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The Prince of Medicine: Galen in the Roman Empire
Galen of Pergamum (A.D. 129 - ca. 216) began his remarkable career tending to wounded gladiators in provincial Asia Minor. Later in life he achieved great distinction as one of a small circle of court physicians to the family of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, at the very heart of Roman society. Susan Mattern's The Prince of Medicine offers the first authoritative biography in English of this brilliant, audacious, and profoundly influential figure. Like many Greek intellectuals living in the high Roman Empire, Galen was a prodigious polymath, writing on subjects as varied as ethics and eczema, grammar and gout. Indeed, he was (as he claimed) as highly regarded in his lifetime for his philosophical works as for his medical treatises. However, it is for medicine that he is most remembered today, and from the later Roman Empire through the Renaissance, medical education was based largely on his works. Even up to the twentieth century, he remained the single most influential figure in Western medicine. Yet he was a complicated individual, full of breathtaking arrogance, shameless self- promotion, and lacerating wit. He was fiercely competitive, once disemboweling a live monkey and challenging the physicians in attendance to correctly replace its organs. Relentless in his pursuit of anything that would cure the patient, he insisted on rigorous observation and, sometimes, daring experimentation. Even confronting one of history's most horrific events- a devastating outbreak of smallpox-he persevered, bearing patient witness to its predations, year after year. The Prince of Medicine gives us Galen as he lived his life, in the city of Rome at its apex of power and decadence, among his friends, his rivals, and his patients. It offers a deeply human and long- overdue portrait of one of ancient history's most significant and engaging figures.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
40 people are currently reading
1569 people want to read
About the author
Susan P. Mattern
9 books21 followersSusan P. Mattern is a Professor of History at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. She earned her PhD in History at Yale University, 1995.
Her most recent book is "The Prince of Medicine: Galen in the Roman Empire" (Oxford University Press 2013). It is a social-historical biography of the ancient physician Galen, a cultural icon whose works were the basis of western medicine until the Renaissance. She has also written "Galen and the Rhetoric of Healing" (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), an analysis of Galen's stories about his patients and a study of his medical practice; and "Rome and the Enemy: Imperial Strategy in the Principate" (University of California, 1999).
She has co-written a textbook, "The Ancient Mediterranean World from the Stone Age to A.D. 600" (Oxford University Press, 2004). After a year of professional development studying social and psychology and transcultural psychiatry, she has begun publishing articles on mental disorders in antiquity. She is also working on a global history of menopause. She teaches graduate and undergraduate classes in World History and in the history of Greece, Rome, ancient Egypt, marriage, disease, medicine, women, and law at the University of Georgia.
Her most recent book is "The Prince of Medicine: Galen in the Roman Empire" (Oxford University Press 2013). It is a social-historical biography of the ancient physician Galen, a cultural icon whose works were the basis of western medicine until the Renaissance. She has also written "Galen and the Rhetoric of Healing" (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), an analysis of Galen's stories about his patients and a study of his medical practice; and "Rome and the Enemy: Imperial Strategy in the Principate" (University of California, 1999).
She has co-written a textbook, "The Ancient Mediterranean World from the Stone Age to A.D. 600" (Oxford University Press, 2004). After a year of professional development studying social and psychology and transcultural psychiatry, she has begun publishing articles on mental disorders in antiquity. She is also working on a global history of menopause. She teaches graduate and undergraduate classes in World History and in the history of Greece, Rome, ancient Egypt, marriage, disease, medicine, women, and law at the University of Georgia.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 17, 2015
The medical history that one encounters in general reading usually mentions Galen to point out how he dominated medical thought until Vesalius, how tragic this was, and how many bone-headed things Galen believed. But why did Galen dominate medical thought for so long, if he knew no more than his contemporaries? This biography is well-written (it has many parenthetical asides, but I am in no position to criticize) and detailed and shows Galen's greatness. He was a man of his time, of course, and knowledge only accumulates over centuries (After all, how many ridiculous things do people believe today?), but he seems to have been a conscientious, observant and perspicacious physician. He wrote many books and some contain self-aggrandizing case histories in which he comes off looking like Sherlock Holmes. As a bonus, we learn a lot about second century Greece, Rome (it was filthy), Gladiatorial combat, Marcus Aurelius and more. Warning: The accounts of vivisection are very disturbing.
