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

by Julie M. Fenster

Book Overview

Mavericks, Miracles, and Medicine brings to life stories of the pioneering geniuses, eccentrics, and freethinkers who moved beyond the conventions of their day at great personal risk - and often with... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786712368
• ISBN13: 9780786712366
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Fabulous!

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.

Medical Pioneers who risked everything to save lives.

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!