Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution

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Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution

by Holly Tucker (Goodreads Author)

3.56 of 5 stars 3.56 · rating details · 686 ratings · 168 reviews

A sharp-eyed exposé of the deadly politics, murderous plots, and cutthroat rivalries behind the first blood transfusions in seventeenth-century Europe.

On a cold day in December 1667 the renegade physician Jean Denis transfused ten ounces of calf's blood into Antoine Mauroy, a madman. Several days and several transfusions later, Mauroy was dead and Denis was framed for murd...more

Hardcover, 304 pages

Published March 21st 2011 by W. W. Norton & Company (first published December 23rd 2010)

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Apr 11, 2011 Linda Leaming rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is what I loved about Blood Work: from the very beginning Holly Tucker’s sense of place and time, 17th century Paris during the Age of Enlightenment, is conveyed in absolute perfect detail and she hooks us in like a great murder mystery. At the same time, we gain information and insights into our own scientific history and a time when both amazing and horrible things were happening. Blood Work tells the story of the first blood transfusions and the subsequent scientific and political strugg...more

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Nov 03, 2011 Carol rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, non-fiction

Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution is a thoroughly researched and richly illustrated early history of blood transfusions.

The writing is clear and easy to understand. I had no trouble following the history. It is written as if the author was directly telling you the story.

In the Epilogue, Holly Tucker explains why she wanted to write this book. There were two reasons but the important one to me was George W. Bush's State of the Union in 2006. He wanted a ban...more

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Mar 31, 2011 Jammies rated it 4 of 5 stars

In one way, this book is difficult to read. It deals with some truly horrific experiments in the name of science and some truly horrific human stupidity.

In another way, this book is easy to read. The writing flows smoothly, the events narrated are fascinating and the science is explained in a way that's accessible without being dumbed down.

This book reminds me of Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List in that I'm glad I read it, I had a definite emotional and intellectual response to it, but I...more

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Mar 02, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Excellent book for those who like science with their history. I would recommend this to fans of Mary Roach or Deborah Blum, or to anyone with scientific/medical curiosity. This is far from a dry recitation of facts. Like any good historical work, it helps the reader grasp the much larger sociological picture, and does so in a witty and engaging manner.

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Apr 17, 2011 Landon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, won-on-goodreads, favorites

"Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution" is a non-fiction piece telling the history of blood transfusions, from the first animal to animal transfusion up through a handful of human transfusions, and ending with Blood Transfusions becoming more or less banded in the late 1600 early 1700 period. It's full of interesting facts surrounding early medicine, their incorrect practices, and the reasoning behind them, as well as how they relate to what we know about modern...more

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Jun 08, 2011 Yvonne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution by Holly Tucker is meticulously researched and retold in a way that sucks the reader right in. While the subject matter is itself very interesting, the fabulous writing by Ms. Tucker raises it to an even more impressive level. With her extensive education and experience, I feel that there is no one better to bring us this true tale of life and death than Holly Tucker.

I very much enjoyed the religion versus science debate. Wit...more

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May 21, 2011 Gregg rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a very well researched history of the early days of blood transfusion. National rivalries, political intrigue, money, ego and religion all played a roll in the race to understand blood, as the study slowly moved from alchemy and superstition to empirical science.

As it sometimes seems to happen, the science got ahead of the public's acceptance and understanding of the work. The universities and governments of England, France and later Italy waged philosophical wars over the nature of hu...more

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Mar 30, 2012 Sue rated it 4 of 5 stars

Well-researched and intensely interesting; chock-full of details about the mysteries of blood and early transfusions around the 1600’s, comparing the advances experimented between England and France, historically foes in every way. The bibliography was fantastic.

As the author, Holly Tucker, describes it: this book “sheds light on an era that wrestled with the same questions about morality and experimentation that haunt medical science to this day.”

Expect to read about a LOT more than just blood...more

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Jun 22, 2011 Tanya rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

Blood Work is a solid historical monologue, though to call it "a tale of medicine and murder" is a clear attempt to pull in readers that wouldn't normally read medical history. The "murder" part of the tale comprises a mere few pages, while the great majority of the book traces the progress in scientific understanding of blood circulation and transfusion. The author's preachy epilogue, in which she equates the proscriptions on blood transfusions to today's limits on stem-cell research, seemed se...more

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Mar 30, 2013 Jason rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2013

A fun and fascinating history, with clear parallels to contemporary objections against science that are, unfortunately, too passionately made. It isn't that passion is bad (it is wonderful!) but it allows for political idiots to easily shut off their brains. She namechecked my political party, I guess I will shut off all reason!

