Showing titles in History & Commentary

The extraordinary story of Katharine McCormick, the feminist pioneer and benefactor who bankrolled the birth of the pill. For over six decades, women have taken the pill more than any other prescribed medicine in the world. Yet the woman who had the foresight and means to fund the pill's...

Velkommen til verdens første systematiske mentale træning – skabt til at frigøre mennesker fra mental fattigdom. I mere end 70 år har vi fået at vide, at samtaleterapi, diagnoser og medicin er løsningen på mentale lidelser. Men hvad nu, hvis de slet ikke er designet til at gøre os...

In the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, a thousand surgeons faced an unprecedented medical catastrophe: 25,000 wounded soldiers needing immediate care with only primitive tools and their own determination to save lives. At Gettysburg's makeshift hospitals—set up in barns, churches, and...

For de fleste er bedøvelse et helt almindeligt begreb, men det er vigtigt, at vi husker det arbejde, der ligger forud for den viden og praksis, vi har i dag. På operationsstuerne drejer det sig dagligt om liv eller død, og heldigvis falder kapløbet ofte ud til patientens fordel takket være...

How Victorian male doctors used false science to argue that women were unfit for anything but motherhoodand the brilliant doctor who defied them. After Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to graduate from medical school, more women demanded a chance to study medicine. Barred entrance to...

In the eighteenth century the first American medical school was established in Philadelphia. Following the model of European universities, anatomical lectures were conducted with cadavers. But where did the bodies come from? Dissection was viewed as a fate worse than death, and the only legal source of "stiffs" was executed criminals. But there were not enough. As the medical profession and its need for "anatomical material" grew, a new, macabre practice emerged: body snatching.

What happens when medicine's reputation for scientific authority exceeds the science behind its practice? Written during a transformative period in American medicine, Medicine is a provocative and fiercely skeptical examination of doctors, medical science, public health, and the rapidly changing...

In the tradition of Susannah Cahalan's Brain on Fire and Hadley Freeman's Good Girls, this is an intimate, deeply researched story of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) by the celebrated Smithsonian editor, memoirist, and essayist. Before I can tell you about the shock treatment, I should tell you...

Unshackled: A Journey Through the History of Mental Health takes listeners on an immersive narrative through the fascinating, often unsettling, evolution of mental health treatment—from medieval superstition and asylums to modern understanding and compassion. Through vivid storytelling and deeply human portraits, this book uncovers the true stories of individuals who shaped—and were shaped by—the changing tides of mental healthcare. Meet Margery Kempe, whose visions blurred madness and sainthood, and Dorothea Dix, whose relentless advocacy transformed mental institutions forever.

The modern history of acupuncture and its enormous popularity in the United States, examining our ever-changing relationship with “alternative” medicine Since acupuncture first burst into the Western popular consciousness in the 1970s,the public has clamored to try it and doctors have...

Trace the gripping medical history of survival, where breakthrough science and fierce conflict cured deadly plagues. Perfect for your daily commute, this awe-inspiring narrative transforms complex biology and ancient healing rituals into an epic, suspenseful journey. From the blood-letting...

Uncover the dramatic medical history and scientific breakthroughs that transformed humanity’s ancient fight for survival. Perfect for an enlightening daily commute, this global journey spans from prehistoric rituals to cutting-edge artificial intelligence. Satisfy your curious mind by...

Step onto the frontlines of humanity's desperate battle against deadly pandemics and witness the birth of modern public health. From ancient healers mixing herbs along the Nile to terrified medieval gravediggers facing the Black Death, this immersive historical nonfiction traces our relentless...

Experience the thrilling medical history of how fatal poisons transformed into lifesaving precision medicine. Perfect for your daily commute, this fascinating narrative nonfiction adventure satisfies curious minds hungry for lifelong learning. Follow the courageous healers, obsessive chemists...

The History of Vaccination: Separating Fact from Fiction examines vaccination's development from eighteenth-century smallpox inoculation through the 1940s consolidation of medical authority. Drawing on primary sources, parliamentary records, and contemporary medical journals, it documents patterns typically absent from institutional accounts: vaccines contaminated with syphilis and tuberculosis, resistance movements whose sanitation-based approaches achieved lower mortality than vaccination, and the economic incentives that shaped public health policy.

The System Doesn’t Sell Health examines why the United States spends more on healthcare than any other nation yet continues to struggle with preventable chronic disease, rising costs, and widespread public frustration. Written in plain language for general readers, the book argues that the current system is designed primarily to diagnose and manage disease after it develops rather than to build health before it is lost.

O cientista e neurologista Oliver Sacks é também um excelente narrador, dono do raro poder de compartilhar com o leitor leigo certos mundos que de outro modo permaneceriam desconhecidos ou restritos aos especialistas. Em O homem que confundiu sua mulher com um chapéu, estamos diante de...

In The Product of Medicine, Caitjan Gainty traces the history of the early twentieth-century medical efficiency movement in the United States, restoring it as a significant driver of medicine’s modernization while also revealing its broader significance as a cultural force shaping modern American life. Covering a range of efficiency’s uses in medicine—from the assembly-line structure of the early Mayo Clinic and Henry Ford Hospital to the landmark Flexner Report and the prosecution of the American Medical Association as a monopoly.

Plunge into the harrowing medical history of maritime survival, where human frailty battles the unforgiving open ocean. Perfect for an absorbing daily commute, this immersive narrative exposes the terrifying reality of falling ill thousands of miles from the nearest port. Discover a brutal era...

Step into the grim, fascinating world of Tudor medical history, where sweet luxuries caused absolute dental devastation. Whether you are seeking witty trivia for your daily commute or an engaging dive into sixteenth-century daily life, this sensory journey transforms the history of a smile into...