March 30, 2018
Clear, concise biography with supporting history and interesting asides. I've read enough about anatomists of later centuries that I thought I should read about the person who had dominated their field for so many centuries before they were born. Recommended for anyone interested in medical history or Greco-Roman antiquity, as a lot of day-to-day life in the late 100s is recounted here (Galen was Greek, but lived and practiced in Rome for some time).
July 27, 2014
Susan P. Mattern, professor of history at the University of Georgia wrote a meticulous and engaging biography of Claudius Galenus, also called Galen of Pergamon (Pergamum) (129ce to 226ce). Mattern’s rigorous scholarship unveils the rich, vivid layers of Galen’s life and times. Galen, a Greek aristocrat of great ambition and superior intelligence, was already a renowned physician when he arrived in Rome in 162 ce. He treated Emperor Marcus Aurelius, philosopher Eudemus and of course, the Gladiators.
Mattern tells the story of Galen from early life to death. Mattern stresses that Galen was an exemplary products of Hellenistic culture, urbane, deeply familiar with Greek philosophy and literature as well as medical literature. Galen learned the art of oratory and debate practiced by the Sophists. Mattern reports his encounters with other physician were brutal rhetorical showdowns.
Galen was a titan of his time. His many books would be consulted by medics for centuries to come. Where chronology is uncertain Mattern organized material by theme. In a series of chapter Mattern, combines biographical material with emphasis on some aspect of Galen’s doctrine and practice. Over all it is surprisingly an easy readable book considering the complicated material it covers. Professor Mattern managed to create a book anyone can read and understand not just the academic. I read this book as an audio book downloaded from Audible. James Patrick Cronin narrated the book.
Mattern tells the story of Galen from early life to death. Mattern stresses that Galen was an exemplary products of Hellenistic culture, urbane, deeply familiar with Greek philosophy and literature as well as medical literature. Galen learned the art of oratory and debate practiced by the Sophists. Mattern reports his encounters with other physician were brutal rhetorical showdowns.
Galen was a titan of his time. His many books would be consulted by medics for centuries to come. Where chronology is uncertain Mattern organized material by theme. In a series of chapter Mattern, combines biographical material with emphasis on some aspect of Galen’s doctrine and practice. Over all it is surprisingly an easy readable book considering the complicated material it covers. Professor Mattern managed to create a book anyone can read and understand not just the academic. I read this book as an audio book downloaded from Audible. James Patrick Cronin narrated the book.
February 25, 2020
This book took me FOR.EV.ERRRRRR to read. Admittedly, it's my own fault. This biography is full of people, places, and things I had to constantly research. I couldn't help myself. What a fascinating time period and world to live in.
Ms. Mattern has put together an incredibly researched, though sometimes redundant, account of one the most influential contributors to medicine as we know it. Everything from Galen's upbringing, lifestyle, and beliefs, down to specific case studies and patient stories, it's all here.
The only downside to this book, is that often it repeats or references previously mentioned stories and Galen's published works. The timeline is somewhat linear, but references things in both the future and the past making it feel very redundant at times.
Don't let that deter you from reading about this brilliant man. The bibliography is very impressive, as is the exhaustive amount of research Ms. Mattern must've done to give us so much insight into this ancient hero of anatomy and medicine.
Ms. Mattern has put together an incredibly researched, though sometimes redundant, account of one the most influential contributors to medicine as we know it. Everything from Galen's upbringing, lifestyle, and beliefs, down to specific case studies and patient stories, it's all here.
The only downside to this book, is that often it repeats or references previously mentioned stories and Galen's published works. The timeline is somewhat linear, but references things in both the future and the past making it feel very redundant at times.
Don't let that deter you from reading about this brilliant man. The bibliography is very impressive, as is the exhaustive amount of research Ms. Mattern must've done to give us so much insight into this ancient hero of anatomy and medicine.
August 4, 2024
Exhaustive as a overview of Galen's works and treatment of what little is known of his life, this book was a disappointment in some other respects. For instance, there's a brief mention of cataract surgery in the text (but not indexed), but no explanation as to how such was conducted in the second century. So, too, many procedures, 'drug' applications et cetera are mentioned but not explicated beyond Galen's own words. While not a difficult book, but rather accessible to anybody, still it would have benefited from being more fleshed out as a portrayal of the milieu within which Galen worked.
March 9, 2022
A very comprehensive biography of the Pergamene Greek physician Galen, who became the foremost medical authority of the Roman Empire, and retained that position in the minds of many up through the Renaissance . . . Very comprehensive, but fairly dry reading.
