Under the Knife: A History of Surgery in 28 Remarkable Operations
‘This is history with a surgeon’s touch: deft, incisive and sometimes excruciatingly bloody’ The Sunday Times ‘Utterly eccentric and riveting’ Mail on Sunday ‘Eye-opening and, frequently, eye-watering . . . a book that invites readers to peer up the bottoms of kings, into the souls of rock stars and down the ear canals of astronauts’
‘This is history with a surgeon’s touch: deft, incisive and sometimes excruciatingly bloody’ The Sunday Times
‘Utterly eccentric and riveting’ Mail on Sunday
‘Eye-opening and, frequently, eye-watering . . . a book that invites readers to peer up the bottoms of kings, into the souls of rock stars and down the ear canals of astronauts’ The Daily Telegraph
How did a decision made in the operating theatre spark hundreds of conspiracy theories about JFK?
How did a backstage joke prove fatal to world-famous escape artist Harry Houdini?
How did Queen Victoria change the course of surgical history?
Through dark centuries of bloodletting and of amputations without anaesthetic to today’s sterile, high-tech operating theatres, surgeon Arnold van de Laar uses his experience and expertise to tell an incisive history of the past, present and future of surgery.
From the dark centuries of bloodletting and of amputations without anaesthetic to today’s sterile, high-tech operating theatres, Under the Knife is both a rich cultural history, and a modern anatomy class for us all.
Bestsellers 2021
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It includes passages giving anatomical and surgical details which are delineated from the rest of the text and which are frankly boring but which can easily be skipped over for those … An amusing and in some places a quite astonishing read. Each chapter takes a well known person who has undergone some kind of surgical procedure and then uses that historical anecdote to explain to the reader how a particular surgical procedure has evolved over time. It includes passages giving anatomical and surgical details which are delineated from the rest of the text and which are frankly boring but which can easily be skipped over for those us who wish to be amused rather than educated.
Fascinating read This book gives a fascinating insight into the history and development of surgical procedures through the centuries. It is easy to read, and medical terms are explained in language that will be understood by the lay person. It wonât be to everybodyâs taste, and I found myself skipping over some of the explanatory notes, but I enjoyed it.
An intriguing journey into the human body I thoroughly enjoyed this book: so much so that had I read it when I was younger I would definitely have pursued a career in medicine. It is pitched at just the right level – introducing medical concepts in a clear and non-patronising way. The author is a born teacher, using fascinating medical history to talk about different techniques in a way that is entertaining and helps you understand and retain the medical knowledge behind it. A great read.