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Medical Nonfiction that Reads Like Fiction
TIP: Look for more medical nonfiction by searching the library catalog for the subjects Medicine Miscellanea, Medicine Anecdotes, Physicians Biography, or try the keywords health biography .
- Ackerman, Jennifer
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(2007)612 A182s 2007Acclaimed science writer Ackerman lends her keen eye and lively voice to this marvelous exploration of the human body, and reveals the body as its never been seen - as an amazing, rhythmic creature.
- Arem, Arnold
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(2002)617.575 A679i 2002Based on cases from his own practice, Arem tells extraordinary stories of the people he has treated, demonstrating the remarkable relationship between the hand and our human identity.
- Hayes, Bill
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(2005)612.1 H417f 2005From ancient Rome, where gladiators drank the blood of vanquished foes to gain strength and courage, to modern-day laboratories, where machines test blood for diseases and scientists search for elusive cures, Bill Hayes takes us on a whirlwind journey through history, literature, mythology and science by way of the great red river that runs five quarts strong through our bodies. Hayes is the author of The Anatomist : A True Story of Gray's Anatomy and Sleep Demons : An Insomniac's Memoir.
- Jablonski, Nina G.
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(2006)612.79 J11s 2006Skin is our largest and most visible organ. Jablonski talks about skin's structure, functions, evolution and history. She delves into sociological and psychological aspects of skin, such as the importance of touch, our obsession over age-related skin changes, and the ways in which we adorn and decorate our skin.
- Leyner, Mark
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(2005)610 L684w 2005Do microwaves cause cancer? Can I lose my contact lens inside my head forever? Why do I get a killer headache when I suck down my milkshake too fast? This fascinating, silly and factual book by a physician and humorist may answer some of your most curioius questions.
- Morris, Desmond
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(2004)641.3372 M143e 2004A keen observer of all species, Morris takes us on a journey of what he considers the far more advanced and most remarkable organism on the planet.
- Roach, Mary
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(2008)612.6 R628b 2008Roach shows how and why sexual arousal and orgasm can be so hard to achieve and what science is doing to make the bedroom a more satisfying place.
- Shubin, Neil
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(2008)611 S562y 2008An intelligent, exhilarating, and compelling scientific adventure story, one which will change forever how you understand what it means to be human.
- Stein, Elissa
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(2009)612.662 S819f 2009In this hip, funny, and irreverent book, menstruation is explored historically and socially. In full-color, the book not only offers a trove of fascinating information, but presents a pictorial history of this complex, secret, and uniquely female process.
Our bodies
When things go wrong
- Bondeson, Jan
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(1997)610 B711cUnlike the National Enquirer, this illustrated book provides scientific explanations for a variety of medical anomolies. Bondeson is a London-based medical researcher.
- Bown, Stephen R.
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(2004)616.394 B787s 2004An evocative journey back to the era of wooden ships and sails, when the disease infiltrated every aspect of seafaring life. This is a rare mix of compelling history and classic adventure story.
- Colapinto, John
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(2000)305.9066 C683a 2000In 1967, after a baby boy suffered a botched circumcision, his family agreed to a radical treatment. On the advice of a renowned expert in gender identity and sexual reassignment at Johns Hopkins Hospital, the boy was surgically altered to live as a girl. This landmark case, initially reported to be a complete success, seemed all the more remarkable since the child had been born an identical twin. His uninjured brother, raised as a boy, provided the perfect matched control.
- Fadiman, Anne
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(2005)306.461 F1456sA compelling read of good intentions gone awry and a sick child caught in the middle.
- Johnson, Steven
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(2006)614.514 J69g 2006This page-turning historical account of the worst cholera outbreak in Victorian London during the summer of 1854 is also a brilliant exploration of how Dr. John Snow's solution revolutionized the way we think about disease, cities, science and the modern world.
- Hornbacher, Marya
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(2008)616.895 H814m 2008When Marya Hornbacher published her first book, Wasted, she did not yet know the reason for her all-but-shattered young life. At age 24, Hornbacher was diagnosed with Type 1 rapid-cycle bipolar, the most severe form of bipolar disease there is. Here, in her trademark wry, self-revealing voice, Hornbacher takes us inside her own desperate attempts to control violently careening mood swings by self-starvation, substance abuse, numbing sex, and self-mutilation.
- Klaidman, Stephen
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(2007)617.412 K63c 2007A chilling real-life medical thriller that chronicles the story of two highly respected heart doctors at the Redding (California) Medical Center who violated the most sacred principle of their profession: First, do no harm.
- Kluger, Jeffrey
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(2005)616.835 K66s 2005A gripping account of how Salk persisted in his efforts to eradicate polio and stem an epidemic that reached 57,000 reported cases in 1952.
- Leroi, Armand Marie
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(2003)616.043 L617M 2003A sensitively-written work that demonstrates, in both text and pictures, what can go wrong as humans develop, Mutants is also a fascinating look at human variation and the lives of those affected.
