A bit of a difficult read due to the style and writing. That being said, if you can get past that, this novel a treasure trove of interesting information. As a surgical nurse, I found most of the topics covered fascinating and had personal interest in them. It is so interesting to see where we have come from versus where we are now. The author doesn’t skimp out on any of the details either.
While some may take issue with the dry writing and graphic text, it was a interesting and educating read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book.
I found some of the stories in this book really interesting, some not so much! But overall, a good read if you like medicine and history!

Under the Knife: The History of Surgery in 28 Remarkable Operations by Arnold Van de Laar showed up in a search for new books on Netgalley and the blurb grabbed me.

In the history of medicine, surgery has not always been the hot ticket residency position we currently see in shows like Grey’s Anatomy or whatnot. In fact, it was considered a specialty that doctors ran from, and certain surgeries weren’t even classified as such in order to avoid correlating the knife with the huge risk of death. It wasn’t until, for example, cleanliness improved and a surgeon realized he could cut out his own bladder stone a different way and not bleed out that the diagnosis began releasing pain in so many afflicted. As sanitation increased tremendously and medicine improved, surgery has taken on a life of its own, and it has both saved and ended lives. This historical look at 28 operations that defined the field will change the way you see the process.

This book is incredibly interesting, drawing on so much history both medical and not. It covers a range of historical figures and what happened to them — popes, European royalty, American politicians — and analyzes what happened, why, and how it could have been different if we knew then what we know now. This book can be incredibly detailed at times, and informative albeit clinical. I love the interweaving of historical figures and the surgeries that saved them, or just could have, and I took a good chunk of information away from this, including the technicality of death via gunshot. (Want to know what that is? Pick up the book!)

This book was very interesting, and I learned some new facts. Some parts seemed superfluous, such as too much elaboration of a particular example.

have read many medical history books before but none of them were as gruesomely interesting as this one. The juxtaposition of the gory surgeries and the dry writing makes for an excellent read. So many different surgeries are discussed in this book, it seems, that there should be something for everyone. If you are a fan of spurting blood, swollen intestines, gangrene, and reading about a man performing surgery on himself without anesthesia, then this book is definitely for you. If you are the squeamish type, stop reading immediately and find something else.

Each one of the 28 chapters discusses a different type of surgery, complete with history and famous examples. Some of the people van de Laar writes about are JFK, Bob Marley, Lenin, and Napoleon. I can honestly say that I learned multiple new facts in each chapter. This, plus the straight-up medical language (that may be incomprehensible to most people) made this book a winner for me. I have a medical background so this was an easy read, but I can see most people trying to figure out some of the jargon and getting discouraged. The author does provide many explanations and word sources (such as Latin or Italian) as well as a glossary at the end, but there is also a good deal of medical verbiage. The chapter also brings us into the present time, and how this surgery is performed using clean instruments and updated techniques.

As I mentioned before, the gore factor is extremely high. I don’t recall ever experiencing this level of detail, even in books containing Hannibal Lecter. A simple sentence telling us that the Sun King only bathed once or twice in his lifetime, and generously opened a window so a visitor could have fresh air speaks volumes. Can’t you just smell the stench from here?!?

There are also chapters on eunuchs, ancient Rome, and bloodletting. The detail in which van de Laar describes each procedure is magnificent. Facts just keep unrolling on the page, with minimal asides for the human detail found in so many other books written by doctors (such as Sandeep Jauhar or Atul Gawande). The book is nearly devoid of emotion; there are only procedures and facts.

I absolutely loved this book. I also may never be able to get some of the gory images out of my mind – but that’s ok.

By showing how far surgery has come from its origins, this book makes one appreciate modern medicine! Past medical procedures are described in all their gory glory, making for a very interesting read. People who faint at the thought of blood will not enjoy it, of course, but those with an interest in history or medicine will find it fascinating. And after we finish laughing at how terrible medicine used to be, we should reflect on how future doctors will think of our current state of medicine as primitive by their standards.

An interesting mix of personal biographies as well as one of the surgical field. Some stories were familiar but others were new to me. I felt chapters of the appropriate length to provide information without getting too lost in the weeds as well as explaining unfamiliar terms. Some injuries seemed overly detailed as if the author were trying to get a reaction out of a live audience. Surprised at significant use of the second person.

People often ask me if I would like to go back in time. What, to plagues and endless physical suffering? Not on your life. Let's not forget bodies and underclothing laden with stench and bacteria; lack of clean water, rotten teeth, having blood drained out of you as a "cure," and maybe even the possibility of do-it-yourself surgery as the only hope to end your suffering.

Gangrene? No problem! Saw off the afflicted member. Bladder stone as big as a golf ball? Cut it out yourself! Anesthesia and antibiotics had not yet been invented, so enlist the help of four or so people to hold you down during the procedure. You should be so lucky as to pass out.

I'll leave the anal fistula section for you to read at your leisure. I'll provide no spoilers here. You're welcome!

Yes, truly cringe-worthy accounts of the practice of medicine. But the author added a sense of humor, and the amount of research done to complete this work was impressive, providing a fascinating look at the progression of medical knowledge and treatment breakthroughs. We no doubt owe a great deal of thanks to our suffering (and often desperate) ancestors..

While a bit squirm-inducing at times, it is an enjoyable and educational read.

Although a little technical at times, I thought this was a great read and gave a really good look at the human body and some of the procedures that it undergoes! I definitely will reccommend this to my students as an option for their book review assignment

historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture, medical, languages, nonfiction

After getting into this book I started wondering who would find it more useful: Nurses who are usually tasked with interpreting medicalese to patients and family? Doctors who want to explain the why and what to patients so that they can participate in their treatment and recovery? Patients and family who want to know but don't know what to ask? Historians both professional and non professional? The book pretty much told me that the answer was ALL OF THEM.
The next question probably should have been Who would choose to read it, but since I am an RN and so most of my friends and all of my family speak medicalese and appreciate history, I really have no idea.
But the answer to Who would benefit from reading it is extremely easy. EVERYONE, including preteens and teens who would really enjoy any gory details (and learn something without being aware of it).
The publisher's blurb gives some idea of what's inside, but I honestly recommend this book for anyone who has a 6 or 7th grade command of the English language. Not that it is written at that level, but because that is the minimum for understanding and/or knowing how to look up what is poorly understood.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St Martin's Press via NetGalley and have already recommended it to my family members.

For two reasons, i was unable to finish this book. Most importantly was the quality of the writing. It reads very much like a high school science report, including liberal use of the second person singular (eg: “, All you need is something sharp,...”) which, IMHO, is unacceptable in published non-fiction writing.

Second, descriptions of wounds and procedures were, i thought, gratuitously graphic. I was expecting some graphic descriptions from a book about surgeries, but there are tasteful, professional ways to depict surgical situations without deliberately attempting to gross out the reader.

I have read other medical/science authors whose written tratment of their subjects was professional and informative, even entertaining (paul kalanithi, abraham verghese, atul gawande, mary roach, et al). This author may be a fine surgeon, but he’s not a good writer. I found this book to be unreadable.

I really love reading medical non-fiction so this book was right up my alley. I used to read medical records for my job so I have read a lot of operative reports for various orthopedic and neurological procedures, not that that makes me a doctor. I also loved the tv show The Knick, which this book also reminded me of, except the book covered the entirety of human history, not just the early 1900s. This book was packed with so much medical information, including the reasons for many medical terms that were so obvious it made me laugh. I kept telling my husband about the new things I was learning; the different kinds of gangrene, the reason men were castrated, how they did it, the history of appendicitis. My favorite parts of the book were the details about the health problems and surgeries of royalty, most of which were completely unsuccessful. While it may seem that this book should read like a textbook, I can say it definitely did not. One thing I would’ve liked the author to delve into would’ve been the history of cesarean sections, since that is the one surgery I myself have undergone.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and found the depth of this author’s research astounding.

*thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!*

Well done Arnold van de Laar! This book, Under the Knife, is a well written book that is very beautiful about something very important to the survival of everyone; that is surgery. It may make you wince and you might feel a bit squeamish but this book is well worth the read giving us a very expansive view of what surgery is and how it came to be what it is today. I would highly recommend this book.

You had me at "cut a stone out of his own bladder". Can you imagine?

I'm the type of person that, if something is mentioned in passing, that I medically have no knowledge of, I will go straight to Google to learn more. I'm also a notorious Web-MD'er, but let's not talk about that. 😸 I love medical knowledge. My mom was a nurse and I married a paramedic so talking about various and sundry medical issues is commonplace for me. While I find the medical field fascinating, I chose not to go into a career in it, simply because I don't think I have the patient interaction skills necessary. That doesn't stop me from wanting to learn.

Under the Knife is filled to the brim with medical knowledge. Each chapter presents a medical condition and gives historical examples. It then supplies you with a medical aside in which it very simply sets out and defines the condition and how it may be treated today.

For example, in the chapter Peritonitis, the author explains the fate of Harry Houdini. Houdini claimed that his abdominal muscles could withstand any blow. On one fateful evening, he took a few of these blows, proving his superhuman ability. The following day, but with no time to see a doctor, because the show must go on, he started feeling under the weather. He was not operated on until three days after the infamous blows to the stomach. During surgery, his abdomen was found to be filled with pus. He was diagnosed with peritonitis, from a ruptured appendix, which due to the lack of antibiotics at the time, eventually caused his death. The author then goes on to define some medical terms and give an explanation of what happens in appendicitis and the resulting peritonitis, including symptoms and diagnosis. He also describes the classic operation for removing the appendix and the history of developing both the knowledge and the surgery that we use today.

I loved this book. I found it fascinating to read about the history of commonplace medical maladies and the resulting treatment that in some cases, we still use today. I was probably very annoying to those around me while reading because I'd have to stop and share some tidbit of information, whether they wanted it or not! Luckily, those around me tend to have the same macabre curiosity as I do. While I do have a basic medical knowledge, maybe more so than the average person, the author sets out the information in a way that makes it easy to understand and not overwhelming in the least. The only drawback that I found is the author doesn't present his information in a logical, linear fashion. I frequently found myself jumping ahead or paging backward to find the corresponding information I wanted before then continuing with the story.

Whether you are in the medical field, or simply are curious about the history of surgery, this is an insightful read.

This book is a detailed look at how various medical conditions were historically treated and how they are treated in present day. This is an interesting and informative read.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This was not my style, I read about half of it and just couldn't get to the finish line.. Its hard to stand out in the genre and this one didn't do it for me. Sorry to say. Theres nothing I enjoy more than finding a new writer

I find medical/surgical histories FASCINATING, and this was no exception. van de Laar has amassed a fantastically entertaining and highly informative collection of tales about the history of surgery that is gruesome, enlightening and educational all at once. There are pull-outs in most of the tales that provide additional insight into medical tools and procedures described in the text. The tone of those explanations - as well as the fuller descriptions of the actual surgeries themselves - provide explanations of complex medico-surgical concepts (both contemporary and historical) that a layman can follow without feeling like they are reading an oversimplification.

If you are interested in the medical field this book may interest you. I had a hard time sticking with it. It didn't grab my attention so I could not complete the book. I hope that other readers will be able to enjoy the medical insight the author gives...obviously very knowledgeable.

If you love reading about anything medical and history, then you will enjoy this book. It contained many fascinating medical procedures on a diverse group of people such as JFK, Pope Paul II, Peter Stuyvesant, Albert Einstein, and Harry Houdini. It was very detailed and well researched.

A detailed history of modern surgery. At this harrowing, at other times humorous, with many real-life anecdotes and interesting facts.