| A Cabinet of Medical Curiosities Contributor(s): Bondeson, Jan (Author), Bondeson, Jan (Preface by) |
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ISBN: 0393318923 ISBN-13: 9780393318920 Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company OUR PRICE: $20.85 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: April 1999 Annotation: In this book of amazing oddities, Bondeson explores unexpected, gruesome, and bizarre aspects of the history of medicine--from stories of spontaneous human combustion to vicious tribes of tailed men to the fame of Julia Pastrana, exhibited around the world as the Ape Woman. Illustrations. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Medical | History - Science | History |
| Dewey: 610 |
| LCCN: 97020749 |
| Physical Information: 0.66" H x 5.93" W x 8.94" (0.83 lbs) 264 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: In this book of amazing oddities, Jan Bondeson explores unexpected, gruesome, and bizarre aspects of the history of medicine. He regales us with stories of spontaneous human combustion; vicious tribes of tailed men; the Two-Headed Boy of Bengal; Mary Toft, who allegedly gave birth to seventeen rabbits; and Julia Pastrana, exhibited around the world as the Ape Woman. Bondeson combines an historian's skill in showing us our timeless fascination with the grotesque with a physician's diagnostic abilities, as he examines the evidence and provides likely explanations for these peculiar events. Fascinating. . . . Well-researched and extensively illustrated with items from [Bondeson's] personal collection, it covers a wide range of medical monstrosities, and there is something for everyone. -- The Lancet Entertaining in the simultaneously creepy and amusing way of a carnival sideshow. . . . Bondeson is quick to acknowledge absurdity, and his wry humor, along with his strong personal judgments, spice up the book. -- Publishers Weekly Bondeson . . . regards his exhibits with a careful scientist's eye, discovering misinterpreted evidence, tragic genetic mutations, and, occasionally, outright fraud. -- Library Journal |
Contributor Bio(s): Bondeson, Jan: - Jan Bondeson, a physician, holds a Ph.D. in experimental medicine and works at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology in London. |