course. It contains extracts from works by authors from the period covered by the book and modern historians. I found the book very interesting and informative - although best read in conjunction with the couse for which it was purchased.

If you only read one book in your lifetime make it this one...., 01 Dec 2008
I saw some of the TV series on which this book is based and found it utterly fascinating so I just had to buy the book to find out the bits I missed on TV. The title makes it sound very gruesome and whilst some of the techniques covered live up to this title the way it is written makes it very enjoyable and entertaining to read without making you feel in the least bit queazy. It really highlights the way the surgical techniques we have today have been founded on the ideas of pioneers who came up with inventions ranging from the astounding to the downright bizarre and morally questionable. Throughout the book I was constantly asking myself "how on earth did they come up with that?!" These really are people who were prepared to try absolutely anything in the pursuit of medical advancement. There are also some excellent pictures and photos which illustrate the techniques discussed. This is really the most interesting book I have ever read and I'd recommend it to anyone.

Readable and Engaging, 25 Aug 2008
Blood and Guts is a pithy and readable history of surgery that does not hold back on the successes and the botches.

One of the most amusing anecdotes became known as the "night of the pigs" and takes place in the National Heart Hospital in London in 1969.

Surgeon Donald Longmore waits for a delivery of pigs. He plans to graft a pig's heart and lungs into a patient to keep him alive. One pig has other ideas and makes its escape onto Wimpole Street, pursued by gowned, capped, masked and booted theatre staff.

The pig, now secured by the expert team, is taken to the mortuary to be put to sleep, but the anaesthetist assigned to the task is Jewish. Another anaesthetist is found, but there is another problem: the patient is also Jewish and unconscious so unable to take any decisions for himself. Mr. Longmore calls a rabbi who in fits of laughter gives the go ahead for a genuine attempt to save the patient's life. Unfortunately, the operation fails in its final stages owing to an unforeseen reaction of pig heart to an injection of calcium.

Medical mavericks seem to have been responsible for much surgical progress, so it's surprising to read how often innovations we now take for granted were at first rejected by established leaders and institutions. Plus ca change!



Gripping without being sensationalist, 24 Nov 2008
I started reading this book quite late at night and I could not put it down. Meticulously researched, it sets out in measured prose the unfolding details of a terrible story - and one that could all too easily happen again.


Excellent introduction into the 5 Elements Theory, 10 Sep 2000
The British School of Shiatsu-Do have chosen this book as our Year 1 course book for students. It presents students with a clear introduction of the 5 Elements approach to Oriental Medicine. With references to Feng Shui and Qi Gong, the student can gain further insight into how the 5 Element theory premeates the the Eastern approach to live. For the general reader it is easy to read, in some areas thought provoking, and can start you on a different road to life!

superbly written, brilliant insights into ancient philosophy, 27 Feb 2000
this book contains absolute gems of information and insight into this ancient healing tradition. It really is an inspirational read. I love it!

Dual purpose book well written interesting read for anyone., 14 Jul 2004
I have had this book since it was first published and it has been worth it's weight (considerable) in gold. I was nursing at the time so obviously had an interest in the medical side. However, this is an excellant history book and of interest to those who like to find out odd facts or the roots of colloquialisms.
It is so interesting it hooks you into actually reading all of it. I have, so has my daughter and my best friend (also a nurse).
However, it is factually correct and written well enough to be deemed a suitable source for academic studies. So after reading it for pleasure I found it was a recommended course book for a module in my Health & Social Policy degree. My friend has also delved into it again for her Nursing Studies degree.
This is a book that you keep and visit now and again, not like other academic texts that you cannot wait to sell on the Marketplace.

A great all round history of medicine, 21 Nov 2000
This book balances the social history with the anecdotes that bring the history of medicine alive It's incredibly dense and stands a lot of rereading an excellent history of medicine with fascinating looks at some often neglected areas such as Jewish and Arabic medicine of the Middle Ages

Wow, 16 Feb 2004
What can I say, I could hardly put this book down! Its a facinating look at medicine's development throughout the centuries right back from cave man times up to modern day diagnostic techniques for diseases such as AIDS and SARS. I would recomend it to any student doing a science course,not just medicine and it even would be of interest to those just interested in the subject as it does not contain too much technical jargon.

A definate read!