February 18, 2020
This was overall a very enjoyable book. One segment of the readership will be doctors, another, classicists, I would have thought. The former may find the self-promoting accounts left by Galen of his clinical victories required a bit more examination than the author offers - how was Galen so successful arms with leeches and a few exotic herbs and minerals? Should I break out the cinnamon in my consultations knowing of its potency as testified to by Galen?
I would have valued a little more reflection on the limits of science in Galen’s time than Mattern gives us, placing Galen’s achievements in their proper historical context. Much of Galen’s talents are no better than a tarot reader, it would seem, and it would be reasonable to conclude that he either lies about certain cases or at best grossly embellishes given his success rates. Who knew I was missing so much with my feeble pulse taking. Given our current understanding that about 70% of useful information comes from a person’s story it might have been interesting to place Galen’s talent and importance, on these diagnostic skills. His main importance, surely, is as an anatomist working with animals (mainly) and being interested in the empirical basis of medicine and not a clinician achieving miracles with herbs and quack treatments. This book helped me understand the social role of doctors in antiquity and how they must have achieved pre-eminence amongst their peers by being erudite and fearless showmen, as much as anything else. So, I thought this a good socio-biographical of what it was to be doctor in the Roman Empire in its pomp but Mattern’s credulity at times left me wanting more of a critique of the substance of Galen’s claims in the light of a modern understanding of health and illness.
I would have valued a little more reflection on the limits of science in Galen’s time than Mattern gives us, placing Galen’s achievements in their proper historical context. Much of Galen’s talents are no better than a tarot reader, it would seem, and it would be reasonable to conclude that he either lies about certain cases or at best grossly embellishes given his success rates. Who knew I was missing so much with my feeble pulse taking. Given our current understanding that about 70% of useful information comes from a person’s story it might have been interesting to place Galen’s talent and importance, on these diagnostic skills. His main importance, surely, is as an anatomist working with animals (mainly) and being interested in the empirical basis of medicine and not a clinician achieving miracles with herbs and quack treatments. This book helped me understand the social role of doctors in antiquity and how they must have achieved pre-eminence amongst their peers by being erudite and fearless showmen, as much as anything else. So, I thought this a good socio-biographical of what it was to be doctor in the Roman Empire in its pomp but Mattern’s credulity at times left me wanting more of a critique of the substance of Galen’s claims in the light of a modern understanding of health and illness.
May 5, 2019
Medicine in the Roman World
It is too easy to think that medicine in the Roman world was, like their engineering, commerce, and organization, advanced. This biography of Galen is fascinating both for its portrait of the man who would shape medical knowledge for a thousand years after his death but also for the, honestly, frightening portrayal of practicing medicine in the ancient world.
In a world without review boards and insurance networks, how does one pick a doctor? The book demonstrates that doctors vied publicly for reputation and held nothing short of gang battles between rival schools of medical thought. As an ancient doctor, your entourage would confront rival doctors with (say) a bound monkey and open an artery for your rival to fix, publicly Humiliating him if he could not treat the wound.
Similarly patients bedsides were a great opportunity to demonstrate the folly of rival doctors’ treatments. And it is this hyper-competitive environment of public medical showmanship that Galen reveled in, performing delicate surgeries or showy anatomical demonstrations to win fame.
Competition drove Galen to his greatest anatomical discoveries. Most fascinatingly for this reader, Galen’s discovery of the nerves that control the larynx... which he could tie and untie to silence or give voice to a bleating goat to the wonder of his audience.
I was also amazed by just how primitive many of the cures were. Snake flesh to cure leprosy. Crayfish harvested on certain nights of the year were an excellent medical compound.
Overall if you’re curious about what getting sick or injured in the ancient world entailed, you will find this book fascinating.
It is too easy to think that medicine in the Roman world was, like their engineering, commerce, and organization, advanced. This biography of Galen is fascinating both for its portrait of the man who would shape medical knowledge for a thousand years after his death but also for the, honestly, frightening portrayal of practicing medicine in the ancient world.
In a world without review boards and insurance networks, how does one pick a doctor? The book demonstrates that doctors vied publicly for reputation and held nothing short of gang battles between rival schools of medical thought. As an ancient doctor, your entourage would confront rival doctors with (say) a bound monkey and open an artery for your rival to fix, publicly Humiliating him if he could not treat the wound.
Similarly patients bedsides were a great opportunity to demonstrate the folly of rival doctors’ treatments. And it is this hyper-competitive environment of public medical showmanship that Galen reveled in, performing delicate surgeries or showy anatomical demonstrations to win fame.