There are two things in this book that are intriguing: the horrors of the 17th century, and the marvels of science. The first is the horrors. On display is all of the ign...more A fun and fascinating history, with clear parallels to contemporary objections against science that are, unfortunately, too passionately made. It isn't that passion is bad (it is wonderful!) but it allows for political idiots to easily shut off their brains. She namechecked my political party, I guess I will shut off all reason!

There are two things in this book that are intriguing: the horrors of the 17th century, and the marvels of science. The first is the horrors. On display is all of the ignorance, the foolishness, and the callousness of this previous generation. Most of the medical practice was not only wrong-headed, but much of it horrible by nature, guided as it was by harmful prejudice and disdain for human dignity. And when humanity isn't being cast aside, and dignity is being preserved, it is often done so with an equally foolish adherence to tradition as an excuse to not think. We have, essentially, the evils of nazi scientists who are willing to exact crimes against humanity in order to pursue their thirst for knowledge on the one hand, and on the other we those so blind to reason that they are willing to let countless people die in equally agonizing way because of sexist/racist/superstitious beliefs founded on essentially nothing. It was a truly terrible time.

The second thing on display is the marvel of science. It is fascinating to see people reach for conclusions that are difficult to comprehend, and how they apply logical reasoning to it. The pursuit of scientific knowledge, all of the steps that have been applied, the rigorous testing and careful consideration of evidence, it's all quite stirring. Obviously, as a result of the time, and of ambitions, many leave this behind and go willy nilly down the path of horrors, but still, those that are actual scientists (England came out of this one pretty well, I'd have to say, until they too get cold feet and stop the science-ing) do a great job.

It's a striking book and an interesting one, and one with clear implications today. If you're a diehard Republican, you should still quite enjoy this, despite the author's clear lack of caring about your political positions, as the call to careful and reasoned study is one that shouldn't be incompatible with any political belief, but you will have to suffer through an intro and epilogue that isn't particularly moderate, when it really needed to be. (less)

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Nov 25, 2012 Terry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 17th-century, science, blood-transfusion-history-europe, medicine-history, mona-lisa, nonfiction

Tucker looks at Jean-Baptiste Denis, a young physician anxious to make a name for himself in Paris. Transfused dogs, horses, pigs and goats before becoming the first to use humans.Denis was viewed by religious contemporaries as a dangerous renegade who jeopardized the state of human souls, paved the way for monstrous hybrid (half human/half bovine) creatures and incited divine retribution. In 1667, Denis created a sensation by twice transfusing calf’s blood into a madman, apparently curing him....more

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Oct 21, 2012 Yune rated it 3 of 5 stars

There's nothing actually misleading about the subtitle, but I was expecting a different scope for this work, which centers around an early human blood transfusion experiment that gave rise to a murder trial. I will say that Tucker is meticulous about depicting contemporaneous societal attitudes; I'd forgotten that people back then were debating which physical body part housed the soul, and while blood was a candidate, blood transfusion had very serious implications indeed. Particularly when anim...more There's nothing actually misleading about the subtitle, but I was expecting a different scope for this work, which centers around an early human blood transfusion experiment that gave rise to a murder trial. I will say that Tucker is meticulous about depicting contemporaneous societal attitudes; I'd forgotten that people back then were debating which physical body part housed the soul, and while blood was a candidate, blood transfusion had very serious implications indeed. Particularly when animal and human blood gets co-mingled.

You also get introduced to some of the political background, from the formation of the French Academy of Sciences -- complete with King Louis XIV's approval -- to the cross-Channel race between French and English scientists to further the field (not, I think, an unfamiliar international phenomenon even today). Even one physician's background on a corsair ship becomes tied into the moral debate.

The epilogue outlines the author's concerns about scientific advances being stifled by religious qualms in the modern day, and I wonder to what extent this motive colored the rest of the book. I found myself continually wincing throughout as it described blood transfusion without regard to blood types, the casual selection of madmen as subjects, and even the punishment of certain prison dwellers. Tucker never shies away from how horrific each of these things is, but she adopts a somewhat dispassionate tone that allows her to continue her calm narrative and doesn't fully express horror. There's indeed a faint air of condemnation for how the practice ended up being outlawed in France entirely.

