Customer Reviews

Into the Unknown: The Remarkable Life of Hans Kraus

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I am Hans Kraus's brother. I am proud that Hans's life and accomplishments have been documented, but it is unfortunate that the task was undertaken by someone who valued dimestore psychoanalysis over facts.

Despite taking approximately ten years to prepare this book, and making many statements during that period that it was almost finished, Ms. Schwartz finally completed her book last summer and rushed to publication without giving me an opportunity to review her work and offer constructive criticism. Subsequently, receiving my comments, post-publication, she has disregarded
them.

Readers who are interested in a rundown of the inaccuracies, both intentional and inadvertent, please see http://users.rcn.com/peregrino/Kraus/

Honestly, I'm not much into the climbing scene, but was pleasantly surprised by this very approachable and colorful biography of Hans Kraus. The writer's smooth and bold style complements the adventures of the subject, and does a clever job at crafting this great American story into a great American biography.

I suspect 'Into the Unknown' will have a broad appeal and success with climbers and non-climbers alike.

Book: "Into the Unknown, The Remarkable Life of Hans Kraus" by Susan Schwartz
copyright 2005

This book is a must read for any bodyworker, physical therapist, orthopedic doctor or mountain climber. Dr. Hans Kraus was a pioneer mountain climber and pioneer bodyworker who is one of our most unknown and unsung twentieth century heroes. He rejected our commonly accepted treatments for musculoskelatal conditions of drugs and surgery for hands on bodywork and exercise. Time Magazine listed him as one of the prominent medical pioneers along with Dr. Salk of the polio vaccine and Edward Jenner of the smallpox vaccine. His contribution to health research was simple and easy. It was bodywork and exercise. He became the Back Doctor to President John Kennedy. When Janet Travell was promoting her trigger point theories she was giving Kennedy trigger point injections with procaine and lidocaine. Kennedy had had two failed back surgeries and this was kept secret. When Travell's treatment stopped working, Hans Kraus was called in. He began doing trigger point injections of saline solution only with big needles. Very similar to what we do with elbows and knuckles. Then he did bodywork, massage and began an exercise program. Kennedy said this was the most benefical program he had ever done. And Kraus had to sign a confidentiality agreement so the press did not find out how injured Kennedy was. The anecdotes in this book are remarkable and professionally notated. Hans noted that Kennedy's back pain got worse when he was home with his wife and mother. He seemed to be able to handle averting World War Three easier than dealing with his family. This is of interest to the Hellerworkers and others trained in dialogue.
Some of you may remember the Presidential Fitness Program of Kennedy's. This was inspired by Hans Kraus.
Hans Kraus also put together a series of 6 postural muscle tests that he claimed would predict back pain incidents. These simple exercises could be used as part of a physical exam in just the same way that we do blood tests to predict health conditions. If a person could not touch their toes or hold a sit up for 10 seconds then exercises were prescribed to correct this situation. Hans attempted to get these included in the public school system of New York. The resistance won out. I'll bet the insurance companies today would love to have access to this kind of testing and study. We (Hellerwork) could be the ones to promote this.
Hans also has some very good techinques for not immobilising, casting or splinting broken or sprained bones. He said and practiced that muscle work and movement was much more efficient to repairing broken bones and sprains.
The book is an easy read, fun and professionally annotated with a complete bibliography.
I got reinspired to our work (Hellerwork) and am looking forward to some current research projects we could in this area.
The book is available in soft or hard cover from Amazon.
Enjoy.

Dr. Jim Dohn

What a life Doctor Hans Kraus lived. His climbing and medical accomplishments are amazing and Schwartz has given us a wonderful look into his life. If you are a climber, have back pain, enjoy presidential history, or love a great story you need to read this book.

Schwartz has done a fine thing recording this remarkable life. This is a great read for anyone who appreciates the unsung hero. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in biography, the outdoors, and good health.

A great read that I had trouble putting down. I expected, and got, a biography covering a great early American climber with a writing style that made the climbing come alive as a bold adventure. I had not expected the medical and fitness message that was Kraus' life work off the rock. This is a very important book for people who have back pain. And then the Kennedy connection was a fascinating story on its own.

Recommended by a friend who is a body worker (massage therapist), I am also a climber and body worker so this really keeps my attention on all levels. Easy reading.

I was so pleased to see that Dr. Kraus's biography had been published, I bought this book last year, read it in three days and truly enjoyed it. A mix of history, medicine and the joys and dangers of climbing mountains. A lovely account of a memorable, inspiring personality, whose name lives on thanks to his innovative ideas in the medical field and the thousands he cured, including President Kennedy, all the way through his beloved family and friends and, of course, his beloved mountains.

I looked into the points raised by Mr. Franz Kraus, Dr. Kraus's younger brother, as reported in his own review and found them interesting. I felt that, coming from such a close family member, it was only fair to print them and add them to my own copy of the book, to give it a sense of completeness which at first sight did not seem to lack upon finishing the book, however his comments made me think twice about a few facts/details not accurately reported by the author.

In any case, I feel that the missing/incorrect details didn't tarnish the essence of this book and I truly think it is a must-read. Historically and medically interesting, it's also an inspiring, beautiful read, for all of you out there who love the mountains. Enjoy!

"Into the Unknown" is a compelling read for both the casual reader and for anyone interested in modern presidential history. As a biography of a fascinating character, it is difficult to put down. More significantly it is a 'must' for anyone interested in unravelling the mysteries of President Kennedy's health and the conflicts amongst the crowd of doctors who treated him.

I felt like I was reading an essay someone wrote in the eleventh grade. The story of Hans and his life seemed interesting, but the writing was so poor, it was a struggle to read the entire book. Too bad!