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Digging Up the Dead: Uncovering the Life and Times of an Extraordinary Surgeon
 
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Digging Up the Dead: Uncovering the Life and Times of an Extraordinary Surgeon (Hardcover)

by Druin Burch (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
RRP: £20.00
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Chatto & Windus; First Edition edition (1 Mar 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0701179856
  • ISBN-13: 978-0701179854
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.2 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 270,906 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

BBC Focus

'A fascinating insight into medical history and a real taste of
life at that time'


New Statesman

'an ambitious and convincing attempt to bring back to life the man
who was responsible for so many less respectable acts of resurrection'
See all Product Description

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding !, 22 Aug 2007
By Mr. C. Alexandrou (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Druin Burch's exposition on the life and times of the world famous surgeon Astley Cooper is not only a brilliantly researched and written medical biography but also an exceptional biography full stop, as well as a great read.

He outlines the life of an extraordinary person, and manages to draw the reader in to not only the details of his life, but also the feelings he must have felt as he pioneered the types of basic surgery we take for granted. Exposing a fair bit of himself in the process, Burch has written a book that is easily readable by laypeople and gives an insight into traditional surgery - raw, unadulterated and with no anaesthetic !

For those interested in life in 17th and 18th century England, the book does not disappoint and Burch does a great job in recreating the sights and smells of the era.

All in all, well worth a read and an exciting book for a first time author.
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Definate 'Must Read' for all Medical Historians, 31 May 2007
Druin Burch has opened up the doors of the 18th century dead house, lifted the lid on the coffins and takes the reader inside the mind of Astley Cooper's incredible life during a period of vast social, scientific and political changes. Burch does not attempt to dumb down Cooper's world, and uses it as a framework to provide the reader with a detailed insight of what being a physician and/or surgeon was all about. For medical historians, this is a must-read, and one you will not want to leave alone. Succinctly put, this publication is an education in itself and very well worth the 5 stars I have awarded.
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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional Biography, 7 Jun 2007
I have no medical training whatsoever, must confess that I had not heard of Sir Astley Cooper and am bordering on the unneccessarily squeamish in medical matters, yet I found this to be a thoroughly engaging, well written and unusually well-informed biography which held my attention from beginning to end.

Being a doctor and experienced in A&E has given Druin Burch an unique position from which to write about and review the life of a surgeon of two centuries ago. The juxtaposition of modern-day gore in the life of an hospital doctor with the frightening world of the surgeon (and in particular the patient) of the early nineteenth century could so easily have jarred but Burch works the two together seamlessly throughout the book and they help each other enormously.

It also contains easily the most revolting pair of sentences I have ever read together in any work.

Very difficult to believe that this is the first book from the author. Impossible to believe that it will be the last.
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