She does devote a few pages to how blood transfusion was eventually perfected and now saves countless lives, but she breezes over the process. I found this to be a telling lack, since it left me wondering exactly what had changed in the intervening century and a half and how the issues of typing and clotting were resolved.

It's worth reading if you're curious at all about the early days of blood transfusion and don't have a weak stomach, but I wouldn't call it sufficiently illuminating or gripping to hand to a casual nonfiction reader.(less)

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Jul 03, 2012 Jenny Maloney rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, crime, government, historical, moral-dilemmas, non-fiction, philosophy, poison, science, medicine

If you open up this book to the table of contents, you'll see chapter titles such as:
"The Doctor and the Madman"
"The Age of Vivisection"
"The Blood of a Beast"

And, if you're anything like me, you think: Cool.

I knew only the most preliminary bits of 17th century history before picking this book up. For example, I knew who Louis XIV, the Sun King, was...but only via the Leonardo DiCaprio movie Man in the Iron Mask (and, no, I haven't read the book). And thanks to this delightful presentation of th...more If you open up this book to the table of contents, you'll see chapter titles such as:
"The Doctor and the Madman"
"The Age of Vivisection"
"The Blood of a Beast"

And, if you're anything like me, you think: Cool.

I knew only the most preliminary bits of 17th century history before picking this book up. For example, I knew who Louis XIV, the Sun King, was...but only via the Leonardo DiCaprio movie Man in the Iron Mask (and, no, I haven't read the book). And thanks to this delightful presentation of the first forays into blood transfusions, I now feel like I can keep up if Jeopardy! ever has a category. This makes me happy.

Author Holly Tucker does a great job of catching the layman up on the ins and outs of political, religious, and personal intrigue surrounding the controversial subject of blood transfusions. Nowadays, this medical procedure is soooooo common place that I bet more than one person reading this has donated blood at some point in their lives. Once you've read the interlocking stories of murder, mayhem, and dead-cows-in-the-living-room I'll also bet you'll never look at those needles and tubes the same way again. (In fact, you'll probably be so grateful for modern medicine that you'll hug the nurse drawing your blood.)

What I found the most intriguing was the shift in the purpose of transfusions. In the beginning, it wasn't about replacing blood lost from bloodletting, which was that most popular medical practice of the day. And today, that's pretty much how we use blood transfusions - to replace blood that's been lost through surgery, trauma, etc. Instead, blood transfusion circled around the idea that blood itself could cure certain diseases. Like madness. (In a very interesting section, Tucker takes us on a tour of Bethlam Hospital - a.k.a. Bedlam.)

Back in the day, it turns out, people were super worried about creating hybrids. Can you actually create a mermaid? The fears and arguments surrounding blood transfusions are the very fears and arguments surrounding DNA experimentation - like cloning and splicing - that come up today. So Tucker's book is very timely and an important cross section of the possible consequences of our actions, or non-actions.

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Apr 16, 2011 Alicia rated it 4 of 5 stars

I think the point of this author was that when government becomes involved in scientific matters, the progress of science is severely halted. She uses this example of blood transfusions in the mid 1600's to make her point and then she likens it to the work that is being done to stem cell research today. She talks about how blood transfusions were outlawed when the king of France and his advisers became convinced that the mixing of animal blood and human blood would make abnormal chimeras -human...more

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Mar 22, 2013 Rusty rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

People in the olden days were stupid. That's pretty much all I can come to grips with when I read most of these narrative history books. The gist of this book is that in the early days of the scientific revolution folks in England and France were both pursuing blood transfusions on purely intellectual interests. Could it be done? What would happen? Would goat's blood put into a man create a man that produced wool? What if you put a man's blood into a cow? Would you get a cow that wanted to debat...more

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Apr 25, 2011 KC rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: borrowed-from-library

Blood Work is an interesting non-fiction work that chronicles the beginning of blood transfusions in the 17th century in France and England. Scientists started experimenting in blood transfusions long before the knew anything about the composition or purpose of blood- many still did not even believe in circulation of blood throughout the body!

