The Falling Sickness: A History of Epilepsy from the Greeks to the Beginnings of Modern Neurology

by Owsei Temkin

"A thoroughly admirable and informative introduction to our knowledge of epilepsy in the Western world from antiquity to the early twentieth century." - American Scientist Owsei Temkin presents the history of epilepsy in Western civilization from ancient times to the beginnings of modern neurology. First published in 1945 and thoroughly revised in 1971, this classic work by one of the history of medicine's most eminent scholars now returns to print available in both paperback and eBook formats.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, History, Neuroscience

488 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 1994

Reviews

[Gabriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a child I had seizures. This is a history of the diagnosis of this disease. Therefore, my enjoyment of it was largely a result of my own personal history. It's always a boost to the ego when you discover the illness plagued your younger years was once seen as a divine invasion or possession.

[Albie]

The Falling Sickness : A History of Epilepsy from the Greeks to the Beginnings of Modern Neurology (Softshell Books) by Owsei Temkin (1994)

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is loaded with information about the history of epilepsy which is great, but unfortunately it is very technically, scientifically, lecture-like written which does make it quite difficult to read.

[Flossie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stellar message based on real-life story. One star removed for the simplistic language.

[Austin Lim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this, given that the topic of epilepsy gets brought up by my students all the time during lectures. There are some super interesting anecdotes throughout the ancient historical chunk of the book (seizures were named after the belief that the victim was being "seized" by a spirit??? Whoa!) But the more modern stuff is less instructive, since the text is 50 years old, making the "modern" bit a piece of history on it's own.

Overall, the text could have benefited from a little slimming down and a bit more pizazz in the prose. There are still some wonderful gems of knowledge throughout, especially for anyone interested in the history of this part of clinical neurology.