Competition drove Galen to his greatest anatomical discoveries. Most fascinatingly for this reader, Galen’s discovery of the nerves that control the larynx... which he could tie and untie to silence or give voice to a bleating goat to the wonder of his audience.
I was also amazed by just how primitive many of the cures were. Snake flesh to cure leprosy. Crayfish harvested on certain nights of the year were an excellent medical compound.
Overall if you’re curious about what getting sick or injured in the ancient world entailed, you will find this book fascinating.
March 15, 2014
Very good examination of Galen's life and the cultural environment in which he lived. While the book is dense with details, Mattern's writing style is easy to follow, and she is well versed in the material. I especially admired the way she brought the highly competitive ancient world to life. Galen was obviously a genius who added greatly to the medical knowledge of the times. His works were viewed as the final word in medicine throughout the lands of the Mediterranean, well into the Renaissance. The fact that he accepted erroneous ideas about health (e.g., the four "humors" that make up the body and determine health or illness) does not detract from his accomplishments, especially considering the strict taboos against human dissection. As far as modern medicine is concerned, Galen's adherence to acute observation, testing, repeatability, and listening to the patient are still valuable lessons.
February 15, 2024
A really good book about Galen. I came to this book knowing that Galen was a HUGE figure in the history of anatomy, but I wanted to know more details and get to know his ideas more deeply. By and large, this book met those goals for me. But I wouldn't say it was a page-turner. That's totally fine, and I didn't expect it to be. It's a nonfiction, historical biography. There's not really a strong narrative arc to provide much momentum.
That said, it's incredibly well-researched, and it's written with admirable clarity and accessibility. I am extremely impressed with Mattern's style and accomplishment in this book. I'm working on a long poem (a very motivated amateur's project) that draws quite a bit on anatomical history. I'll be referring back to this volume plenty as it evolves. So happy to have found it!
That said, it's incredibly well-researched, and it's written with admirable clarity and accessibility. I am extremely impressed with Mattern's style and accomplishment in this book. I'm working on a long poem (a very motivated amateur's project) that draws quite a bit on anatomical history. I'll be referring back to this volume plenty as it evolves. So happy to have found it!
November 20, 2024
A Dominant Figure in Western Medicine
An excellent overview of the life of Galen, presenting both conjecture and fact, with a focus less on Galen’s medical beliefs and practices and more on his place and impact in the early stages of Western medicine within the context of the Roman Empire and in the shadow of the rising threat of Christendom that detested what it considered Greek paganism.
An excellent overview of the life of Galen, presenting both conjecture and fact, with a focus less on Galen’s medical beliefs and practices and more on his place and impact in the early stages of Western medicine within the context of the Roman Empire and in the shadow of the rising threat of Christendom that detested what it considered Greek paganism.
September 23, 2021
I didn’t expect to enjoy this. Was reading for research into pre-medieval medical history. However, it's wonderfully written and engaging with ample footnotes (to primary sources and more) and an extensive bibliography for those wishing to delve a little deeper.
August 7, 2015
This is a great introduction to many topics: Galen (obviously), ancient medicine, and second-century Rome. Mattern's book is ostensibly a biography of Galen, but also takes the time to explain major elements of Roman life and culture that might not be immediately clear to non-specialists. These excurses sometimes take up the bulk of a chapter, but reward the reader by providing needed context for the events of Galen's life that they help situate. Mattern shows an astounding mastery of Galen's massive corpus, and she doesn't shy away from telling readers about a seminal secondary text.
The book covers Galen's early life, his education, and his floruit in Rome. Little is known about the end of Galen's life, but Mattern closes the book with a wonderful chapter about Galen's enduring influence and his unusually well-documented attempt to guide his reception by later generations. Mattern introduces readers to some of the major events in Galen's life, including his assignment as a gladiatorial doctor, his somewhat curious relation to the plague of 169, and the fire of 192 that destroyed so much of his books and medical inventory. Various famous cases are described throughout the book, but the true centerpiece of this book is Mattern's discussion of Galen's medical training. His travels, frequent practice of dissection, and intense cultivation of his library reveal the depth and breadth of ancient medical education.
Mattern shys away from comparing Galen's medical theory and treatments to those of today. So much has changed that a book with such a goal would become tedious in its constant refutations. But what strikes one as odd is how often Galen's unorthodox (by modern standards) treatments seem to have worked. Did he misreport the real results of his practice? Did the placebo effect suffice for most ancient maladies? By the end of the book, one gets a sense of the drastically different medical paradigm (in Kuhn's sense) that Galen helped create and that lasted until the Renaissance. However we evaluate the content of his treatises, Galen was doing what was true at the time. His confident, discerning, and considerate bedside manner made up for the defects in his understanding of biology, and may have often done more for his patients than the treatment itself.