This book describes wonderfully, if that is the right word, the gory nature of blood work before modern practices. Bloodletting was still one of the most c...more

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Feb 20, 2013 Stefanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

I feel like I should have liked this book more. For heaven's sake, the real D'Artagnan (and Fouquet, and Mlle. de la Valliere) make appearances! Yet I felt that the tangents were pretty wide, the experiments were too inhumane (I do not blame this on the author--she reported what happened, but what happened to a large number of dogs and other animals that served as experimental subjects was off-putting), and the murder mentioned in the title opened the book to hook the reader and then closed it w...more

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Apr 29, 2011 Krista rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

Tucker asks 2 questions here:

What is the Scientific Revolution?

and

Has the Scientific Revolution left us?

She shows the SR to have been a lively, morally dubious, highly competitive, and thoroughly disgusting business, and places it alongside its political context (Louis XIV) and cultural context (the reshaping of major European cities). To do so, HT traces the story of one blood transfusion gone seemingly awry, explaining both the roots of the procedure and the charged scientific/political env...more

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Mar 22, 2011 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: won, own

Blood Work is a non-fictional account of the first blood transfusions which took place in England and France during Scientific Revolution in the 1600s. If you've ever read any historical fiction or non-fiction from this period and onwards through the 1800s, you'll notice odd medical practices like blood-letting for illnesses. Leeches, draining, and more were done to bring the body back into balance through the humors. If you've never heard of this practice, I think it's mentioned in at least one...more Blood Work is a non-fictional account of the first blood transfusions which took place in England and France during Scientific Revolution in the 1600s. If you've ever read any historical fiction or non-fiction from this period and onwards through the 1800s, you'll notice odd medical practices like blood-letting for illnesses. Leeches, draining, and more were done to bring the body back into balance through the humors. If you've never heard of this practice, I think it's mentioned in at least one of Jane Austen's novels. Holly Tucker also notes that George Washington had this practice done. Wow. Never knew that.

When blood transfusions were first thought up and carried out by the curious and educated, I find it odd that they didn't see it as a way to make up for lost blood, but as another way of treating an illness of the body or mind. I loved how these men pursued the quest for knowledge and how England and France kind were in kind of a scientific war over this. Quiet fascinating and at times very disgusting. I have to admit that I felt so sorry for all the animals that were worked on during their practices. But they eventually moved on to humans and this is where most of the drama unfolds. Blood transfusion became a religious, moral, and national problem. Transferring blood between human and animal or even human and human might possible interfere with a person's soul and even worse turn someone into a hybrid with animal and human characteristics! Or so they believed.

History books like these are the type I adore. It's well research and jammed packed with all sorts of interesting characters and aspects of life during this period. We get a glimpse into the court life of the Sun King, Louis XIV, as his Academy of Sciences opposes blood transfusion. We get a vibrant look at people like Jean-Baptiste Denis who try to make a name for himself by becoming successful at blood transfusion almost at all cost. Henry Oldenburg, a German-born philosopher working in England who is imprisoned because he is a foreigner and therefore suspicious. And one of my favorites, Henri-Martin de la Martinière, who ran away from home as a young boy, became a pirate then physician. I'd love to read more about him. As for the murder...well you'll just have to read the book for that one.

As a side note: I was reading this the other day when I had a doctor's appointment. As I was getting some blood taken, the nurse noticed the book title and asked what it was about. When I told her she looked a little shocked and then asked why I was reading it. That actually made me think. While I totally enjoyed it, it does seem like an odd book to just pick up. Then I read Holly's epilogue and I came to understand what it was. She wrote, "early animal-to-human transfusions were a case study for larger political struggles, religious controversies, and cutthroat ambitions during the late seventeenth century." And it doesn't stop there. She wrote that she became aware that she needed to write this book when she heard President Bush's speech in 2006 wanting to prohibit animal-human embryonic stem cell research. Wow. Is history trying to repeat itself? And that's why I was reading it and enjoying it. It's a fascinating historical tale that provides a new outlook on modern controversies. Thanks Holly!(less)

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Jul 16, 2012 Kristi Thielen rated it 5 of 5 stars

The book details the remarkable story of the beginnings of blood transfusions which took place in the 17th century.

If you are surprised to hear the idea goes back that far, it is understandable: competition between the medical communities in England and France, and the establishment's hostile response to transfusion experiments performed by a maverick physician, Jean Denis, worked to bring an abrupt end to such experiments.

It would be 150 years before work to perfect transfusions began anew; it...more

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Jan 11, 2012 Megan rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Those interested in the history of science and medicine

Recommended to Megan by: Mackenzie

Overall I enjoyed this book but at some points found it hard to follow. The book was very well researched and put together but I often got confused which person did what and if they were English or French, which was often times important. I had never really thought about the history of blood transfusions or realized how much controversy was involved in the study. This book isn't someone with a weak stomach as it goes through bloody and painful procedures of dogs going through early transfusion w...more

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Mar 04, 2012 Tanya rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book covers political, social and scientific views of blood and blood transfusions in the seventeenth century when the first experimental blood transfusions took place. In my opinion, the book is at its best in the scientific realm, both in the way it covers the changing zeitgeist around blood, circulation, and other understandings of human anatomy and in the great descriptions of the scientific practices (ewwww). I found the politics and society descriptions less compelling, but that might...more

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Jul 20, 2011 Catherine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, science-for-the-science-phobic

Fascinating and bizarre story from the 17th century of Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Denis, who conducted some of the first blood transfusions. He experienced many setbacks, in part due to failure to comprehend that donor and recipient’s species and blood type compatibility might be important factors. Ultimately the experiments ended after the death of a recipient. But did the transfusion cause the death, or was it something else?

The rich historical context of the period is artfully integrated into th...more

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Jul 12, 2011 Lulu rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: murder-most-foul, science, true-crime, history, life-stories

Couldn't quite get into it. An interesting subject, but a bit too bloody; and the author loses focus a bit as we're asked to follow several characters from several warring countries and academies. Something I may enjoy if I pick it up again.

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Mar 08, 2011 Cathy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Fairly interesting look at the history of research into blood transfusion, particularly one experiment in the 1600s that effectively derailed research for almost a century and a half. It was mostly interesting and educational, and the author did a good job of putting the events into context societally, culturally and politically. However, I felt that sometimes she just added too much background information, and it seemed the book was mostly supporting information rather than the main story. If s...more

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May 06, 2013 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction, medicine, nerd-school-assignments

When philosopher Thomas Hobbes predicted that life in 17th-century Europe would remain “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short,” he was right—about academic life, anyway. The scientific careers of physician Jean-Baptiste Denis and his contemporaries, as outlined by Holly Tucker in her 2011 book Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution, were marked as much as (or more than) any beggar’s biography by desperation, intrigue, and misery. The book’s subtitle is more th...more When philosopher Thomas Hobbes predicted that life in 17th-century Europe would remain “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short,” he was right—about academic life, anyway. The scientific careers of physician Jean-Baptiste Denis and his contemporaries, as outlined by Holly Tucker in her 2011 book Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution, were marked as much as (or more than) any beggar’s biography by desperation, intrigue, and misery. The book’s subtitle is more than a little misleading; although the birth of blood transfusion and the ensuing scandals play a major role in the plot, Blood Work is primarily a chronicle of Versailles–era university politics, and a grim, literal illustration of the academic imperative to publish or perish.

The author’s dry and gossipy approach to medical history is unsurprising, considering her credentials. According to her C.V., Tucker is an expert in French and Italian culture, as well as a dedicated historian who has spent her entire adult life navigating academia’s social and political minefields. Blood Work makes ample and insightful use of 17th-century primary source documents from personal letters and memos to academy meeting transcripts. In Tucker’s hands, these papers become the clues to a long-surrendered mystery.

Tucker’s descriptions of transfusion science itself, and the alchemical and religious beliefs that surround it, are thoroughly enjoyable. Anatomy and medicine were only two ingredients in the cultural cauldron at the time, and they were thoroughly blended with superstition, fear, and tradition. The convoluted logic of Galen’s theory of humors or the Cartesian model of the soul seems quaint to modern readers, but they held fast for centuries.

The least convincing sections of Blood Work concerned the story’s link with 21st-century culture. Tucker makes multiple attempts to conflate the witchcraft-fearing villagers of Denis’s time with modern opponents of stem-cell research. Superstition is indeed a constant hurdle for scientific progress, but readers would likely have arrived at this conclusion alone. Tucker did not need to beat her audience about the head with the book’s relationship to current events:

In his address [George W.] Bush called for “legislation to prohibit the most egregious abuses in medical research [including] creating human-animal hybrids"…History was repeating itself. Jean-Baptiste Denis was also seen by most as a dangerous renegade. Yet he was championing a medical procedure that we know today to be invaluable.

