I'm not sure why, as this subject is usually rather intriguing to me, but I just couldn't get into this book. The writing was a little stale, the stories were a smidge disconnected...there was just something (or several things) off that prevented me from wanting to finish this book.

It's interesting, so if you have a deep interest in the topic, give it a try. But as far as a page turner that illuminated interesting happenings, not so much.

This book gives a brief history of how surgical procedures have evolved and the struggles of the physicians performing them. It gave me new appreciation of what my earlier ancestors went through for treatment.

While this isn't my usual book I thought the topic would be interesting enough to try it. I couldn't like it. It seemed like a weird crossover between a historical fan fiction and a high school biology textbook. It jumped constantly back and forth - one minute a story, the next rambling on about medical info. It was very hard to focus on. I couldn't actually finish it because I became so frustrated with the jumping back and forth.

Van de Laar, a Dutch laparoscopic surgeon, is a charming, witty, and erudite guide to surgery, and his book is a treasure trove of historical, medical, and anatomical information for curious, and not-too-squeamish lay people. I understand that the book grew out of a regular column the surgeon wrote about historic surgical cases for a medical journal. Van de Laar mostly focuses on procedures performed on famous individuals. Some of the people who populate the pages of Under the Knife became famous as a result of the operations performed on them, or, in one case, because of an operation an individual performed on himself.

As the subtitle suggests, the reader learns how a number of operations were originally done and how they are generally carried out today. Before discussing each case, the author takes the reader through some basic regional anatomy. Valuable sidebars in each chapter introduce key medical concepts— inflammation, primary and secondary healing, etcetera. Perhaps this sounds dry to you. I assure you it’s not. Illustrations and photographs are occasionally included, but I wish there had been more. From time to time, I did an online search and watched a video of a procedure I had trouble visualizing.

All in all, a terrific book!

Overall, I enjoyed the book. It was an interesting look at the history of surgery. Each chapter focused on a particular surgical procedure, with a famous example grounding the chapter. However, the author often forgot the narrative grounding, which made the text disjointed and jarring. Not bad, but wouldn’t read again.

An interesting look at surgery through the ages. I felt like some stories were a stretch to get to the point of a chapter and the epilogue felt out of place. A fun, quick read, however - especially if you're into medical history.

This book was hella interesting. I could not believe how interesting this book was. I like odd history and weird facts. This book had plenty of those. The pictures included in the middle were a little bit grainy, but I absolutely loved this book. This book included everything from medieval history to facts about the Marley's. It also showed how surgery can make or break someone, how not having surgery can either make or break your life. I never realized that surgery could be so intricate, either.

As a former medical writer, I was intrigued by this history of surgery described by a laparoscopic surgeon through 28 famous operations of notables including JFK, Louis XIV, Houdini, and Einstein. How far we’ve come from blood letting to today’s robotic procedures, and the author takes us right into the operating suite in its various iterations over centuries. 4/5 stars

Pub Date 02 Oct 2018

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#UnderTheKnife #NetGalley

Under the Knife is a very detailed look at the history of surgery told through 28 different operations. These operations are not an exhaustive look at all surgeries, but the author carefully selected procedures that led to very popular techniques. These procedures are not for the faint at heart and I highly recommend just skipping the gruesome castration chapter and continue your reading. It is fascinating to see what surgery was like prior to anesthesia and clean techniques to the sterile environment it is now. The author also does a fantastic job of breaking down surgical names to the Latin roots and as a by product ends up being a great book to help learn medical terminology.

i actually enjoyed this book pretty well and thought the cases were interesting, but it wasn't what I was looking for when I requested it from NetGalley. Sometimes science books work well in Composition and I was hoping this would have the feel of a Mary Roach type book. Ultimately, though, I think this is a little too dry for my age group and I probably won't use it in class.

I always find medical stories fascinating and this is no exception. I really enjoyed the interesting story and perspective that a patient wouldn’t normally be privy to. There is so much that we don’t know at what goes on behind surgeries and medicine. Any book that I can find to read on the subject always entertains my mind and helps me feel more informed as a patient.

I am really obsessed with medical type books especially ones told from actual medical professionals. This was really well written and a wonderful insight!

Under the Knife by Arnold van de Laar is a look 28 famous surgeries. He examines people such as US Presidents and popes. I found the book absolutely fascinating as he explained the concerns in each case and what took place. I am not in medicine and I still understood the book just fine. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves learning more about history or about how things are done. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoy reading about medicine and all things surgeries. Under the Knife introduces you to surgeries of the past and makes you aware (and grateful) over the years just how well the art of medicine has evolved. I appreciated the anecdotes and the historical detail of each case. These days you can just Google surgery and get actual videos of procedures. It leaves nothing to the imagination. That is why I appreciate this book. Its amazing to me just how far Men and Women pushed the envelope in the medical field, all the while changing the course of history, and they did it with minimal education, equipment, and facilities.

A Delightful insight into the world of surgery. I really enjoyed this as a non fiction look into a world I work adjacent to. Would recommend.

The book is a series of anecdotes about interesting surgeries on interesting and/or famous people. I learned a lot, but I am a biology teacher and not squeamish. I wouldn’t recommend it for the really faint of heart, but for anyone interested in medicine and surgery it is an enjoyable read. The author is a surgeon, so he certainly know the subject, and he translates it for non-medical readers quite well. From king and queens to popes, from musicians to scientists, from heroes to criminals, there is quite a range of stories.

Under the Knife by Arnold van de Laar takes a look at surgery through history. I loved this book. It was a mix of history, medicine, and quirky facts. I found it amazing to read how we arrived at where we are in surgical medicine. A few of the cases mentioned are a man who performed surgery on himself, Harry Houdini, and several royals. This book was a touch on the gory side and a bit cringe worthy at times, but I loved it. The author's writing style kept the topics from being dry and boring.

Many interesting surgeries are written about making for some good history of surgery, but at times interest, at least mine, wavered

I learned a lot from this book. I might have learned more, but the e-galley I received from NetGalley/St Martin's Press had some issues. There was no ToC, the hyphens had been stripped, and most digits after the first page appeared as rectangles. The last, in particular, made the book difficult to read. It has a lot of years, a lot of percentages, a lot of measurements. I had mostly rectangles. I have no medical background (my medical knowledge comes from 19 years of being a mom).

So, it was a little hard to follow. I also found the writing style to be a little sensational and gory for my personal taste, but at the same time it was also a little over my head in terminology in a few places. Turns out there is a glossary, through with no ToC I didn't know, and there would be no easy way to get their on a Kindle either.

The chapters of this book feature these 28 surgeries. Why 28? I would love to have been in on the conversation when they picked that number. These surgeries are certainly all interesting, but with no ToC and no numbers (yes, chapters were numbered with digits), I am not sure if there were 28 distinct surgeries, or if some were variation on others. But the history of these surgeries were certain interesting.

The final chapter was on fictional surgeons of books and film. It seemed rushed and it didn't fit with the rest of the book, nor with the tone of the book.

This book also had no endnotes of any kind and it didn't appear they were to come later in the publishing process. There were a few assertions in the book that I really wanted o see a source for, but no luck! There was a short bibliography. There were also no illustrations--again, there was no indication that there are to be any in the final product, but some would certainly be nice.
———
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for providing me with an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a pretty interesting book. There were also some not so interesting parts that read more like a textbook. For this reason, I read this here and there in between other books. As a nurse, I really enjoyed reading about the different surgeries and the history behind them. A good read for anyone interested in history or medicine.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher!