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32nd out of 40 books
—
13 voters
A Cabinet of Medical Curiosities
by
Jan Bondeson
In this book of amazing oddities, Jan Bondeson explores unexpected, gruesome, and bizarre aspects of the history of medicine. He regales us with stories of spontaneous human combustion; vicious tribes of tailed men; the Two-Headed Boy of Bengal; Mary Toft, who allegedly gave birth to seventeen rabbits; and Julia Pastrana, exhibited around the world as the Ape Woman. Bondes...more
Paperback, 256 pages
Published
April 17th 1999
by W. W. Norton & Company
(first published 1997)
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In this book of amazing oddities, Jan Bondeson explores unexpected, gruesome, and bizarre aspects of the history of medicine. He regales us with stories of spontaneous human combustion; vicious tribes of tailed men; the Two-Headed Boy of Bengal; Mary Toft, who allegedly gave birth to seventeen rabbits; and Julia Pastrana, exhibited around the world as the Ape Woman. Bondeson combines an historian's skill in showing us our timeless fascination with the grotesque with a physician's diagnostic abil...more
This book was definitely entertaining, and the author is clearly writing about topics that fascinate him. The writing style made me a bit batty at times, as he presents the topic, gives a slew of examples, then describes how it was debunked or finally correctly explained. And then he starts all over again. Each segment cycles through at least twice, which made it hard to read (for me, at least.)
However, I enjoyed learning the etymology of "blowing smoke up one's ass", was amazed at how easy it w...more
However, I enjoyed learning the etymology of "blowing smoke up one's ass", was amazed at how easy it w...more
This book tells the story of many old medical conditions through a series of perspectives - folklore, politics, literary reference, documentation (trustworthy or not,) and evolving medical opinion. This combination makes for a very varied reading experience. On the positive side, the book is full of fascinating anecdotes and is very effective at recounting of how understanding of conditions changed between the era of folklore to modern medical science. On the other hand, portions of the book are...more
I added this book to my "read" list, even though I didn't finish it. I made a supremely valiant effort, though. I wanted to like it, I really did, wanted to want to read it in its entirety, but there were just so many case histories and time periods and misdirected medical men that it made my head swim and my thoughts wander. Also the author writes in a sort of drily humorous, pedantic way which is not to my tastes. I'll give it three stars for effort, sheer research and potential to be great.
Mar 30, 2007
Anthrodiva Stommen
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
nonfictionforfunandprofit
The illustrations are the best part. I just imagine coming across some of these woodcuts and thinking, WTF?
On Homo Cornutus
"Throughout his long life, Thomas Bartholin kept a sharp lookout for horned human beings...Bartholin's work inspired the German savant Georg Franck to write the earliest treatise entirely devoted to human horns. His thirty-one page Tractatus Phililogico-Medicus de Cornutis, published in Heidelberg in 1676, promised to cover all possible theological, legal, philosophical, his...more
On Homo Cornutus
"Throughout his long life, Thomas Bartholin kept a sharp lookout for horned human beings...Bartholin's work inspired the German savant Georg Franck to write the earliest treatise entirely devoted to human horns. His thirty-one page Tractatus Phililogico-Medicus de Cornutis, published in Heidelberg in 1676, promised to cover all possible theological, legal, philosophical, his...more
The story of Julia Pastrana is worth the price of the book alone. The rest is gravy.
Although a tad repetitive at times, this book was delightful.
Thank you, Jan Bondeson. You risk looking like a weirdo (so many prints in your private collection) to bring us giants, a bearded lady, stomach-dwelling snakes, etc. Repelled and fascinated at the same time; we are no different from the gawkers of yore.
A veces repetitivo, pero siempre fascinante. El autor describe, narra y analiza hechos históricos partiendo desde un punto, que aunque no neutral, es honesto y justo (y eso lo hace mejor).
I found it really exhaustive. Didn't just tell about being buried alive, but every instance to ever occur in the lit. My favorite parts were on Julian pastrana and the Hunterian museum
a woman gives birth to seventeen rabbits! how picturesque! a cow expells 40 puppies! adorable!
Interesting look at birth deformities and the fuss people made over them.
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