"Well written and hard to put down. For anyone with an interest in forensic science, this book is a must-read."--Nigel McCrery, author of Silent Witnesses: The Often Gruesome but Always Fascinating History of Forensic Science "This compilation is a fascinating read for the nonspecialist and will further serve as an inspirational set of recommended readings for the next generation of forensic scientists."--Tim D. White, coauthor of The Human Bone ManualDid Richard ...

How devastating viruses, pandemics, and other natural catastrophes swept through the far-flung Roman Empire and helped to bring down one of the mightiest civilizations of the ancient worldHere is the monumental retelling of one of the most consequential chapters of human history: the fall of the Roman Empire. The Fate of Rome is the first book to examine the catastrophic role that climate change and infectious diseases played in the collapse of Rome’s powe...

Tales of twenty-eight famous operations, from Louis XIV to Einstein, JFK, and Houdini, with "insight into the thought process and philosophy of those who cut to heal" ( Booklist).From the story of the desperate man from seventeenth-century Amsterdam who grimly cut a stone out of his own bladder to Bob Marley's deadly toe, Under the Knife offers a wealth of fascinating and unforgettable insights into medicine and history via the operating room.

“Excellent. . . . Tucker’s chronicle of the world of 17th-century science in London and Paris is fascinating.”—The EconomistIn December 1667, maverick physician Jean Denis transfused calf’s blood into one of Paris’s most notorious madmen. Days later, the madman was dead and Denis was framed for murder. A riveting exposé of the fierce debates, deadly politics, and cutthroat rivalries behind the first transfusion experiments, Blood Work takes us from dissection room...

A fascinating work of detective history, The Black Death traces the causes and far-reaching consequences of this infamous outbreak of plague that spread across the continent of Europe from 1347 to 1351. Drawing on sources as diverse as monastic manuscripts and dendrochronological studies (which measure growth rings in trees), historian Robert S. Gottfried demonstrates how a bacillus transmitted by rat fleas brought on an ecological reign of terror -- killing one European in three,...

An “absolutely magnificent” book (The New Republic)—the fruit of almost two decades of study—that traces the changes in Western attitudes toward death and dying from the earliest Christian times to the present day.A truly landmark study, The Hour of Our Death reveals a pattern of gradually developing evolutionary stages in our perceptions of life in relation to death, each stage representing a virtual redefinition of human nature.Starting ...

This history of the four humours "may excite passions and tempers . . . as a good work of intellectual history should. You will learn a lot from its pages." ( Washington Post).Physicians in ancient Greece believed four humours—blood, phlegm, black bile, and choler—flowed within the human body, determining a person's health, mood, and character. Not until the seventeenth century would a more complex view of the anatomy begin to emerge. But by then humoural t...

In this lively, learned, and wholly engrossing volume, F. González-Crussi presents a brief yet authoritative five-hundred-year history of the science, the philosophy, and the controversies of modern medicine. While this illuminating work mainly explores Western medicine over the past five centuries, González-Crussi also describes how modern medicine’s roots extend to both Greco-Roman antiquity and Eastern medical traditions.Covered here in engaging detail are the birth of anatomy a...

“A magisterial history” (The Guardian) of humanity’s greatest natural disaster—the Black Death—that reveals the true global impact and terrible human cost of this calamity, from the renowned author of The Crusades and The Greatest Knight.“Terrific—and truly terrifying. Thomas Asbridge puts a human face—or rather multiple faces—on the Black Death.”—Eric Cline, author of 1177 B.C.In the mid-fourteenth centu...

Rats, Lice and History by Hans Zinsser is a compelling and unique exploration of the profound, often underestimated, role of infectious diseases, particularly typhus, in shaping human civilisation. Written by a distinguished bacteriologist, this classic work transcends traditional historical narratives by placing the humble rat and its parasitic passenger, the louse, at the centre of momentous historical events. Zinsser masterfully weaves together science, history, philosophy, and personal...

Sweeping across the known world with unchecked devastation, the Black Death claimed between 75 million and 200 million lives in four short years. In this engaging and well-researched book, the trajectory of the plague's march west across Eurasia and the cause of the great pandemic is thoroughly explored.Inside you will read about...✓ What was the Black Death?✓ A Short History of Pandemics✓ Chronology & Trajectory✓ Causes & Pathology

In this small book David Herlihy makes subtle and subversive inquiries that challenge historical thinking about the Black Death. Looking beyond the view of the plague as unmitigated catastrophe, Herlihy finds evidence for its role in the advent of new population controls, the establishment of universities, the spread of Christianity, the dissemination of vernacular cultures, and even the rise of nationalism. This book, which displays a distinguished scholar's masterly synthesis of diverse ...