Explorers of the Body
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Author | Steven Lehrer |
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Original title | Explorers of the Body |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Nonfiction/History |
Publisher | Doubleday |
Publication date | 1979, 2006 |
Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
Pages | 494 pp (Hardcover edition) |
ISBN | ISBN 0595407315 (Trade paperback edition) |
Preceded by | Alternative Treatments for Cancer |
Followed by | Understanding Lung Sounds |
Explorers of the Body is a book by Steven Lehrer that tells the story of epochal medical discoveries which have profoundly affected human health, and the men and women who made them. From the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians to modern medical science, the book covers the gamut of medical advances, among them:
- Edward Jenner and smallpox vaccination
- Gregor Mendel and genetics
- Marie Curie and radioactivity
- Jonas Salk and the polio vaccine
- William Harvey and the circulation of the blood
- Louis Pasteur and rabies vaccination
- Joseph Lister and the rise of modern surgery
Critical reception
- "It is healthy to have this readable antidote to the medical profession's sanitized portraits of itself...much fascinating information." [1]
- "Lots of good medical lore —and juicy." [2]
- "The author has accomplished a tour de force." [3]
- "An engrossing account of the medical milestones upon which 20th Century medicine is based."[4]
- "Factual accounts often stranger and more dramatic than fiction…Among the many lively anecdotes is the story of the unusual collaboration between bacteriologist-writer Paul de Kruif and Sinclair Lewis, which produced the latter's prize-winning novel Arrowsmith.” [5]
- "Here, at last, is a history of the great medical discoveries written by an author who refused to wear blinders...Explorers of the Body is a collection of many marvels." [6]
References
- ↑ New York Times Book Review. May 20, 1979
- ↑ Kirkus Reviews. April 1, 1979
- ↑ Sydney Selwyn. Nature Vol. 281 27 September 1979 p323
- ↑ Elliott Strom. Library Journal. May 15, 1979 p 1151.
- ↑ Gevevieve Stuttaford. Publishers Weekly. March 12, 1979
- ↑ Mitchell S. Ross. Eye of Newt. Review of Explorers of the Body, by Steven Lehrer. The National Review, July 11, 1980, p. 852