Doctors: The Biography of Medicine

I teach the history of medicine and anatomy at a U.S. medical school and I spend a lot of time reviewing the available books so that I can sharpen up my lectures. I'm not going to claim that medical history is the most electrifying topic for first-year medical students, but when it is presented properly it can be very engaging. This is exactly what Dr. Nuland has done with this book.Doctors is a well-organized and readable text and Dr. Nuland has done a great deal of research but more importantly, he has obviously practiced how to deliver the stories in a way that is suspenseful and satisfying. He starts chronologically and moves from Hippocrates, through Andreas Vesalius, William Harvey, Rudolph Virchow, Helen Taussig, describing the individuals responsible for the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of the history of medical practice as we see it today.His narrative relates strictly to the history of Western medicine and the influences that have shaped it. He does not go into any details regarding Eastern medicine or other medical practices since this is not directly related to the main theme of the book. The only topic I wish he had spent more time covering was the Islamic physicians of the middle ages. Western medicine (along with all the sciences) were maintained at a high level in the Muslim societies of the middle ages before passing into the newly-founded European Universities.By following the history of medicine through the persons (and extreme personalities) that influenced it, Dr. Nuland is able to educate and entertain. I have listened repeatedly to the lectures that he has produced with the Teaching Company and it is nice to know that he writes as well as he speaks. I have reviewed other books on the topic but so far this is my undisputed favorite.

Nuland does a fine job of linking the crucial developments in medical history through a close examination of the doctors who made them possible. Unlike "How We Die," this book doesn't delve so much into the technical aspects of the medical discoveries as it does paint a rich picture of the intellectual and moral environment from which they emerged. The focus is on the men and women who were the true innovators and independent thinkers of their time.Occasionally, Nuland's enthusiasm for his topic leads him on some unnecessary tangents in covering some of the less interesting details of his subjects, but he invariably gets back on track in time to connect the reader to the next medical advancement. My only disappointment is that I wish he spent more time explaining in depth the technical aspects of the discoveries, which he is brilliant at in translating for the layman, and less time investigating the trivial quirks of his subjects. However, in his defense, the subtitle does make it clear that it is a "biography," and an overall good one at that.

Really enjoyed the book. It goes through much of the history of medicine with each chapter focusing on a famous physician-scientist who profoundly changed medicine as we practice it today. A few of the chapters cover more than one person such as the 'discovery' / first implementation of anesthesia in surgery. I will say that Dr Nuland is a surgeon and there is a little bit of a bias towards surgical advances in medicine but others are still represented. But, for example, it's Halsted that has a chapter in the book and not Osler. I'm going into surgery so this was a plus for me--and you will still learn a lot of other stuff about medicine from this book--but you may not like that if you're looking for more internal medicine type things. My only real complaint is that the book may go into too much detail. Dr Nuland does a phenomenal job of detailing many of these individuals personal lives. Personally I would have preferred slightly shorter chapters but more of them teaching me about other great discoveries and discoverers that I wasn't familiar with. However what you get is good. Well researched, well written, and you absolutely don't have to have any real medical knowledge to appreciate this book and understand it. I would certainly recommend.

This is a very well written book especially if the sciences, history or medicine is not your strong suite. Mr. Nuland took a potentially boring subject (what history subject isn't?) and has made it very interesting to read.I like math, but in school and college, I never did well with subjects that related to history and especially with science. I don't even read that much. However, I could not put this book down. I liked it so much, I have read it 3 times. It is a very enriching book. Thanks Mr. Nuland for restoring my confidence in being able to comprehend subjects that deal with medicine and history! My wish list is for Mr. Nuland to put this out on audio cassette.Thomas Jue

This book chronicals several discoveries by doctors throughout the last two thousand years that changed the course and direction of medicine. The author is a doctor obviously very interested in the history of medicine. His writing style is not a succinct description of the doctor and discovery in question; instead he makes the events into an illustration of his theory about how and why it changed medical history. I think some people would find his style dull, but as one reads, his choice of doctors and discoveries builds a clearer and clearer understanding of how medicine has reached the level of excellence that it has. That story is gripping by itself if you're fascinated by history. In the end the reader gains a real appreciation for the tortuous twists and turns that medicine has gone through. How lucky we are to live at this time!

I didn't think I would like this type of book. It is very informative and a somewhat different read than what I am used to reading. The author is very well informed and I would suggest this book to anyone interested in medicine.

Must read book for those who enjoy the history of medicine. Nuland manages to tell fascinating stories of great medical advances in readable brief stories.

Paperback book. Material is what it is but print is too small if you are over 35 yrs old.

pretty good

Um apanhado geral da história da medicina, ideal para quem quer relembrar ou conhecer pela primeira vez. 3 2 1