The other side of Galen the book presents is Galen the prodigious vivisector. He butchered probably thousands of animals to achieve the advances in physiognomy that he bestowed on posterity. One is reminded of the often terrifying methods by which some of the 20th century's important medical discoveries were reached. A more polemical study might add familiar complaints about Galen's misogyny to this legacy, but Mattern strives for a more balanced evaluation, and weighs his cruelty to animals against his seemingly magisterial bedside manner.
Stylistically, this book is easy to read, which you can't always say about ancient biographies for popular audiences. The only hiccup in the style is a seemingly compulsive tendency to remind the reader that this topic will be (discussed below).
The book covers Galen's early life, his education, and his floruit in Rome. Little is known about the end of Galen's life, but Mattern closes the book with a wonderful chapter about Galen's enduring influence and his unusually well-documented attempt to guide his reception by later generations. Mattern introduces readers to some of the major events in Galen's life, including his assignment as a gladiatorial doctor, his somewhat curious relation to the plague of 169, and the fire of 192 that destroyed so much of his books and medical inventory. Various famous cases are described throughout the book, but the true centerpiece of this book is Mattern's discussion of Galen's medical training. His travels, frequent practice of dissection, and intense cultivation of his library reveal the depth and breadth of ancient medical education.
Mattern shys away from comparing Galen's medical theory and treatments to those of today. So much has changed that a book with such a goal would become tedious in its constant refutations. But what strikes one as odd is how often Galen's unorthodox (by modern standards) treatments seem to have worked. Did he misreport the real results of his practice? Did the placebo effect suffice for most ancient maladies? By the end of the book, one gets a sense of the drastically different medical paradigm (in Kuhn's sense) that Galen helped create and that lasted until the Renaissance. However we evaluate the content of his treatises, Galen was doing what was true at the time. His confident, discerning, and considerate bedside manner made up for the defects in his understanding of biology, and may have often done more for his patients than the treatment itself.
The other side of Galen the book presents is Galen the prodigious vivisector. He butchered probably thousands of animals to achieve the advances in physiognomy that he bestowed on posterity. One is reminded of the often terrifying methods by which some of the 20th century's important medical discoveries were reached. A more polemical study might add familiar complaints about Galen's misogyny to this legacy, but Mattern strives for a more balanced evaluation, and weighs his cruelty to animals against his seemingly magisterial bedside manner.
Stylistically, this book is easy to read, which you can't always say about ancient biographies for popular audiences. The only hiccup in the style is a seemingly compulsive tendency to remind the reader that this topic will be (discussed below).
September 28, 2025
I had no idea what to expect going into this biography (totally did not choose to start reading it on a whim because andrew huberman told me to).
My first impression was that the text had a really nice fluidity to it, something I was not at all expecting from such a dense biography. I was expecting to encounter a lot more multi-syllable words and complex-to-understand sentences. Even the dated geographical descriptions were simple and easy to follow, all while simultaneously being descriptive enough to establish a nice visual map in my head to revisit from time to time.
I also liked the presence of a strong narrator's voice. The blending of undiluted facts with her own insight and humour set a nice tone for the book and gave a break to the denser parts of the text.
Her reflections on the chronology of events, the authenticity of sources, and even her inferences as to who Galen may have been referring to in his letters, (especially his unnamed rivals) added a lovely human touch (and drama) that I enjoyed. She also does a great job conveying his passion (?maniacal obsession) for medicine throughout his life. I would place him and Alexander Hamilton in the “same person, different font” category.
Mattern certainly doesn’t try to push a narrative and sanitize his character. She points out contradictions in Galen’s writings whenever he denies occasional attention seeking, fame-seeking, or arrogance. Moreover, she doesn’t gloss over his ownership of slaves and draws attention to parts of his writings that allude to the work performed by slaves (or on slaves). And she specifically makes a point to discuss his ownership and views on violence and punishment of slaves whenever she mentions treating slaves and peasants in his practice.
I enjoyed it the most when she explained her thought process and pulled on different sources and cross-referenced timelines because it felt as if I was getting a glimpse of the behind the scenes in creating such a text. And that, I think, is the biggest thing that I appreciated and took away from this book. I can’t even begin to imagine the time and dedication it must have taken to weave everything together to compose something at this level of detail. The amount of scavenging for sources and pulling together different details helps her strong passion truly shine through.