Like the process of blood transfusion itself, Blood Work is not without complications. The author’s enthusiasm for historical details frequently carries her away from the point of her story, which sends the diligent reader slogging through pages of feast menus, estate architecture, or city geography. Some of these digressions are welcome; others, like the personal psychological history of pirate-turned-surgeon Henri-Martin de la Martinière, seemed at best the result of an unrestrained delight in the subject matter and at worst a poorly executed attempt to stretch the book’s word count. Minus the sections about leather and ivory compasses or the preparation of coffee, Blood Work would have made an excellent essay. As a full-length book, it flounders.(less)

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Jan 22, 2013 Micki rated it 1 of 5 stars

Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder could have been a very interesting and historically significant publication had it not been tainted by Tucker’s support for embryonic stem cell research and her anti-Catholic bias. Dr. Denis, the transfusionist of the 17th century had to be stopped. He was performing unethical experiments using the blood of animals and transfusing it into humans. Yes, there was intrigue surrounding the circumstances by which Denis’ experiments were stopped. This part of...more Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder could have been a very interesting and historically significant publication had it not been tainted by Tucker’s support for embryonic stem cell research and her anti-Catholic bias. Dr. Denis, the transfusionist of the 17th century had to be stopped. He was performing unethical experiments using the blood of animals and transfusing it into humans. Yes, there was intrigue surrounding the circumstances by which Denis’ experiments were stopped. This part of Tucker’s story is very interesting, but what she seems to not understand is that reigning in Denis was ethically necessary. It was a time in medical history when scientists knew little about blood and it’s workings in the body. Before transfusions were to be done, the scientific community needed time to study and learn more about blood. This was accomplished in the time between Denis’ experiments and the 1900s when transfusions were again started.

Tucker makes her erroneous comparison that stopping Denis from continuing his barbarous experiments is akin to our current day of stopping experiments on embryonic stem cells, all of which she blames on President Bush. (Sounds like someone else we all know!!). She also faults the Catholic Church for its involvement in the Denis trail. Far from being anti-science, the Catholic Church is, and will always be, a moral compass in a world that often degrades human life. If only Nazi Germany had such a moral compass we would not have had the horrendous human experiments that characterized their infamous scientists.

Not that long ago bleeding was a frequent treatment for many an ailment. It was probably bleeding that led to the death of George Washington and probably numerous other ill patients. We view this treatment, least of all worthless, but mostly threatening to life. Who’s to say that in a century of two from now the medical community may not view embryonic stem cell research in a similar light? Well, this question does not appear to be a part of Tucker’s consideration as both in the prologue and epilogue to touts the value of such experiments. Can we not even consider that, just like in the transfusion of blood, more time is needed to understand the embryonic cell? In the meantime, do we continue to experiment with human life as did Dr. Denis? Do we cast aside a moral compass that has the dignity and value of every human as a primary consideration? It appears that Holly Tucker does not!
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Apr 01, 2013 Rick Valles rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed reading this book about the history of blood transfusion during the 17th century. This book goes into the intense conflict between France and England; competing with each other over who is ahead in the field of science. Although his book is about blood transfusion it is primarily centered around the physician Jean-Baptiste Denis, the first individual who performed a human to animal transfusion. After the Denis' story blood transfusion is not talked about for many years, and this book i...more

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Jun 14, 2012 Jeffrey rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was quite a fascinating pop-history exploration of early work in blood transfusion and the world in which those experiments took place. The book itself is a little schizophrenic, jumping between novelistic narrations of particular historical episodes and more straightforward discourse on culture and events of the 17th century. It also tends to follow threads of inquiry fairly far afield of the immediate topic, which initially I found somewhat distracting/confusing but then grew to love as I...more

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Aug 06, 2011 Juno rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm 44% of the way through this and finding my enjoyment of a truly gripping tale of murder and science distinctly hampered by the quality of the writing. Too much novelistic projecting of emotions onto the characters and disjointed. When Denis transfused lamb's blood into a 16 year old boy...what happened to the boy after the first day? How is it possible he did not die? If he did not, why not? Want more detail, more fact, more mystery building! Less speculation as to the noble ambitions of the...more

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About Holly Tucker

Holly Tucker teaches at Vanderbilt University, where she holds appointments in the Center for Medicine, Health & Society and the Department of French & Italian. Her writing has appeared in the New Scientist, the Wall Street Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle, Christian Science Journal, among others. Holly is also the author of Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine & Murder in the Scientific...more

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9303620-blood-work?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1301010237l/9303620.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9303620-blood-work?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution by Holly Tucker[/url]

Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution

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