★ 09/15/2018The Big Necessity ), who does an excellent job with the topic, but with the economic and social injustices surrounding blood; injustices that have a particularly high impact on women. Chapters on AIDS in South Africa and how it disproportionately affects young girls and menstruation taboos in Nepal are discouraging, but what is truly rage inducing is the evidence of how little research time and money goes to "women's issues" such as menstruation and PMS, especially in comparison to funds spent on erectile dysfunction. Other chapters focus on comparatively mild topics including blood donation and leeches. There are some disheartening statistics about how poor people are often exploited for their blood and how big pharma profits from freely given (or paid) donations. Regrettably, there is no call to action, though it does end on a hopeful note. VERDICT Recommended for nonexperts curious about their own bodies and blood as commodity in the world economy.—Cate Schneiderman, Emerson Coll., Boston
I will read anything George writes. I decided this a decade ago, after avidly consuming her book The Big Necessity …[which] demonstrated the qualities George brings to everything she writes: a no-nonsense briskness on the page; a forensic zeal; a potent moral sensibility. She's a nimble writer, one who walks in fear of euphemism or pretension. There are no peacock displays of pointless erudition in her work; no recondite allusions are dragged in. She rips open her topics as if they were bags of chips…"There's so much goop inside of us, man, and it all wants to get out," Denis Johnson wrote in Jesus' Son. George covers the planet and considers many aspects of blood and its spillage, and her English phlegm never falters.
The New York Times - Dwight Garner
08/13/2018
A very good book... George brings to everything she writes a no-nonsense briskness on the page; a forensic zeal; a potent moral sensibility. She’s a nimble writer, one who walks in fear of euphemism or pretension. There are no peacock displays of pointless erudition in her work; no recondite allusions are dragged in.”—The New York Times —The Guardian —Mary Roach, author of Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War “Stellar... An informative, elegant, and provocative exploration of the life-giving substance... A wondrously well-written work.”—Booklist (starred review)—Kirkus (starred review)—Publishers Weekly Nine Pints reflects George’s experience, personal investment, and broad attention to the historical, political, social, biological, and moral aspects of blood.... The book... overflows with telling examples – some fantastic, some uncanny, all informative about the sanguinary fluid.”—Science Nine Pints is a compelling chronicle, displaying an engaging prose style as well as moments of righteous indignation.”— The Wall Street Journal — Nature — The New Yorker — Science News Nine Pints is a cut above.— The Bookworm — New York Journal of Books
★ 2018-08-13
Engrossing secrets of the sanguine.
British journalist George (Ninety Percent of Everything: Inside Shipping, the Invisible Industry that Puts Clothes on Your Back, Gas in Your Car, and Food on Your Plate , 2013, etc.) astutely probes the historical uses, misconceptions, taboos, and personal and professional value of human blood, "a medicine, a lifesaver, and a commodity that is dearer than oil." In a text that is both fascinating and informative, the author explores blood-borne disorders, medical uses, benefits, detriments, and wonders. An intriguing tour of the largest European blood donation facility reveals the cooled, pressurized environment that keeps stored plasma dust and insect-free—though not unbiased, since England's National Health Service enacted its "male donor preference" in 2003 after the rejection of female blood donations due to their hormone-heavy chemistry. George also profiles the thriving volunteer fleet of "blood bikers" delivering blood (and other essential bodily fluids) to health care centers around the clock. She writes that the worldwide shortage of this precious resource is as real as medical science's inability to comprehend and successfully replicate it, although the research supporting synthetic blood sounds promising. The author also highlights the importance of exsanguination via hermaphroditic leeches and the pioneering legacy of hematological researcher Janet Vaughan. Particularly gripping are chapters featuring interviews with HIV-positive South African youth and sections thoughtfully detailing the evolution and "intent and cunning" resilience of the HIV virus, which virologists describe with awe and dread simultaneously. George vividly presents sections on the demonization of menstruation and the anomaly of "fake menstruating men" alongside notes on "blood rejuvenation" and a clever interview with India's "Menstrual Man," who risked his marriage and reputation to radically revolutionize the sanitary pad industry in his native land and beyond. The author packs her book with the kinds of provocative, witty, and rigorously reported facts and stories sure to make readers view the integral fluid coursing through our veins in a whole new way.
An intensive, humanistic examination of blood in all its dazzling forms and functions.
