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Genius on the Edge: The Bizarre Double Life of Dr. William Stewart Halsted
by
Gerald Imber
A major new biography of the doctor who invented modern surgery. Brilliant, driven, but haunted by demons, William Stewart Halsted took surgery from a horrific, dangerous practice to what we now know as a lifesaving art.
Halsted was born to wealth and privilege in New York City in the mid-1800s. He attended the finest schools, but he was a mediocre student. His academic in
...moreHardcover, 400 pages
Published
February 2nd 2010
by Kaplan Publishing
(first published 2010)
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"Genius on the Edge" is an interesting book describing the medical developments (especially in surgery) during the period of about 1846 to 1922. The first third of the book mainly focused on what surgery was like before this period, on the developments that occurred from 1846 to 1889, and how they affected Halsted's medical training and prompted his surgical innovations. The rest of the book was more a series of short biographies of men who worked with Halsted and the developments they...more
Stupendous! I can't say enough or urge anyone enough to read this book by Gerald Imber, MD. "The Bizarre Double Life of Dr. William Stewart Halsted" is that. The author, however, chooses not to sensationalize the man or his legend but instead depicts various anecdotes, details, factoids, and all manner of interesting historical info about the Johns Hopkins Hospital and its School of Medicine in their infancy. I thank Dr. Halsted as well as the capable medical staff attending me tod...more
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Dr. Halstead was the father of modern surgery. In the mid nineteenth century a compound fracture or appendicitis was essentially a death sentence. Anesthesia didn't exist. Even if a patient could be operated on, surgeons weren't aware of the need to keep the surroundings sterile. If the patient contracted an infection there were no antibiotics to arrest it. So much for the good old days. Dr. Halstead introduced aseptic methods of surgery. He pioneered hernia surgery, mastetectomy to excis...more
The insights into the history of modern surgery, starting in the late 1800s are valuable. But there is a lot of repetition and we don't really learn all that much about the subject, Dr. Halsted, so much as we do the institutional history of Johns Hopkins hospital and medical school.
This is a dry book about the history of surgery, not a look at a "bizarred double life" of anyone.
As a biography, this book is hampered by the lack of primary source materials that ...more
This is a dry book about the history of surgery, not a look at a "bizarred double life" of anyone.
As a biography, this book is hampered by the lack of primary source materials that ...more
This is a fascinating view of early modern medicine and the establishment of Johns Hopkins (and how it shaped modern medical practice). I'd say it's about 60% a biography of William Halstead and 40% about my first sentence. I didn't know any of the history and really enjoyed it; my sister read it at the same time and said she had read a biography of Dr. Welch that she enjoyed more. I could see how the diversions into other people's stories/lives could be distracting or annoying (sometimes they s...more
So, the subject of this book was really cool. I loved learning about Halsted and how strange he was, and what things he did that changed surgery. Especially as someone who loves the history of medicine, that was the good part of this book. However, it was written pretty terribly. The style was bad, and, more importantly for a biography, the timeline wasn't consistent. Imber jumps back and forth, mentioning characters as if we know them, 20 pages before they're introduced. We go to 1922, then bac...more
I am interested in this book because it ref's Freud and his cocain addiction and its consequenses.
from the library computer:
Ostensibly a biography of William Stewart Halsted (1852–1922), but the main story is the transformation of medical education in America.Imber (Clinical Surgery/Weill-Cornell School of Medicine) tries valiantly to revivify the elusive Halsted. He was aristocratic and urbane, meticulous in his dress—he sent his shirts to Paris for launderin...more
This book is about Dr. Halsted, credited with inventing local anesthesia using cocaine (to which he became addicted as well as morphine), aseptic surgical technique, radical mastectomy, hernia repair, and thyroid surgery. Interesting look at the state of medicine in the late 1800s-early1900s but book dragged on at times, with author repeating himself several times.
Learning about the life of William Stewart Halsted and his contributions to medicine, as well as the rise of The Johns Hopkins hospital, is very, very interesting. What undermines the book is the writing -- the author circles around and around the same information. I think this book could be around 100 pages shorter if the redundancy was removed.
