Galen and the Gateway to Medicine (Living History Library)

The book gives information about Galen and how he learned, studied, and practiced medicine. The book also has some pictures of how he thought the human body worked, and other demonstrative pictures. I give this book 5 stars because it's great for learning about the first person who truly went over the top to study medicine. I recommend this book for kids over the age of 8, since it does include some things about killing animals and parts of the body which they may not know about. For example, the spleen. They say what the spleen is, but not what it does. I wouldn't consider this book an encyclopedia about the human body. It is more of a short storybook\text-book.

This book does a tremendous job of taking the reader back to the medical knowledge that existed at the time. It very clearly shows how doctors and scientists gathered their knowledge and practiced their research despite an almost total lack of technology.I thought the early chapters on the life of patrician families set the stage for the book very well. This time period is very foreign to kids, but the book brought it closer.The explanation of the body's "four humors" was the best I have ever read. That alone was worth the price of the book -- all sorts of novels I've read have talked about an imbalance of humors, etc. You figure out what they are talking about, but this book makes it very clear.The maps, diagrams, and illustrations are clear, informative, and perfect for the book.Oh, and the phonetic pronunciations are part of the text, so you can get a handle on all the Greek and Roman names. Excellent.In short, this book is not just for 3rd graders. I'm glad I read it and I know it will be great for my kids.

When I read her Archimedes title, I was surprised that a book I bought for my kids captured my imagination as well. Even now several months later, I remember the story of his irrigation screw, how Archimedes used pulleys to move a ship, how he figured out that the king's crown was not pure gold, and his invention of more advanced weaponry to protect his city.This story of Galen was not quite as engaging or memorable, or perhaps it's just because I had higher expectations at this point? All I remember from the story after reading it several days ago is that Galen was an amazing physician, an authority for many centuries, and all the ways ancient medicine was wrong (four humors, how the left and right chambers of the heart were connected, etc). Perhaps it's because medicine was less accessible to Galen than physics was to Archimedes - but I didn't enjoy this book as much as Archimedes.

Wonderful book with great information about Galen's life, and his contribution to the study of medicine. Recommended to anyone interested in the evolution of medical practices.

We have thoroughly enjoyed this and many other of the Living History Library books as part of our Charlotte Mason homeschool. Can't recommend them enough!

We love all her books. We use them along with our homeschooling curriculum. Great for a quick read-a-loud or easy for preteens to read alone.

This is a wonderful tribute to ancient medicine, with Galen as the central figure, who as a Greek and Roman physician tries to break the bonds of ritualistic medicine and present to his students through forensic reasoning, how the human body worked; his experience with gladiator wounds led to his more modern view of medicine at a time when there was no X-Rays, wonder drugs, M.R.I.'s,, thus he used reasoning and his I.Q. to repair bones, close wounds, with honey...honey breaks down into hydrogen peroxide. Great book, easy to read, and if you love medicine, it will astound the current physician with Galen's understanding of clean water and good sanitation.

I had my 12 year son read this book for ancient world history because he loved the Archimedes book. He said it was an interesting, but sometimes boring historical read. He believes it was written for older students who are more familiar with scientific and biological terms. That is why he would rate it 4 stars.

Well worth a read to fill out the background of medical treatment, especially manual therapy. Galen learnt the hard way - treating gladiators!

A good straight forward book suitable for adults and children alike. Forms the basis of further research into medical history.

Excellent read for children

Excellent -- what an in-depth little tome. Very pleased.

I enjoyed the clear style of writing and charming illustrations but as a Classicist I noticed at least half a dozen errors. For example "strigil" is misspelled "stirgil" and Boethus has no "i". Galen never charged his patients though he did have occasional rich patrons. Gladiators did not fight animals in the arena; that was the specialised job of bestiarii or beast fighters. I enjoyed the summary at the end, so all in all worth a read if you correct the small errors.