The Knife Man. The Extraordinary Life and Times of John Hunter, Father of Modern Surgery: Amazon.co.uk: Wendy Moore: Books

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Review

Praise for "the Knife Man":
" The surgeon John Hunter (1728- 93) is not a well-known name outside specialist circles, although that scandalous situation should be corrected by Wendy Moore's marvelous biography." -- "The Times Higher"
" Definitely not for the squeamish, Moore's visceral portrait of this complex and brilliant man offers a wonderful insight into sickness, suffering, and surgery in the 18th century." -- "The Guardian (UK)"
" Moore's feel for pace and narrative is impeccable. Her book contains just the right amount of background scenery to bring Hunter alive without swamping him.... She is, at last, the biographer Hunter deserves." -- "The Independent"

JAMES LE FANU, Literary Review

'Always vivid and entertaining...The Knife Man leaves one entranced with Moore's hero and the age in which he lived.'

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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews

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4.8 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Brilliant and Detailed Biography of the British Vesalius, 6 Jun 2006

By

Joan H. Hammond "joanius" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Knife Man. The Extraordinary Life and Times of John Hunter, Father of Modern Surgery (Hardcover)

When John Hunter was born in 1728, medicine and surgery was still in a dark age riven with ancient beliefs, an unwillingness to accept proven discoveries and an even great unwillingness to change.

John Hunter, by sheer hard work and dedication opened up the human body as no surgeon or anatomist had done for over 150 years, and people looked, listened and many learned. His influence on his students would see great names in surgery such as John Abernethy and Percival Pott, who, in their own right, took Hunter's teaching and practice into the operating theatres of Britain. This was the beginning of a new dawn for surgery, anatomy and science.

Wendy Moore has created a masterpiece for historians of medicine and science, as this book has been sourced from many primary sources, which she has brought together to provide a readable, if somewhat gruesome account of John Hunter, who by all accounts has to be the British Vesalius.

Although books on the history of medicine come and go, Knife Man will be up there with the front runners. This book will be an excellent and informative read for students of the history of medicine, doctors, surgeons and those with a fascination for the medical past. It is very reasonably priced and deserves every one of the five stars I have awarded.

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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Book, 5 Dec 2006

By

Anistitis "Sleep Doc" (Staffordshire) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Knife Man: Blood, Body-snatching and the Birth of Modern Surgery (Paperback)

The Hunter brothers are a complete breed of their own. It amazes me to see how far we have progressed on in both science and medicine. Certainly, ethical issues were raised then but played less than a major role then compared to now!

Wendy Moore has written a brilliant book which has been very well researched. I am very impressed with the way she has written the book. She has manage to take you through the 17th century explaining what the present society is like, what the Hunter brothers achieved, done and given to the world, the elite medical society and the customers it serves. It explains very well the many significant symbols and discoveries in modern medicine and how science and medicine (or the medical professionals) will do anything both in quest of knowledge and to achieve name and glory. The book is not dull at all as it takes you through to the life of John Hunter during his childhood, his adolescent and adulthood. She also involves those surrounding him and explains each of their role, to whom their life is related to him or stood independently. She talks about the squabbles and the disagreement between members of the medical professionals and the competitiveness felt between them during that era.

It is not for the faint-hearted as there are descriptions of body parts (described brilliantly - it makes your stomach churned!) and how they are dismembered and obtained, in the name of science.

I do recommend this book. A visit to the Hunterian Museum at Glasgow University should be followed up upon completion of this book to give a better appreciation of the things described. There is an original copy of the Gravid Uterus based I think at Glasgow University Library. Certainly you can still see the plaster casts of the stages in pregnancy at the Anatomy Museum based also at Glasgow University.

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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Read, 8 Jun 2008

By

Ibrahim Ali (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Knife Man: Blood, Body-snatching and the Birth of Modern Surgery (Paperback)

This is an excellent biography of John Hunter, one of the most famous surgeons to ever have lived. The author is an expert writer and whilst it can be a cliché to speak of history reading like fiction that certainly is the case in this book. We map the progress of his life and the discoveries he makes within the field of medicine and science. Most of the science is wonderfully explained so that even most lay reader will be able to appreciate the discoveries. The sinister side is not left out either, whilst Hunter may have been a medical genius it is certain that he engaged in less praiseworthy activities such as robbing bodies from graves. Hunter's personal details are given here also, we see his upbringing, his marriage and his feuds with his brother. We see also of his successes, the pupils he inspired include Edward Jenner who developed the smallpox inoculation, Abernethy who founded the medical school at Bart's and Blizzard who founded one on the Royal London. But it wasn't only doctors that became Hunter's pupil, both Adam Smith and Edward Gibbon were pupils of his anatomy school. This is an extraordinary story of an extraordinary man whose legacy is still with us today.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful
A superbly written, superbly researched biography. Wendy Moore places her subject beautifully within his 18th century context and describes contemporary surgery with eye-opening... Read more

Published 6 months ago by L I Fix