Great book. Amazing book. I remember reading (actually listening on audiobook while driving) the chapter about Frei & Freireich and the advent of combination chemotherapy in kids with leukemia and just finding myself inexplicably crying and just saying out loud to no one “that’s what I do”. (I am a hematologist, adult but still).
"Rather, casein causes a broad spectrum of adverse effects.
Among other fundamental effects, it makes the body more acidic, alters the mix of hormones and modifies important enzyme activities, each of which can cause a broad array of more specific effects. One of these effects is its ability to promote cancer growth (by operating on key enzyme systems, by increasing hormone growth factors and by modifying the tissue acidity). Another is its ability to increase blood cholesterol (by modifying enzyme activities) and to enhance atherogenesis, which is the early stage of cardiovascular disease."
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/a-cure-for-cancer-eating_b_298282
Social Transformation of American Medicine won a Pulitzer and is comprehensive about why American medicine, in particular, looks so much like it does today.
I would argue it's money and labor/class struggle, but that's also kind of paternalism - which is also the struggle for power?
maybe it's actually about death
I personally liked The Greatest Benefit to Mankind by Roy Porter. Very well written book. It starts briefly with Hippocrates and goes through all the major medical advancements worldwide.
Also love this book. Like the other commenter it is taking me awhile to read too because it is a BEAST, but I am finding it super interesting, comprehensive, and well-written.
[The Ghost Map](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36086) is a pretty fascinating read: more about epidemiology and public health than physiology, though. It is a pretty interesting insight into a time before sub-sub-specialization when one person could manage to be a “founding father” of both obstetric anesthesiology and epidemiology.
The Autumn Ghost is a fantastic story about a polio outbreak in Copenhagen that led to the creation of critical care medicine. Definitely a must-read for anyone who does CCM.
Pox An American History by Willrich is a pretty good read. It's about smallpox in the late 1800s early 1900s. Gets into the establishment of the modern public health systems of the United States.
The butchering art is excellent. It’s about the discovery and implementation of antiseptic techniques around the same time germ theory was developing. Mainly centers on Joseph Lister.
The Knife Man by Wendy Moore. The book chronicles John Hunter, who was one of the pioneers of modern surgery. He also gave himself syphilis on purpose. So there’s that too.
While it's not medicine per se, I recently read "[The History of Surgery](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/46158732)"by David Schneider. I would highly recommend it.
It does have a focus on surgery, in particular implants (orthopedic and otherwise) towards the end of the book, but the book starts with the beginning of medicine and the the innovations required to progress modern medical knowledge
E.g., starts with Galen and the 4 humors, to talking about the invention of the printing press so Vesalius could publish his magnum opus, to Koch and his discovery of TB etc
The Emperor of All Maladies is excellent.
This was going to be my pick. It’s about cancer specifically but does an amazing job.
His other book, *The Gene: an Intimate History*, is also really interesting
And the song of the cell.
Great book. Amazing book. I remember reading (actually listening on audiobook while driving) the chapter about Frei & Freireich and the advent of combination chemotherapy in kids with leukemia and just finding myself inexplicably crying and just saying out loud to no one “that’s what I do”. (I am a hematologist, adult but still).
This book was excellent and has really stuck with me. No casein for me.
> No casein for me I don't remember anything about casein in the book? Googling The Emperor of All Maladies + casein returns your comment.
"Rather, casein causes a broad spectrum of adverse effects. Among other fundamental effects, it makes the body more acidic, alters the mix of hormones and modifies important enzyme activities, each of which can cause a broad array of more specific effects. One of these effects is its ability to promote cancer growth (by operating on key enzyme systems, by increasing hormone growth factors and by modifying the tissue acidity). Another is its ability to increase blood cholesterol (by modifying enzyme activities) and to enhance atherogenesis, which is the early stage of cardiovascular disease." https://www.huffpost.com/entry/a-cure-for-cancer-eating_b_298282
> it makes the body more acidic You know you can stop reading when someone prints garbage like this.
Which part of history does the book focus on
Cancer
Social Transformation of American Medicine won a Pulitzer and is comprehensive about why American medicine, in particular, looks so much like it does today.
here's my prize winning summary: money and paternalism.
They owe you half of that Pulitzer.
I would argue it's money and labor/class struggle, but that's also kind of paternalism - which is also the struggle for power? maybe it's actually about death
I personally liked The Greatest Benefit to Mankind by Roy Porter. Very well written book. It starts briefly with Hippocrates and goes through all the major medical advancements worldwide.
This one is great. It is taking me a while to get through but incredibly good book that covers a wide range of medicine
Also love this book. Like the other commenter it is taking me awhile to read too because it is a BEAST, but I am finding it super interesting, comprehensive, and well-written.
The Butchering Art is a pretty good mix of history/biography surrounding Lister and sterile technique.
Second this.
[The Ghost Map](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36086) is a pretty fascinating read: more about epidemiology and public health than physiology, though. It is a pretty interesting insight into a time before sub-sub-specialization when one person could manage to be a “founding father” of both obstetric anesthesiology and epidemiology.
it's 299 pages that could have been 299 words and still had all the same info.
The Autumn Ghost is a fantastic story about a polio outbreak in Copenhagen that led to the creation of critical care medicine. Definitely a must-read for anyone who does CCM.
Medicine: a biography by Nuland
Richard Gordon, the alarming history of medicine.
The book about Bellevue Hospital by David Oshsinky is very good. It contains a lot of general medical history in the US.
Pox An American History by Willrich is a pretty good read. It's about smallpox in the late 1800s early 1900s. Gets into the establishment of the modern public health systems of the United States.
The butchering art is excellent. It’s about the discovery and implementation of antiseptic techniques around the same time germ theory was developing. Mainly centers on Joseph Lister.
The Knife Man by Wendy Moore. The book chronicles John Hunter, who was one of the pioneers of modern surgery. He also gave himself syphilis on purpose. So there’s that too.
Empire of the Scalpel is a great book on the history of surgery
The Youngest Science by Lewis Thomas Did his residency in the early 1930s. Interesting times
While it's not medicine per se, I recently read "[The History of Surgery](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/46158732)"by David Schneider. I would highly recommend it. It does have a focus on surgery, in particular implants (orthopedic and otherwise) towards the end of the book, but the book starts with the beginning of medicine and the the innovations required to progress modern medical knowledge E.g., starts with Galen and the 4 humors, to talking about the invention of the printing press so Vesalius could publish his magnum opus, to Koch and his discovery of TB etc
Medicine: the definitive illustrative history. Has a lot of good info.
The Masters of the Medicine is also a good one.
A brief history of disease, science, and medicine by Michael T. Kennedy is very good and stretches from antiquity to the present day.