Customer Reviews

Mavericks, Miracles, and Medicine: The Pioneers Who Risked Their Lives to Bring Medicine into the Modern Age

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Washing one's hands was a revolutionary idea back in sick houses in the 1840's...was it really too much trouble to keep one's hands spiffed up while delivering babies? This book explores many medical marvels taken for granted; such as the discovery of the x-ray, and how kidney transplantation evolved. It is told in a way that facinates. Who would be brave enough to innoculate one's own child against smallpox way back when such a thought could result in inprisonment? Yet, these brilliant medical amatuers dared to venture into areas that placed them in a most unflattering light. These smart people were true mavericks; a type of individual who was smart enough to see past medical tradition and look into logical realities in medicine. They were crazy and tenacious enough to hold onto these ideas while everyone else took their sweet time catching up to their revolutionary ideas. Author, Julie Fenster did alot of research into germ theory and the art of medicine. Much thinking is inspired while one contemplates -- where did our modern surgeries come from? This book explores the major discoveries of our modern, western medicine and it also dares to implore those blessed with scientific minds to keep pushing ahead with ideas that may be with held within logical day dreams. I enjoyed the science behind this book because it was written with alot of heart. I think any enterprenour would enjoy this book; all 281 pages of it. Oh yes, and a small word about animal experimentation -- the necesariness of it versus the evils of it are explained as well. Plan on taking your time reading this; contemplation of one's medical practice may be an interesting side effect; (not an adverse reaction, but a positive force indeed.) Good reading!

Risk-takers and rebels, they frequently challenged conventional wisdom and stirred firestorms of controversy. Some were ridiculed, even reviled, in their own time. Yet these same people made some of history's greatest medical discoveries, changed the path of medicine, and opened up the prospect for further lifesaving advances.

A unique journey through some of the greatest moments in the history of medicine, MAVERICKS, MIRACLES & MEDICINE tells the stories of how these remarkable individuals made their discoveries often while facing daunting challenges.

I really went through this book fast. It took me maybe three days to get through and would have taken less if I could have taken the whole day to read the book. I had read some books before on some of the people mentioned in this book, but even so, this book and history gave new insights into the men (and women) discussed who added to our knowledge of medicine. Most of the men involved took ideas or theories, and ran with them even when they were vastly unpopular. Many times they paid for their ideas by being cast out of the medical community...Semelweis who promoted handwashing in the mid-1800's was laughed out of Vienna, Austria. Other men put their own lives at risk by trying new techniques on themselves (the thought of threading anything through your veins to take a picture of your heart is pretty hairy)...

This book was very much along the lines of the great programs you see on the History Channel which I consider a high compliment because I love that channel. I will probably take a close look at any other books recommended to me that are from this resource if they are as well written as this book was.