- Leroi, Armand Marie
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(2007)779.961 M993 2007Showcases images selected from the Mütter Museum's archive of historical medical photography. The work of more than forty different photographers span from the 1850s to the mid-1940s, and challenge our concepts of humanity, of beauty, of science and of art.
- Preston, Richard
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(2008)616.024 P939p 2008A collection of the author's essays from The New Yorker cover scientific matters such as a profile of controversial genome mapper Craig Venter; a gene that leads people to cannibalize themselves; and two Russian-Jewish émigré scientists who built a monster computer in their cramped apartment to puzzle out patterns in the value of pi.
- Price, Jill
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(2008)153.12 P945w 2008This book presents the astonishing first-person account of living with the only diagnosed case of a remarkable superior memory condition, whereby the author remembers all the days of her life since age 14 in astonishing and unstoppable detail.
- Stewart, James B.
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(1999)364.1523 S849b 1999Blind Eye traces the path of Michael Swango who seemed a model young doctor until his patients began dying in suspicious circumstances. The doctor is thought by the FBI to be the most successful serial killer in the nation's history.
- Skloot, Rebecca
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(2007)616.02774092 S6287i 2010Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer, yet her cells--taken without her knowledge--became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first "immortal" human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer and viruses; helped lead to in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta Lacks is buried in an unmarked grave. Her family did not learn of her "immortality" until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. The story of the Lacks family is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of--From publisher description.
- Tone, Andrea
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(2009)615.7882 T664a 2009Anxious Americans have increasingly pursued peace of mind through pills and prescriptions. Miltown, in 1955, became the first psychotropic blockbuster in United States history and by 1957, Americans had filled 36 million prescriptions. Toner draws on a broad array of sources to provide the first comprehensive account of the rise of America's tranquilizer culture.
- Washington, Harriet A.
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(2006)174.28 W318m 2006A comprehensive history of medical experimentation on African Americans, from the era of slavery to today. Washington details the ways both slaves and freedmen have been used in hospitals for experiments conducted without their knowledge.
On being a health professional
- Ball, Philip
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(2006)610.92 P221b 2006Called an enemy of the 16th century's medical establishment, Paracelsus (or Philip Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), attracted myths even before he died. Was Paracelsus a humble braggart, a puerile sage, an invincible loser, a courageous coward, a pious heretic, or an honest charlatan? Ball exposes a more complex truth, one that emerges only by entering into Paracelsus's time.
- El-Hai, Jack
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(2005)617.48 F855e 2005Walter Freeman performed nearly 3,500 lobotomies and aside from the Nazi doctor Josef Mengele ranks as the most scorned physician of the twentieth century. El-Hai reconstructs the life of a man whose main mission, aside from personal glory, was to help the helpless. Many people were helped, and many people were not.
- Gawande, Atul
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(2007)616 G284b 2007The latest from Gawande examines the medical profession and how those involved progress from being good to being great.
- Groopman, Jerome
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(2007)610 G876h 2007A thoughtful, insightful and honest look at how and why physicians diagnose correctly, and why they sometimes get it wrong.
- Hager, Thomas
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(2006]615.2 H144d 2006During World War I, more soldiers died of infection than in combat. In World War II, not one soldier died of infection. This suspenseful story is about the discovery of sulfa drugs, the precursors to modern antibiotics, and their effect on the world of medicine.
- Hamilton, Allan J.
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(2008]617.48 H217s 2008A Harvard-educated neurosurgeon reveals his experiences, in and out of the operating room, with apparitions, angels, exorcism and after-death survival, and shares the lessons he learned. Readers will be moved by stories of former patients like Thomas, a child burn victim with such a gift of spirit that he could manage joy despite his tragic condition, and Donald, a brave man determined to live life to the fullest despite a vicious brain tumor.
- Kidder, Tracy
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(2003)B-Fa229k 2003The story of Paul Farmer and his dedication to the philosophy that the only real nation is humanity demonstrates that one person truly can make a difference in the world.
- Montross, Christine
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(2007)611 M813b 2007In this hauntingly moving memoir of the relationship between a cadaver named Eve and the first-year medical student who cuts her open, Montross provides an uncommon perspective on the emotional difficulty a first year medical student can face.
On being a patient
- Brabner, Joyce
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(1994)GN 616.994 BRABNERRelates the story of Harvey's struggle to overcome cancer, as well as serving as a social commentary on events of that year. Our Cancer Year won the 1995 Harvey Award for best original graphic novel and is an offshoot of the cult favorite comic book series American Splendor .
- Dahl, Ken
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(2006)ZINE 741.5973 DAHL 2006An autobiographical account of the author and his girlfriend's experience contracting herpes.
- Didion, Joan
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(2005)B-Di5625y 2005Didion chronicles the experience of losing her husband, the writer John Gregory Dunne, to a massive coronary, just weeks after the two of them watched as their only daughter was put into an induced coma to save her life. With honesty and passion, Didion explores this intensely personal yet universal experience.
- Dully, Howard
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(2007)617.481 D883m 2007Dully, at twelve, was the youngest patient to undergo a lobotomy by Walter Freeman. Lobotomized because his stepmother disliked his behavior, he was placed in mental institutions and turned to drugs. Although a distrubing story, it is also a story of the path to self-discovery and healing. See also The Lobotomist for a biography of Dr. Walter Freeman.
- Engelberg, Miriam
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(2006)GN 616.994 ENGELBERGThe author turned to cartooning as a coping mechanism when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 43. She examines her experience with breast cancer in an irreverent and humorous graphic memoir.
- Fies, Brian
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(2006)GN 616.994 FIESAn exceedingly honest story about one family's experience with cancer, smart, funny, cathartic and brave.
- Frazer, Brian
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(2007)616.8525 F848h 2007Brian Frazer is the picture of health on the outside. Inside he's a swirling vortex of angst, capable of contracting a new malady every month. Once Frazer realized that all his ills were tied to stress, he went on a quixotic quest for calm, venturing into everything from Tai Chi, serotonin blockers and Kabbalah to an unfortunate incident involving pineapple-chicken curry at a Craniosacral therapy session. Achingly funny, uncomfortably true and always entertaining.
- Grace, Maggi Ann
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(2007)617.412 G729s 2007In 2004, at the age of 53, self-employed contractor Howard Staab learns that a leaking mitral valve in his heart needs to be repaired. He had no health insurance. The procedure to repair the heart valve costs at least $200,000 at the Durham Regional Hospital so Howard and Maggi go to India for the surgery. The operation was a success and the cost was less than $10,000.
- Gregory, Julie
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(2003)616.85822 G822s 2003From early childhood, Julie Gregory was continually X-rayed, medicated, and operated on, in the vain pursuit of an illness that was created in her mother’s mind. Munchausen by proxy (MBP) is a hidden and dangerous form of child abuse in which the caretaker, almost always the mother, invents or induces symptoms in her child because she craves the attention of medical professionals. Julie survived, but many children do not.
- Hayden, Amaris
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(2008)ZINE 741.5973 HAYDEN 2008In zine format, the author chronicles her successful lung transplant.
- Kennedy, Pagan
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(2007)B-Di5875k 2007In the 1920s, when Laura Dillon felt like a man trapped in a woman's body, there were no words to describe her condition; "transsexual " had yet to enter common usage. Michael Dillon's incredible story, from upper-class orphan girl to Buddhist monk, reveals the struggles of early transsexuals and challenges conventional notions of what gender really means.
- Knighton, Ryan
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(2006)B-Kn747c 2006A touching and often hilarious story about losing one's sight.
- Kurson, Robert
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(2007)362.41 K96c 2007Blinded at age three, Mike may defied expectations by breaking world records in downhill speed skiing, joining the CIA, and becoming a scuccessful inventor, entrepreneur, and family man. Then, in 1999, a chance encounter brought startling news: a revolutionary stem cell transplant surgery could restore his vision. The procedure was filled with risks, some of them deadly, others beyond May's wildest dreams. A thrilling story, beautifully told.
- Marchetto, Marisa Acocella
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(2006)GN 616.994 MARCHETTOWhat happens when a shoe-crazy, lipstick-obsessed, wine-swilling, pasta-slurping, fashion-fanatic, single-forever, about-to-get-married big-city girl cartoonist with a fabulous life finds . . . a lump in her breast? Marchetto is a cartoonist for The New Yorker and Glamour.
- Roche, Dave
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(2005)ZINE 616.344 ROCHEA graphic memoir of what it's like to suffer from Crohn's disease.
Death
- Cheney, Annie
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(2006)617.954 C518b 2006An audacious and compellingly written investigative exposé of the lucrative business of procuring, buying and selling human cadavers and body parts, this book is both a captivating work of first-person reportage and a surprising inside look at a little-known aspect of the "death care" world.
- Kaufman, Sharon R.
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(2005)362.175 K21a 2005Using case studies and interviews, medical anthropologist Kaufman presents a disturbing account of the complexities involved in dying in hospitals today.
- Lynch, Thomas
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(1998)362.175 K21a 2005Lynch is a funeral director in Milford, Michigan, and also a poet. In essay form, he reflects on death and fatherhood, death and friendship, death and faith and love and poetry.
- Parnia, Sam
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(2006)133.9013 P256w 2006Parnia became a physician because of his interest in near-death experiences. In this book, he compiles what he learned from interviewing hundreds of people who have had near death experiences.The scope of his analysis has taken him through the realms of science, medicine, psychology, religion, and philosophy.
- Roach, Mary
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(2005)129 R628s 2005In an attempt to find out what happens when people die, the author of Stiff brings her tireless curiosity to bear on an array of contemporary and historical soul-searchers: scientists, schemers, engineers, mediums, all trying to prove (or disprove) that there is an afterlife.
- Roach, Mary
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(2003)611 R628s 2003An entertaining book on the uses to which cadavers are put, from medical experimentation to transportation research.