A quick and unsettling read, 13 Nov 2003
In a sense this is a "lite" version of the late Roy Porter's well-received history of medicine from 1997, entitled The Greatest Benefit to Mankind. He is also the editor of The Cambridge Illustrated History of Medicine (1996) and was until his death professor of social history at University College London.

But let's face it, the history of medicine has not been a pretty story, nor could it have been. Most of history's physicians were flailing about in the dark, the surgeons as sawbones and barbers performing crude amputations and such without the aid of either anaesthetics or disinfectants, the practitioners as faith healers and quacks, dispensing placebos or poisons often without knowing which was which. It wasn't until the late 19th century that the medical profession began to achieve some understanding of the real causes of illness and indeed understand how living things work and how and why they don't work. Porter recalls some of the controversies about the vivisection of cadavers, and arguments about the causes of infectious disease: an argument made difficult because of course the microbes could not be discerned until about the time of Pasteur.

Porter outlines this sobering story from the time of the Greeks to the present day in an objective and easily assimilated style. He organizes the material into eight chapters focusing on Disease, Doctors, The Body, The Laboratory, Therapies, Surgery, The Hospital, and Medicine in Modern Society. Along the way he delves into the politics (some sexual) and into the sociology of medicine around the globe. There are suggestions for Further Reading and an Index.

There are also about 40 rather appalling (some amusing) illustrations from previous centuries in this (for a change) accurately named little tome, showing the horrors of past medical practices. They enliven Porter's text, but you may need a magnifying glass to catch all the nuances--as though you might want to do that!--since some of the prints, while small enough to fit the page are not large enough for the unaided eye.

In short, this is a quick and unsettling read that may make the reader wonder about how future generations will view some of the medical procedures practiced today.

Informative but brief account of medical history, 25 Apr 2003
This book does not have lots of blood and guts in it. What it does have is a series of linked episodes that together describe the history behind many medical practises still in use today.

The story the book is trying to put across relates to societies attitude to medicine and surgery as well as the treatments that went with them.

It shows that in many ways society is just as prudish as it was hundreds of years ago in how it feels about medical practise.

The book can be read in sections to cover each turn of the medical establishment in line with social prejudice.

An easy read, and a book that can be dipped into a chapter or to at a time for bedtime reading.

A brief and superficial history of medicine, 27 Feb 2003
In "Blood & Guts", Roy Porter recounts a brief history of medicine, from the the effects of disease on the earliest human populations, through the catastrophic plagues and epidemics that afflicted towns and cities as population densities increased, to the modern day, when people who have never been healthier worry more about their health and spend more money on it than any of their ancestors.
While the historical sections of the book are interesting, though fairly superficial, Porter's treatment of the "socialization of medicine and the medicalization of society" is too perfunctory. There is no discussion of either the benefits or the dangers of increased application of science and technology to drug discovery or surgical technique, nor is there any mention of the rise in iatrogenic (physician-induced) illness or the alienation of patients from their own bodies. It isn't the place of a book like this to proffer models for improved healthcare systems but a discussion of how medicine itself might have developed differently and what difference that would have made to society would be welcome.

A Wonderful Read, 08 Jun 2008
This is an excellent biography of John Hunter, one of the most famous surgeons to ever have lived. The author is an expert writer and whilst it can be a cliché to speak of history reading like fiction that certainly is the case in this book. We map the progress of his life and the discoveries he makes within the field of medicine and science. Most of the science is wonderfully explained so that even most lay reader will be able to appreciate the discoveries. The sinister side is not left out either, whilst Hunter may have been a medical genius it is certain that he engaged in less praiseworthy activities such as robbing bodies from graves. Hunter's personal details are given here also, we see his upbringing, his marriage and his feuds with his brother. We see also of his successes, the pupils he inspired include Edward Jenner who developed the smallpox inoculation, Abernethy who founded the medical school at Bart's and Blizzard who founded one on the Royal London. But it wasn't only doctors that became Hunter's pupil, both Adam Smith and Edward Gibbon were pupils of his anatomy school. This is an extraordinary story of an extraordinary man whose legacy is still with us today.

A Truly Brilliant Biography, 15 Aug 2007
As far as biography's go, The Knife Mans is probably the best I have ever read. Although the brilliance of the book is significantly aided by its extraordinary subject matter, Wendy Moores fluid, informal writing style and indefatigable research make this one of the most entertaining, eloquent, informative and above all readable non-fiction books in publication.

