Under the Knife: A History of Surgery in 28 Remarkable Operations
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.

What happens during an operation? How does the human body respond to being attacked by a knife, a bacterium, a cancer cell, or a bullet? And, as medical advances continuously push the boundaries of what medicine can cure, what are the limits of surgery?

Written by a surgeon who draws on his own expertise and experience, and filled with stories spanning the dark centuries of bloodletting and amputations without anesthetic through today’s sterile, high-tech operating rooms, Under the Knife is both a rich cultural history and a modern anatomy class for us all.

“Full of startling tales of slicing and stitching.” —Wall Street Journal

“History with a surgeon’s touch: deft, incisive and sometimes excruciatingly bloody . . . fascinating.” —The Sunday Times
1128476799
Under the Knife: A History of Surgery in 28 Remarkable Operations
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.

What happens during an operation? How does the human body respond to being attacked by a knife, a bacterium, a cancer cell, or a bullet? And, as medical advances continuously push the boundaries of what medicine can cure, what are the limits of surgery?

Written by a surgeon who draws on his own expertise and experience, and filled with stories spanning the dark centuries of bloodletting and amputations without anesthetic through today’s sterile, high-tech operating rooms, Under the Knife is both a rich cultural history and a modern anatomy class for us all.

“Full of startling tales of slicing and stitching.” —Wall Street Journal

“History with a surgeon’s touch: deft, incisive and sometimes excruciatingly bloody . . . fascinating.” —The Sunday Times
13.49 In Stock
Under the Knife: A History of Surgery in 28 Remarkable Operations

Under the Knife: A History of Surgery in 28 Remarkable Operations

by Arnold vande Laar
Under the Knife: A History of Surgery in 28 Remarkable Operations

Under the Knife: A History of Surgery in 28 Remarkable Operations

by Arnold vande Laar

eBook

$13.49  $17.99 Save 25% Current price is $13.49, Original price is $17.99. You Save 25%.

Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
WANT A NOOK?  Explore Now

Related collections and offers

LEND ME® See Details

Overview

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.

What happens during an operation? How does the human body respond to being attacked by a knife, a bacterium, a cancer cell, or a bullet? And, as medical advances continuously push the boundaries of what medicine can cure, what are the limits of surgery?

Written by a surgeon who draws on his own expertise and experience, and filled with stories spanning the dark centuries of bloodletting and amputations without anesthetic through today’s sterile, high-tech operating rooms, Under the Knife is both a rich cultural history and a modern anatomy class for us all.

“Full of startling tales of slicing and stitching.” —Wall Street Journal

“History with a surgeon’s touch: deft, incisive and sometimes excruciatingly bloody . . . fascinating.” —The Sunday Times

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781250200099
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date: 10/02/2018
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 368
Sales rank: 27,637
File size: 17 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

ARNOLD VAN DE LAAR is a surgeon in the Slotervaart Hospital in Amsterdam, specializing in laparoscopic surgery. Born in the Dutch town of 's-Hertogenbosch, van de Laar studied medicine at the Belgian University of Leuven before taking his first job as general surgeon on the Caribbean Island of Sint Maarten. He now lives in Amsterdam with his wife and two children where, a true Dutchman, he cycles to work every day. Under the Knife is his first book.

Table of Contents

Introduction - Healing by Hand: Chirurgeons and Surgeons
1. Lithotomy - The Stone of Jan de Doot, Smith of Amsterdam
2. Asphyxia - The Tracheotomy of the Century: President Kennedy
3. Wound Healing - The Royal Prepuce: Abraham and King Louis XVI
4. Shock - The Lady and the Anarchist: Empress Sisi
5. Obesity - Popes: From Peter to Francis
6. Stoma - The Miracle Bullet: Karol Wojtyla
7. Fracture - Dr Democedes and the Greek Method: King Darius
8. Varicose Veins - Lucy and Modern-Day Surgery: Australopithecus afarensis
9. Peritonitis - The Death of an Escape Artist: Harry Houdini
10. Narcosis - L'anaethesie a la reine: Queen Victoria
11. Gangrene - The Battle of Little Bay: Peter Stuyvesant
12. Diagnosis - Doctors and Surgeons: Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes
13. Complications - The Maestro and the Shah: Mohammed Reza Pahlavi
14. Dissemination - Two Musicians and Their Big Toes: Lully and Bob Marley
15. Abdomen - The Romans and Abdominoplasty: Lucius Apronius Caesianus
16. Aneurysm - The Relativity Surgery: Albert Einstein
17. Laparoscopy - Endoscopy and the Minimal Invasive Revolution
18. Castration - The History of a Very Small Operation: Adam, Eve and Farinelli
19. Lung Cancer - Thracotomy at Home: King George VI
20. Placebo - The Fifth Man on the Moon: Alan Shepard
21. Umbilical Hernia - The Miserable Death of a Stout Lady: Queen Caroline
22. Short Stay, Fast Track - Rebels and Revolutions: Bassini and Lichtenstein
23. Mors in tabula - The Limits of Surgery: Lee Harvey Oswald
24. Prosthesis - Une belle epaule de la belle epoque: The Baker Jules Paradox
25. Stroke - The Neck of Vladimir Ilyich Uljanov: Lenin
26. Gastrectomy - Cowboys and Surgeons: Frau Therese Heller
27. Anal Fistula - La Grande Operation: King Louis XIV
28. Electricity - 600 Volts: The Electric Eel at Artis Zoo
Epilogue - The Surgeon of the Future: A Top 10

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews