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Maybe someday
39
/100
I Index Overall Rating
Readers
39/100Critics
40/100Scholars
Author:
Ira Rutkow
Publisher:
Scribner
Date:
March 8, 2022
In America, tens-of-millions of major surgical procedures are performed annually but few of us pause to consider the magnitude of these figures because we have such inherent confidence in surgeons. And, despite passionate debates about healthcare and the endless fascination with surgical procedures, most of us have no idea how surgeons came to be because the story of surgery has never been fully told. From a surgeon and historian comes a history of surgery's developmentâspanning the Stone Age to the present day.
What The Reviewers Say
As Rutkow writes, the emergence of surgery from its barbaric past rested on four pillars — the understanding of anatomy, the control of bleeding, anesthesia and antisepsis. The story, however, is not one of steady, rational progress.
Ira Rutkow’s Empire of the Scalpel: The History of Surgery romps through the field’s development from rude 'sawbones' trade to meticulous professional discipline. Rutkow has a raconteur’s touch, and he is especially good on the rugged, difficult, obstinate characters that propelled the field’s advance during a heroic age of medicine.
Rutkow’s history links surgical advances to concurrent social and scientific developments.
Rutkow, who has written multiple books about surgery, offers both useful historical context and deserved recognition to the key figures.
