Bleed, Blister, Puke, and Purge

This frequently gruesome history of American medicine, from the Colonial era to the late 1800s, makes a convincing case that the worst thing a sick person could do is seek medical treatment; it could very well be lethal. In the Colonial era, the word "physician" was used far more loosely than it is today. "At the time of the American Revolution, only 400 out of the approximately 3,500 practicing physicians held medical degrees," and those degrees could be purchased without need of apprenticeships or formal education. Education and training standards improved in the decades to come, but methods remained stubbornly primitive as the profession was slow to recognize new discoveries and adopt new approaches. In grimly vivid detail, Younker describes such common practices as amputation, bleeding, leeching, purging, trepanning, and uroscopy. She also introduces influential, notable, and infamous practitioners of the times: Samuel Morton, a phrenology enthusiast and collector of skulls; John Morgan and William Shippen, who co-founded the first Colonial medical school in Philadelphia; Thomas Dent Mutter and his vast collection of medical curiosities; and Benjamin Rush, a proponent of extreme bloodletting. An engrossing, entertaining history of medicine for those who enjoy it told with a heavy dose of blood and guts. (photos, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 12-18) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2016

Gr 6 Up-Beginning with the arrival of colonists to the New World, Younker provides readers with a chronicle of medical care in early U.S. history. The heroic method-a combination of medical practices that included bleeding, blistering, and purging-was a key component of patient care well into the mid-1800s. Illness was often attributed to out-of-sync humors-a theory, as Younker explains, that harkens back to the influential writings of early physicians Hippocrates and Galen. Employed to rebalance the humors, heroic medical practices were anything but heroic, as they undoubtedly caused more pain or death than relief or cure. Readers learn about a variety of early American oddities as well as incremental medical advancements, such as the proliferation of freak shows, the practice of grave robbing for dissection of cadavers, medical quacks, and the emergence of the first hospital and medical school. It wasn't until the late 19th century that Louis Pasteur's work on germ theory and Joseph Lister's employment of carbolic acid as an antiseptic during surgery finally took hold in the United States and changed the way medicine was practiced. The chronology isn't always as linear as the chapter headings would suggest, and photos are sparse, but numerous sidebars chock-full of fascinating anecdotes coupled with Younker's sarcastic commentary peppered throughout add interest. VERDICT A compelling read that will be useful as a companion text for early U.S. history curricula and for students with an interest in the macabre.-Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's School, Brooklyn

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2016
Grades 9-12 Drawing its title from the heroic method, a prevailing technique in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century health care, this sleek volume takes on American medicine, from its humble beginnings in Jamestown to the 1879 adoption of antiseptic surgery. Beginning with herbal therapies and colonial superstition (birthmarks were occasionally rubbed with the hand of a corpse ), Younker proceeds to discuss medical collections (cadavers used to be hard to come by); the U.S.' first hospital (Pennsylvania Hospital, opened in 1752); and the development of anesthesia (thanks to nitrous oxide). Medical achievements and follies are often effectively presented side by side. An acknowledgment of surgical successes, for example, is soon followed by a chapter aptly titled, Women in American Medicine (or the Lack Thereof). British surgeon Joseph Lister's revolutionary application of carbolic acid, meanwhile, is buffeted by an account of President Garfield's grossly mistreated bullet wound. Editorial and epistolary excerpts, brief jingles and poems, and captivating boxed asides round out this informative and eye-opening traipse through American history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)