Progressing with infinite detail worthy of the man himself the book follows the life of John Hunter from his impoverished birth in Scotland through his many achievements in London and finally to his death in 1793. Throughout Moores gives both detailed accounts of all his work as well as fascinating anecdotes concerning other famous figures connected with the hunters such as Samuel Johnson, Edward Jenner and Benjamin Franklin to name but three. She also quotes many contemporary sources while resisting the temptation to cite long and unnecessary paragraphs.

The books only floor is the slightly 'saint-like' picture of Hunter that Moore portrays. Although she is not afraid to confront the darker issues of his life, she seems to do so only so that she can jump to his defence. A staunch disciple, she condemns anyone who dares say a word against Hunter as either ignorant or jealous despite there being several occasions when he clearly acted immorally.

However this is a small price to pay for such a terrific account of Georgian surgery and society, and particularly of the remarkable life of John Hunter. As long as you take his 'golden-boy' image with a slight pinch of salt you will be enthralled by this book. I wait expectantly for Wendy Moores next literary venture!

Fascinating Book, 05 Dec 2006
The Hunter brothers are a complete breed of their own. It amazes me to see how far we have progressed on in both science and medicine. Certainly, ethical issues were raised then but played less than a major role then compared to now!

Wendy Moore has written a brilliant book which has been very well researched. I am very impressed with the way she has written the book. She has manage to take you through the 17th century explaining what the present society is like, what the Hunter brothers achieved, done and given to the world, the elite medical society and the customers it serves. It explains very well the many significant symbols and discoveries in modern medicine and how science and medicine (or the medical professionals) will do anything both in quest of knowledge and to achieve name and glory. The book is not dull at all as it takes you through to the life of John Hunter during his childhood, his adolescent and adulthood. She also involves those surrounding him and explains each of their role, to whom their life is related to him or stood independently. She talks about the squabbles and the disagreement between members of the medical professionals and the competitiveness felt between them during that era.

It is not for the faint-hearted as there are descriptions of body parts (described brilliantly - it makes your stomach churned!) and how they are dismembered and obtained, in the name of science.

I do recommend this book. A visit to the Hunterian Museum at Glasgow University should be followed up upon completion of this book to give a better appreciation of the things described. There is an original copy of the Gravid Uterus based I think at Glasgow University Library. Certainly you can still see the plaster casts of the stages in pregnancy at the Anatomy Museum based also at Glasgow University.

A Brilliant and Detailed Biography of the British Vesalius, 06 Jun 2006
When John Hunter was born in 1728, medicine and surgery was still in a dark age riven with ancient beliefs, an unwillingness to accept proven discoveries and an even great unwillingness to change.

John Hunter, by sheer hard work and dedication opened up the human body as no surgeon or anatomist had done for over 150 years, and people looked, listened and many learned. His influence on his students would see great names in surgery such as John Abernethy and Percival Pott, who, in their own right, took Hunter's teaching and practice into the operating theatres of Britain. This was the beginning of a new dawn for surgery, anatomy and science.

Wendy Moore has created a masterpiece for historians of medicine and science, as this book has been sourced from many primary sources, which she has brought together to provide a readable, if somewhat gruesome account of John Hunter, who by all accounts has to be the British Vesalius.

Although books on the history of medicine come and go, Knife Man will be up there with the front runners. This book will be an excellent and informative read for students of the history of medicine, doctors, surgeons and those with a fascination for the medical past. It is very reasonably priced and deserves every one of the five stars I have awarded.

Blood and brilliance, 06 Apr 2006
This book describes the adventures of a man who injected himself with syphillis, was a major exponent of the art of bodysnatching, was famed and feared for his experiments on live an dead creatures, who transplated teeth and who debunked many of the classical theories on medicine. In short the book, even for a non-scientist like myself, is fascinating with its insights into Georgian society and the way in which it charts the emergerence of John Hunter as one of the founders of modern science. An outstanding read.

An excellent source for medical historians, 11 Mar 2006
Yes, it is an excellent resource, but only if used in conjunction with the text, and as this is an Open University publication, it forms part of a course. However, it will appeal to students and readers of medieval history, scientific history and the history of medicine for that period.

