Readers > Adult & teen lists > Surprising histories
Medical Nonfiction that Reads Like Fiction
- 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.
- Bordo, Susan
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(1999)305.31 B729m 1999A sociological and feministic tour of the male body, with the underlying theme that men and women are not species alien to one another after all.
- 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.
- Sims, Michael
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(2003)612 S614a 2003A collection of engaging and factual information about the human body covering a wide range of subjects — from why human hair appears to grow after death to what French kissing was called in France (Italian kissing).
- Tenner, Edward
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(2003)303.483 T2976o 2003From shoes and baby bottles to the design of keyboards, Tenner traces the interaction between the human body and technology and shows how the tools we make change and affect us.
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.
- 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.
- Fleischman, John
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(2002)j 617.481 F596p 2002Phineas Gage was truly a man with a hole in his head. A railroad construction foreman, Phineas was blasting rock near Cavendish, Vermont, in 1848 when a 13-pound iron rod was shot through his brain. Miraculously, he survived another 11 years and became a textbook case in brain science.
- 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.
- 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.
- Knighton, Ryan
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(2006)B-Kn747c 2006A touching and often hilarious story about losing one's sight.
- Kolata, Gina Bari
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(1994)614.57 P939hFlu is the fascinating, true story of the 1918 flu pandemic that wiped out approximately 40 million people in less than a year.
- 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.
- Preston, Richard
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(2002)614.521 P939dOn December 9, 1979, smallpox ceased to exist in nature. Samples of the virus remained only at the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia, and at the Maximum Containment Laboratory in Siberia. Some of these samples remain unaccounted for today, leading to fears that terrorist groups may have found the virus and may be creating a strain that is resistant to vaccines.
- Preston, Richard
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(1994)614.57 P939hThe dramatic and chilling story of an Ebola virus outbreak in a surburban Washington, D.C. laboratory, with descriptions of frightening historical epidemics of rare and lethal viruses.
On being a health professional
- 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.
- Gawande, Atul
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(2002)617.092 G284c 2002Based on his own experiences as a surgical resident at a large, busy hospital, Dr. Gawande combines the making of a surgeon with the realities of being human in a technological world.
- 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.
- 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.
- Paterniti, Michael
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(1994)614.57 P939h
Driving Mr. Albert is a unique travelogue with an unlikely passenger — Albert Einstein's brain. The other two traveler are Thomas Harvey, who performed Einstein's autopsy and also stole Einstein's brain, and Paterniti, a freelance writer and admirer of Einstein. - Stern, Jane
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(2003)B-St457a 2003What does a 52-year-old depressed writer of food columns for Gourmet magazine do to change her life? She becomes a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician.
- Weisman, Jamie
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(2002)610.92 W428a 2002Weisman talks from both the perspective of a patient (she has a rare congenital immune deficiency) and that of a physician, sharing her experiences as both.
Death
- Bass, William
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(2001)306.45 P771b 2001For lovers of Patricia Cornwell, Death's Acre is the story of the real Body Farm where corpses are used to solve murders. Dr. Bass shares some of his famous cases including the Lindbergh kidnapping.
- 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.
- 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.