Galen and the Gateway to Medicine

by Jeanne Bendick

We know about Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine. But we owe nearly as much to Galen, a physician born in 129 A.D. at the height of the Roman Empire. Galen's acute diagnoses of patients, botanical wisdom, and studies of physiology were recorded in numerous books, handed down through the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Not least, Galen passed on the medical tradition of respect for life. In this fascinating biography for young people, Jeanne Bendick brings Galen's Roman world to life with the clarity, humor, and outstanding content we enjoyed in Archimedes and the Door of Science. An excellent addition to the home, school and to libraries.

Rome, 129 A.D.
RL8
Of read-aloud interest ages 8-up

Genres: Science, History, Biography, Nonfiction, Childrens, Ancient History, School

124 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2002

About the author

Jeanne Bendick was born February 25, 1919, in New York City. When she was growing up, her grandfather taught her how to draw. He often took her to the American Museum of Natural History in New York to see the different kinds of art.

In her books, Jeanne Bendick liked to make her drawings very simple. In many of her books, she helps her readers see how science is a part of everyday life. With her words and pictures, she takes things that are complicated and makes them easy to understand.

Jeanne Bendick wrote over 100 books and also wrote filmstrip and television scripts.

Reviews

[Joanna Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read aloud to girls as part of Roman history, brought up fun discussions.

[Lydia · Rating 2 out of 5]

BASIC INFORMATION:
explicitness: 0/5 (sex: none)
violence: 1/5
-mentions gladiators and their job
language: 0/5
alcohol/drugs/smoking: 0/5
intense scenes: 0.5/5
-kid-friendly descriptions of the human body
age rating: 8+

[Jacque · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this aloud for school. Everyone gave it four stars. It was very informative without being boring. Galen was an amazing man!

[Rachel {bibliopals} · Rating 3 out of 5]

For school

[Blaire Watanabe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cool read with my sixth grader son. Learning about how doctors and medicine worked back in ancient times. Made us feel so grateful for how much we know now!

[Fiona Robison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this with my kids for homeschool. While I was fascinated to learn about this man who contributed so much to science and understanding the human body and the book itself was lengthy and went into details about things that we just didn’t really care about. The kids didn’t think much of it it was more of an educational manual than a story.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

We read this as part of my children's school curriculum, I found it more interesting than they did (elementary grades). Lots of fascinating facts about a man who before this I didn't know about, and his contributions to the field of medicine.

[Andee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't believe how wonderful this book was!!

[Karen (Living Unabridged) · Rating 4 out of 5]

2024 update: read aloud to my sons (10 & 8). I think they liked "Archimedes" better than this one, but reading both back to back made for some interesting comparisons.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't know anything about Galen, so I enjoyed learning about him.

[Elisabeth Ensor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read aloud for homeschool! We loved the back half of it- great to learn about the father of medicine!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this story about the origins of medicine. Not a nail biting read-aloud, but interesting and informative.

[Lana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jeanne Bendick makes history come alive. We have enjoyed all of her books.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

A big disappoinment after having raved about Archimedes and the Door of Science. Even though this is a much shorter book, it rambles and often strays from its supposed focus of Galen. It is possible that with a different title and conception, this could provide a decent introduction to the history of medicine, but there seems to have been an ill-advised imperative to model this (2002) on the 1962 predecessor.

The entirety of chapter 5 is devoted not to Galen but to Hippocrates. The final chapter "After Galen" brings in a few of the later medical pioneers: Paracelsus, Vesalius, and Harvey. In between there are sections that meander into Roman history, discussing soldiers and emperors with very little Galen or medical content. There are also sections that rehash what was presented so well in the Archimedes book.

We end up with not much more than a collection of trivia, at best loosely connected. Too often we get Galen's view of science without much or any explanation about how he was wrong and how things really work.

I would have rather had a comprehensive history that could give Galen his due in a section, but then properly cover the other figures and their contributions without being hindered by having to get back to Galen in some way.

The index is grouped by topic, which makes it a little awkward when you know you want, say, "blood" - it's not under B for blood, under B for body - oh, it's under P for "parts of body". Unless you wanted stuff about the treatment of "bleeding," which would be under T for "treatments (therapeutics)" where you'd find two additional pages. Not ideal.

Illustrations are not thrilling - they often are superfluous.

[EVA RUIZ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book gives information about Galen and how he learned, studied, and practiced medicine. The book also has some pictures of how he thought the human body worked, and other demonstrative pictures. I give this book 5 stars because it's great for learning about the first person who truly went over the top to study medicine. I recommend this book for kids over the age of 8, since it does include some things about killing animals and parts of the body which they may not know about. For example, the spleen. They say what the spleen is, but not what it does. I wouldn't consider this book an encyclopedia about the human body. It is more of a short storybook\text-book.

[Cedric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Galen was a master doctor of ancient times. For ancient times he was incredible. For modern times… horrible. It’s a great book about his lifetime, since the time he was a teenager to the time of his death and then hundreds of years later. There’s only one chapter on the hundreds of years later and people that argued with him. I think it’s a great book, especially if you’re interested in medicine. Certain parts made me feel a little wobbly, like jello. I hope you have great fun reading this book!

[Andrea M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very readable biography. As Galen lives his life, opposition, persecution and danger do not deter him. The only thing that really scares him is the plague (presumably the bubonic). He admirably shares his knowledge with anyone who will listen. He personally collects herbs for remedies on the understanding that the market sellers are fraudulent. He inspires all of us to maintain curiosity and keep learning throughout our lives.

[M]

An easily readable, but unfortunately very uncritical historical account. Presents slavery and vivisection as normal, as they might have been in Ancient Greece, but with very little critical commentary on these facts. Talks about soldiers as purely heroic, romanticizing war. Makes no account for the lack of women in science, and the only woman mentioned in the whole book is Galen's "hysterical" mother.

Really, a (perhaps naive) disappointment in the kind of history we present to children.

[Joy Hakim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Galen was an interesting Roman fellow who got what became modern medicine started. For centuries he was an icon and no one went farther than Galen when it came to doctoring. Then, in the Renaissance, Vesalius came along and studied actual bodies. That was shocking in his time, but before long doctors were lining up to attend his dissections. I'm writing about all this in a new book.

[Abigail Westbrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t remember learning about Galen at all in school, so I enjoyed this read-aloud just as much as my kid did. It gives a great picture of Galen’s world and ways of thinking about science. I also appreciated the final chapter which summarized the doctors who came after Galen and eventually challenged his conclusions - very interesting!

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great learning book on the life of Galen. His thoughts and ideas lasted as guides for 1500 years up until the Renaissance. A father to all facets of medicine and the art of pharmacy. His life was full and he was well travelled all over the Roman Empire. He authored many books and shared all his vast knowledge. The book sheds a great light on the history of of the time. An easy read.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

We read this as our science read aloud for school. I love the way it is laid out in story form as a living “text book.” The kids enjoyed it, though some of it went over their head. It tied in well with history and blended science and history well.

[Jacob Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend the whole series!

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to the history of medicine written for upper elementary/middle school aged children. We found it interesting.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent writing for kids who can read on their own. Not too simple and not too technical.

[Christy Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

For kids.
Not only about Galen, but also some introductions to his contemporaries. Good insight to this time and simple summary to doctors who corrected and built on his work.

[The one and only crazy cat lady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book with my children. Learned a lot about the beginnings of medicine.

[Joanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned a lot! Read aloud to my kids and it kept their attention.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it as a read aloud for school. Was interesting.

[Katie]

read aloud with L&C