Fascinating book on multiple levels. Truly a great view of a scientific (medical) revolutionary period that changed institutions, traditions, and the people who entered into the transition. The writing is a bit uneven, but the subject and the transformation of medicine is truly engaging.
Not particularly well-written, but an extremely interesting account of early modern medicine in general, and Johns Hopkins Hospital in particular. I will be seeking out more information on the people,places, and events that were written about; what better review could there be?
I loved tis book, and learned so muc more medical history.
He was an amzing person, and the time of our country, where everything needed to be discovered and imprioved
He was an amzing person, and the time of our country, where everything needed to be discovered and imprioved
Not only a biography of Halsted, but a history of the Johns Hopkins Hospital and the history of surgery in the United States. For those who like history and medicine this book is a winner.
Investigates not only Halsted, but the beginnings of what we consider modern medicine at Johns Hopkins in the 1880s and 1890s.
Needed an editor in a serious way. I invoked the Nancy Pearl rule on p. 95. I learned about his "bizarre double life" within the first few pages, and then the author went on a bunch of tangents about Johns Hopkins, Austrian medicine, and people who were friends with Halsted. If he'd actually stuck to talking about Halsted I might have been more compelled.
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A very informative look at the life of the founder of modern surgery, as well as the people responsible for beginning Johns Hopkins Hospital and Medical School. The narrative, at times, seems to lack details, possibly because information was not available. All in all, heowever, I enjoyed learning about the transition that occurred in the medical field and surgery during Halsted's time. Being a surgeon myself, I appreciated the look at hopsital life and the development of modern surgical training...more
Excellent book ! Highly recommended! Dr. William Stewart Halstead's life is laid out with all of his success & failures ( in his personal life)
plus the history of Johns Hopkins hospital. Read it!
plus the history of Johns Hopkins hospital. Read it!
Melissa
marked it as to-read
I heard the tale-end of a Fresh Air interview with the author and this sounds really interesting.
Good history of medicine here. Writing is ho hum.
Interesting history of medicine and surgery. Love the facts, but doubt them because the author and editors needed a lot of help. And the lack of timeline or organization with how the flow of the book went drove me crazy.
Interesting as a history of modern surgery and the Johns Hopkins Hospital, but not that great as a biography, especially on the "bizarre double life" part.
Halsted was a cocaine and morphine addict who was an extraordinary and innovative surgeon and also disappeared up to 6 months a year to be alone, travel, and probably indulge his addictions. I say "probably" because although his time at Johns Hopkins is pretty well documented, there is NO documentation of the o...more
Halsted was a cocaine and morphine addict who was an extraordinary and innovative surgeon and also disappeared up to 6 months a year to be alone, travel, and probably indulge his addictions. I say "probably" because although his time at Johns Hopkins is pretty well documented, there is NO documentation of the o...more
Alexis
marked it as to-read
Good for Dad or Nik?
This gives a different view of medical education in the US in the early 20th century than the book 'The Great Influenza'. It concentrates more on the education of surgeons and on Johns Hopkins medical school and hospital. The main character, Halstead, became addicted to cocaine while trying to find a good local anesthetic. Ironically, the cure at the time for cocaine addiction was morphine to which he also became addicted. He functioned though.
Such fascinating material! Sadly, though the writing is actually rather good, Dr. Imber loses the thread a few times... and is a tad repetitious while recovering. The editor kinda fell asleep on this one. I still gave it 4 stars because I cannot believe how little of this information I knew. Thanks to Gretchen for the rec!
I did like the historical value of this book. Very interesting history on the start of John Hopkins and how women played a key role. I also loved learning about the how current surgical practices are stil so closely related to the inital procedures.
Anyone with interest in medicine would enjoy this book. It is not only about the lives of the docs but the start of Johns Hopkins and the field of medicine as we know it. Extremely interesting. Worth reading.
Read (well...really scanned) most of this book. Interesting, especially being in the medical profession, but even though it was full of information, it often lacked ability to keep my interest.
This book tells of the father of modern surgery as we know it, however this doctor was addicted to morphine and heroin. Strange guy yet very interesting...
Detailed and informative, but also somewhat repetitive. The end gets very technical. Diagrams and a timeline would help.
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