Because of the high price, I can only give it a max. of four stars

Very Informative., 26 Nov 2005
I purchased this book as a 'set book' for an Open University course. It contains extracts from works by authors from the period covered by the book and modern historians. I found the book very interesting and informative - although best read in conjunction with the couse for which it was purchased.

excellent intro to five element theory, 01 Apr 2006
as a student of equine shiatsu (my course also covered human shiatsu) i found this book to provide a clear, easily comprehendable introduction to the five elements. although this book is based around acupuncture and chinese herbal medicine, i found it easy & enjoyable to read (no techno jargon), suitable for students of oriental medicine or just those interested in it. despite the fact that there was a lot that was irrelivant to me, i still enjoyed reading it. i'd recommend it to anyone who wants a basic intro to chinese medical theory.

Profound insight into human nature, 23 Jul 2005
This book is worth buying for its second section ("Types"), in which the authors offer an original and very detailed examination of human character using the Five Phases (elements) as a key. The attributions and correspondences which they supply for each of the elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) draw on a very deep understanding of people and a great wealth of clinical experience. I can honestly say that reading those five or six chapters has enhanced not only my conception of five-phase theory (considerably), but also my insight into my own character and behaviour.

The first section, which summarises the theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine, is quite personal and contains some very unorthodox interpretations; these are not always presented as such, making this book NOT suitable for complete beginners to TCM. Having said that, the introductory chapters are very informative and interesting, highlighting the differences between Oriental and Occidental approaches to medicine in a way which certainly gives pause for thought. Did you know that one report in 1910 was responsible for American medical science following the direction it did? The details are in here.

The third section of the book attempts to cover acupuncture and herbalism in greater depth, and ends up going into far too much detail on herbs in particular (bearing in mind that herbalists will need much more comprehensive texts anyway, and the rest of us have little use for page after page of plant names). Overall, I think it's fair to say that the book suffers from a lack of cohesion and focus. Still, the central thesis as set out in section two is so illuminating (and - as far as I know - unique to these authors) that I can certainly recommend this book to all students of shiatsu, acupuncture, herbalism etc. Don't make it the first book you read (Kaptchuk is probably a better introduction, then Maciocia), but do read it, if only for the bit in the middle!

A high quality book, 06 Sep 1999
Wether or not the book perfectly matches what you are looking for, you are getting quality for your money.

Good Introduction to Oriental Medicine, 12 Jun 1998
This book gives a good foundation for understanding how the Chinese five elements theory is used in clinical practice. The description of five-element theory is very poetically written, so the book is fun to read. There is also a good introduction to acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. The chapters on acupuncture and herbal medicine are fairly technical, so if you don't have much interest in these areas, you may find the sections boring.

The main problem with the book is it's over-emphasis on the Five Elements. From what I understand, the Chinese five element theory is not regarded as important to diagnosis and treatment in TCM as the theory of yin/yang and chi (in fact, the validity of the theory is still hotly debated in China today) so its treatment here may be a bit over-emphasized.

If you only read one book in your lifetime make it this one...., 01 Dec 2008
I saw some of the TV series on which this book is based and found it utterly fascinating so I just had to buy the book to find out the bits I missed on TV. The title makes it sound very gruesome and whilst some of the techniques covered live up to this title the way it is written makes it very enjoyable and entertaining to read without making you feel in the least bit queazy. It really highlights the way the surgical techniques we have today have been founded on the ideas of pioneers who came up with inventions ranging from the astounding to the downright bizarre and morally questionable. Throughout the book I was constantly asking myself "how on earth did they come up with that?!" These really are people who were prepared to try absolutely anything in the pursuit of medical advancement. There are also some excellent pictures and photos which illustrate the techniques discussed. This is really the most interesting book I have ever read and I'd recommend it to anyone.

Readable and Engaging, 25 Aug 2008
Blood and Guts is a pithy and readable history of surgery that does not hold back on the successes and the botches.

One of the most amusing anecdotes became known as the "night of the pigs" and takes place in the National Heart Hospital in London in 1969.

Surgeon Donald Longmore waits for a delivery of pigs. He plans to graft a pig's heart and lungs into a patient to keep him alive. One pig has other ideas and makes its escape onto Wimpole Street, pursued by gowned, capped, masked and booted theatre staff.

The pig, now secured by the expert team, is taken to the mortuary to be put to sleep, but the anaesthetist assigned to the task is Jewish. Another anaesthetist is found, but there is another problem: the patient is also Jewish and unconscious so unable to take any decisions for himself. Mr. Longmore calls a rabbi who in fits of laughter gives the go ahead for a genuine attempt to save the patient's life. Unfortunately, the operation fails in its final stages owing to an unforeseen reaction of pig heart to an injection of calcium.