Im kinda sad now that this book is over. I had inadvertently built Galen into my everyday routine.
My first impression was that the text had a really nice fluidity to it, something I was not at all expecting from such a dense biography. I was expecting to encounter a lot more multi-syllable words and complex-to-understand sentences. Even the dated geographical descriptions were simple and easy to follow, all while simultaneously being descriptive enough to establish a nice visual map in my head to revisit from time to time.
I also liked the presence of a strong narrator's voice. The blending of undiluted facts with her own insight and humour set a nice tone for the book and gave a break to the denser parts of the text.
Her reflections on the chronology of events, the authenticity of sources, and even her inferences as to who Galen may have been referring to in his letters, (especially his unnamed rivals) added a lovely human touch (and drama) that I enjoyed. She also does a great job conveying his passion (?maniacal obsession) for medicine throughout his life. I would place him and Alexander Hamilton in the “same person, different font” category.
Mattern certainly doesn’t try to push a narrative and sanitize his character. She points out contradictions in Galen’s writings whenever he denies occasional attention seeking, fame-seeking, or arrogance. Moreover, she doesn’t gloss over his ownership of slaves and draws attention to parts of his writings that allude to the work performed by slaves (or on slaves). And she specifically makes a point to discuss his ownership and views on violence and punishment of slaves whenever she mentions treating slaves and peasants in his practice.
I enjoyed it the most when she explained her thought process and pulled on different sources and cross-referenced timelines because it felt as if I was getting a glimpse of the behind the scenes in creating such a text. And that, I think, is the biggest thing that I appreciated and took away from this book. I can’t even begin to imagine the time and dedication it must have taken to weave everything together to compose something at this level of detail. The amount of scavenging for sources and pulling together different details helps her strong passion truly shine through.
Im kinda sad now that this book is over. I had inadvertently built Galen into my everyday routine.
May 14, 2021
Biography of Roman physician 129 AD-c200, c216. Presents tactile picture of concurrent Roman life: relations between upper classes and slaves, the filth and disease in Rome, physician competition, publishing such as it was. She tries to present her subject sympathetically, as dedicated to his art and respectful of lower classes and slaves, but it’s a hard job really. The man lived 2000 years ago and trying to make him presentable in modern standards of behavior seems a little naive. I saw an interview with Hillary Mantel in which she said if you’re writing historical fiction and your characters are “just like us” you are very much on the wrong track. Mattern makes no bones about his horrific animal dissections, and I’m certainly not saying she is dishonest. She just seems to have him on a pedestal and is attempting to make him as presentable as possible. He was a very interesting man and clearly one of the great minds of antiquity.
July 25, 2016
An excellent read about an key figure in medical thinking and experimentation. Mattern does a good job using the available literature to piece together a chronology of Galen's life, as well as delving into inferences that can be made from his texts. The book is a little bit dry and occasionally choppy to read (paragraphs do not necessarily follow from one another), but it's well sourced and goes into the social context of Roman life and how it affected Galen in his practice, which I quite enjoyed. Overall a good read.
March 10, 2023
The very first chapter of this book is at first a bit complex in historic detail, but it's just to give an essential timeline framework. The rest of the book is not as detailed; just a light biography with extremely well considered 'target points', and relevant, permissible side commentary that makes the reader feel both invited and very included. Certainly more nonfiction authors could employ this author's techniques. I listened to the audiobook, and the reading was done very well, also.
January 8, 2014
This is a biography that places Galen in his historical context. It presents a good sense of what he was like as a person. It is well written, though it does have some of the thoroughness of an academic book, which might put some readers off. I think that part of what I was looking for, however, was something on galenism. I will have to read Temkin, I'm afraid.
January 19, 2014
Not a good match (me and the book). Too much detail for me. And I could have lived without reading about the vivisections. Probably a book for someone involved in medicine. Perhaps they would have found all of the details about the (sometimes bizarre) treatments, and the speculations about what illnesses they may have been, interesting.
November 8, 2015
Ended up being kind of a slog--like eating your vegetables, you feel good that you did it, but might not have enjoyed the experience all that much. Took me forever to get through. Lots of interesting stuff, though somewhat repetitive. Probably appeals to a narrow audience--classics folks (like me) or medical/science folks.
July 24, 2013
It's a scholarly book, a bit dry in places, but very interesting if you're interested in ancient medicine or just Greco-Roman civilization generally.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews