This books is absolutely fascinating. I was intrigued by this one as soon as I heard about it but I was worried I'd need to know a lot about WW1 to get the most out of it. That was not the case at all. The writing is accessible while obviously being very well researched and as I was reading the book I was equally drawn in and moved. An incredible, essential book.

I follow Dr Fitzharris on various social media platforms and have seen her talk in person but I wasn't a huge fan of her first book The Butchering Art, I really enjoyed this book, however.

Fitzharris writes in a really engaging and informative way which makes her books easily readable and accessible for the layperson. This work explores the amazing talent of Dr Harold Gillies, the eponymous 'Facemaker' who was a pioneering plastic surgeon who honed his craft during World War I. The accounts contained within the narrative are sometimes harrowing and shocking and the full extent of the senseless brutality of war is laid bare. That said, one cannot help but be inspired by the incredible genius and compassion of Dr Gillies and there were numerous times whilst reading that I fell down a rabbit hole of conducting further research into his work.

I found myself frequently reading out sections to my husband about the pioneering techniques used by Dr Gillies and also bought copies for my school's library and history department. Sometimes you come across the biography of a truly outstanding human being who brought so much good to the world. this is one of those books and I'm grateful to Dr Fitzharris for giving me an insight into his work.

This is a very interesting and graphic account of the reconstruction of soldiers faces who were horribly maimed during world war one.
Harold Gillies was a pioneer in plastic surgery, he saved lives and invented techniques which are still used to this day.
It is a well researched, compelling and informative novel and will appeal to anyone who is interested in the history of medicine or World War One.

I received an ARC of book in exchange for an honest review. I am grateful to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity.

As the author states in her introduction it is difficult to maintain the balance between hea vy fact and retaining the reader's interest by inserting more personal examples. However, I think the author has managed to achieve that balance of fact in a very readable narrative. I have to admit, however to being disappointed by the amount of detail surrounding the war itself and had hoped to get much mor of the "facemaking". The book is not entirely the one i expected. There are numerous books about the waging of World War I and I don't think this was intended to add to that in the way that it does. I believe with a heavier reliance on the medical aspects I would have given this a much higher rating

Lindsey Fitzharris has performed a tremendous service not only to the memory of the medical pioneers who did so much to mitigate the dreadful impact of twentieth century weapons on flesh and bone, but also for the many readers around the world who wish to understand the experiences of ordinary people who were suddenly confronted with an existence beyond their wildest imaginings when they found themselves in the trenches across the fields of northern France and Belgium. His writing style gives the impression of an easy familiarity with his subjects and helps the reader get beyond the sometimes two dimensional portrayal of subjects in some biographies.
The central character is the army surgeon Harold Gillies, but the author generously credits many other players in the tremendous advances made in the field of plastic surgery to treat the shocking disfigurement of faces torn apart by shrapnel and bullets. Given the state of medical knowledge; the absence of antibiotics; and the primitive approach to anaesthesia at the time, the achievements of Gillies and his colleagues is truly remarkable.
Readers familiar with surgeon Archie McIndoe’s related treatment in the Second World War, particularly of fighter pilots who survived a crash in their aeroplanes but suffered horrific burns, will be delighted to learn that McIndoe was a cousin of Gillies and learned a lot from his’ work.
This is a fascinating book that not only pays tribute to the surgical skills and innovation of the medical staff involved, but also to the spirit and tenacity of the wounded soldiers who endured multiple painful operations and long periods of discomfort whilst Surgeons attempted to return their appearance to something resembling their former selves.
Highly recommended.

A heartbreaking and incredible book, I learnt so much from reading this about the origin stories behind plastic surgery. It's insightful, informative and a page-turner. We've already got a stack on our shelves and are recommending them to everyone. A must-read!

This is an amazing book, which I have been working my way through gradually over several weeks, In between I have been reading fiction novels, as the subject matter is at times necessarily grim and graphic. I learned so much about the ravages of war from this book, and some of the mental images will remain with me for a long time. The overriding feeling is of the futility and brutality of war, lightened by the amazing dedication and humanity of the surgeons’ determination to improve the lives of the dreadfully disfigured Forces personnel. Not an easy read, but very worthwhile.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this title.

