The Enlightened Mr. Parkinson

Starred review from May 29, 2017
Lewis, a research scholar at the University of Bristol, lifts from the shadows of history the fascinating story of James Parkinson (1755–1824), the Enlightenment-age surgeon-apothecary who first described the neurodegenerative condition that now bears his name. Parkinson emerges as a committed naturalist—he was among the founders of the Geological Society of London and compiled an unparalleled collection of fossils—and doctor (one of the first in London to offer smallpox vaccinations), as well as a fearless warrior for social justice during the turbulent dawning of the Industrial Revolution. Yet Parkinson’s name lives on because of his 1817 work “Essay on the Shaking Palsy,” a pamphlet favorably received in its day that nevertheless went on to be seen as “just another pamphlet in his long list of publications.” However, Parkinson’s groundbreaking work, as Lewis notes, represented a “farsighted, questioning approach” that “left us with a remarkable scientific and medical legacy.” Lewis’s lively, captivating biography illuminates the life and work of a pioneer who may have largely faded from medical history, but whose curiosity and passion are as relevant today as they were 200 years ago. Agent: Peter Tallack, Science Factory.

May 15, 2017
A biography of the doctor who first defined the "debilitating condition" that has become "one of the most familiar of all neurological disorders."In 1817, British surgeon James Parkinson (1755-1824) described the symptoms of a frightening neurodegenerative disease, the second most common after Alzheimer's. He was a Renaissance man who tried his hand at natural history and politics, and British geologist and historian Lewis (The Dating Game: One Man's Search for the Age of the Earth, 2000) turns this into a fine biography of a colorful figure who lived in a turbulent era. In 18th-century Britain, the term "doctor" referred to a university-trained physician. Having a lower status but an arduous apprenticeship, surgeons like Parkinson were called "Mister," but their responsibilities overlapped. Medical practitioners of the time were ignorant, but they didn't think so. A card-carrying member of the Enlightenment, Parkinson shared the movement's belief in progress and experimental research, but, unlike 18th-century physical science, medicine remained a slave to ancient theories. Readers will squirm as Parkinson and his colleagues bleed, blister, purge, and poison patients with a confidence that gave the surgeon a nationwide reputation that he burnished with a steady stream of scientific papers and books, including a bestseller of popular health advice. He was, however, an acute observer, and his slim 1817 monograph, An Essay on the Shaking Palsy, became a medical classic for its detailed, insightful depiction of the malady given the name Parkinson's disease--but not until 50 years later. Fascinated by fossils, he assembled a world-class collection and helped found the Geological Society of London in 1807, the world's first. Parkinson's overall contributions to medicine may be trivial except for a name, but Lewis delivers an appealing, often gruesome account of the life of a workaholic, highly respected physician from a far-off time.

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July 1, 2017

One might think that a biography of James Parkinson, the man for whom Parkinson's disease is named (owing to an essay he wrote in 1817 describing the symptoms of what he called "the shaking palsy"), would focus largely on the condition itself. In fact, the majority of Lewis's (Honorary Research Fellow, Univ. of Bristol, UK; The Dating Game: One Man's Search for the Age of the Earth) biography concerns the many significant scientific and medical contributions Parkinson made in other areas during the early 19th century. For example, Parkinson's three-volume Organic Remains of a Former World cataloged 700 fossils and was the first of its kind, formally launching the field of British paleontology. Following a linear chronology, this accessible title illuminates the life of this largely unknown doctor. Though Parkinson had a medical practice in the British village of Hoxton, he also pursued many other interests. After a brief stint advocating for parliamentary reform (these efforts almost landed him in prison when he was accused of plotting to overthrow George III), he turned to other endeavors, such as working to improve the conditions of paupers and child laborers. Parkinson was active in efforts to vaccinate against smallpox and conceived of the best way to treat victims of typhus. VERDICT Recommended for medical historians and those who love biographies (particularly those of important yet largely forgotten figures).--Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's Sch., Brooklyn

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2017
Parkinson's diseasea disorder characterized by tremor, muscle stiffness, and slow movementstrails only Alzheimer's dementia in frequency among neurodegenerative diseases. But who was the man that the disease was named for? James Parkinson (17551824) was an English apothecary-surgeon whose interests were not limited to the field of medicine but included fossil collecting, paleontology, geology, social and political activism involving his concern about the lives of working children, and advocacy for reform of Parliament and equality of wealth. Over the course of six years, he identified six men exhibiting the same tremor along with other symptoms and published An Essay on the Shaking Palsy, the original description of Parkinson's disease. He likely never imagined how very long it would take to find an effective treatment for the condition. The pensive and passionate Parkinson is portrayed as a character caught in a sort of temporal paradox as a clinician ahead of his time in some ways, a scientist infatuated with prehistoric eras, and a citizen restless and uneasy with society and living conditions in his world.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)