From the Bookshelf of Science and Inquiry…

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

Holly Tucker

Start date: September 1, 2015

Finish date: September 30, 2015

Discussion: Book Club 2015

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Book Club 2015

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Sep 13, 2015 aPriL does feral sometimes rated it liked it

Shelves: history, science, a-jack-in-the-box-pop-surprise, bizarre-wtf, non-fiction

Science discoveries are often thought of as an area of intelligent human endeavor full of emotional reserve and reasonable educated caution. But any reader who enjoys reading books about the history of science knows that the people who explored what we today call science subjects were (and are) no better than the society in which they worked and lived, even if more driven, obsessed and highly educated than the average citizen.

National politics, raw ambition, Protestant vs. Catholic faith (Engla Science discoveries are often thought of as an area of intelligent human endeavor full of emotional reserve and reasonable educated caution. But any reader who enjoys reading books about the history of science knows that the people who explored what we today call science subjects were (and are) no better than the society in which they worked and lived, even if more driven, obsessed and highly educated than the average citizen.

National politics, raw ambition, Protestant vs. Catholic faith (England vs. France, in other words), class discrimination, Descartes’ philosophy about the soul, conservatives vs. progressives - is it possible scientific experimentation ever was so fraught with dispute as it was when Europe was leaving the Middle Ages behind? Science is fraught with dispute all of the time, actually, but the book ‘Blood Work’ covers a particular struggle between celebrity doctors exploring blood transfusion in the 1660’s.

I was a secretary who read a lot, and I still read a lot, but I am no expert in research and history. The following is a general understanding of what this reviewer has picked up in a very erratic manner, so corrections are welcome:

The time period that the author Holly Tucker describes in ‘Blood Work’ is before the scientific method was articulated. Rules regarding the ethics of scientific experimentation were strongly influenced by primitive social European beliefs infused with biblical teachings and classic works of literature which were translated from the ancient Greeks and Romans. The ancient Greeks and Romans had written Science experimentation books which had finally become known in the West when the books were captured in the Crusader wars and in trading with Muslim merchants. The world of Christianity in its early centuries made a practice of burning ancient libraries as heathen works of the devil. Muslims had saved every ancient book in territories they conquered; thus, the works of the Roman Republic/Empire and the ancient Greeks came to the Western world through Islamic countries.

In early centuries, the field work of who we today would call scientists and the work of thought experiments conducted by men we today call philosophers were often performed by the same man. The separations of fields of study which we acknowledge today - Religion, Philosophy, Science, Astrology, Astronomy - are separated in our modern world, but were not in the Middle Ages. In my opinion, most of the historically important gentlemen we study when reading books about the history of science and philosophy were polymaths. Some were powerful literary talents as well who wrote works of poetry that are subjects of early-Literature classes.

Hardly any of the above is discussed in this book, which is why I am not giving it more than three and a half stars. I think the author Holly Tucker could have mentioned the above as quickly as I have in her book about early experiments in blood transfusions, and she should have, since she refers obliquely to this history here and there.

Tucker wrote ‘Blood Work’ in a New York Times journalism style. It is very readable. It is also extremely interesting. The doctors she profiles who were experimenting with blood transfusions in the mid-1600’s had little legal or social prohibitions from using animals, which was mostly dogs (even their pets). People who were considered socially unessential or insignificant (such as a 15-year-old boy and a drunken, occasionally psychotic, impoverished married man of a lower class) were also experimented on. The author does not linger on the experiments the doctors performed on their chosen victims, er, patients, but she does graphically describe (included are drawings) the struggles the doctors had in transferring blood from one living body to another using quills (?!?!?) Not all transfers were animal to animal or human to human. Mind you, this was before anyone knew about blood types. Doctors were still arguing about which organ created blood, and the question of whether blood circulated around the body was not yet settled. Due to one of the human volunteers (using the term loosely) suddenly dying a few days after a transfusion, most doctors of the era were convinced by their peers to quit experimentation for the next 200 years. The author presents certain known circumstances from documents and papers (and gossip) of the time period which give cause to wonder whether it was a transfusion or murder behind the death.

I don’t know whether to applaud these ‘scientists’ for their audacious, blinded-by-curiosity-and-ambition efforts or to protest because of their ferocity and cold-blooded obsession. It is all very amusing, interesting and fascinating unless you are a sensitive person, which, alas, I cannot make any such claims. For the record, members of my family have received transfusions which saved their lives. ...more

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Jul 08, 2011 David Schwan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Fascinating book about the history of blood transfusions. A couple of dull chapters but the information in those chapters is vital to understanding the overall story. It was interesting to learn about the differences between the Catholic and Protestant views of medicine. The Protestants embraced alchemy while the Catholics did not.

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Mar 18, 2013 Rusty rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: prose, history, non-fiction

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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