I’ve read so many history books for work that I tend to stay away from them when reading for pleasure BUT with war being so much in the headlines recently, I felt The Facemaker, would be an interesting read (and the blurb sounded a bit gory)- I wasn’t disappointed.

Award-winning historian Lindsey Fitzharris tells the story of Harold Gillies, the pioneering plastic surgeon who dedicated himself to restoring the faces of soldiers injured in World War II. The description of some of the injuries is very graphic (I’m glad my version didn’t include pictures!!)

Dr Gillies became interested in the nascent field of plastic surgery after seeing the damage done to young men’s faces on the frontline. When he returned to the UK, he established one of the world's first hospitals dedicated entirely to facial reconstruction. Gillies assembled a unique group of doctors, nurses and (surprisingly) artists whose task was to recreate faces that had been torn apart by bombs, bullets, land mines and who knows what else. The author explains that at a time when losing a limb made a soldier a hero, but losing a face made him seem like a monster to ‘civilised’ society, the facial reconstruction restored not just the faces of the wounded but also their spirits.

An eye-opening read into how a facial injury can be life-altering. I shudder to think how many more people will have to deal with such injuries.

I just love the books written by Lindsey Fitzharris. They are full of information, full of details and so many descriptive details that sometimes it feels like too good to be true. I learn so many things when I read her books. I can't wait the next book. I wonder what topic she will choose to talk about.

This book will move you, horrify you and leave you in absolute disbelief at the horrors of war’s facial injuries. That these surgeons performed the miracles they did on the faces of such (what were) fresh faced young men, is incredible.
I was both horrified at what had happened to these soldiers and then left speechless by the surgery performed in hopes of granting them a face of sorts.
I’m so glad the author was brave enough to pen this surgeon’s story, as it’s most definitely one which should be shared. Max fax/plastic surgery of today, owes these men a debt for their pioneering work to show the way. This is a book which everyone should read.

I've been wanting to read this book ever since it popped up on Goodreads several months ago. I'm on a huge medical kick at the moment, and really into reading books about discovery through medicine, so this was right up my street.
The book literally sucked me in from the first page, and I loved how Fitzharris told the story of individual soldiers, as well as the doctors. I can't believe I had never heard of Harold Gillies, not even in trans literary circles.
My only complaint was that I wish this book was longer. I was 65% through the kindle edition and felt like we had only just scratched the surface. If Fitzharris had spent maybe more time on the individual cases, it would have been an absolutely perfect book.
(Also the Kindle edition doesn't have any pictures? I had to keep having to google what everyone looked like and then go into a physical bookshop to flick through the photos).
Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC.

I picked this book up by mistake thinking it was fiction and seriously contemplated not to bother. I am very glad I did. This an incredibly well researched history of reconstructive and plastic surgery, which started to emerge as a serious medical discipline as a result of treating severe facial injuries incurred by so many men during the first world war.

It is also a tribute to the nurses and doctors who were an essential part of the war effort, but most of all a tribute to Harold Gillies whose pioneering advances in the field of reconstructive surgery and whose tireless efforts to help the men in his care, laid the foundations for modern day plastic surgery.

Reading this book, I have learnt so much. Fitzharris covers so many interesting historical facts and makes so many astute observations, that I found myself really drawn into a book that I would normally not have considered. On occasions it does get quite technical, but most of the time you could mistake The Facemaker for a fictional account, given that every step in medical history she describes is aligned with historical events, which are attached to the personal stories of individuals affected by all of this.

It is also a book of great suffering and could be read as the ultimate anti-war book. It is beautifully written, understated and distanced but engaged and compassionate at the same time.

I am grateful to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really great book and I found it amazing and fascinating to read. I was actually expecting the book to be centred more are Harold Gillies. But this book was set up to follow the patients and how they arrived to Gillies. It also follow the changes in weapons and gases during the war. Which made for a very interesting around history book. I just I was expecting a bit more focus on the changes in medical procedures. Which were mentioned in the book.

It was shocking how these men with facial wounds were treated and how long it took to get help or even to get to Gillies. This book could get very gruesome so be mindful if you are a bit squeamish. I definitely recommend this book to history fans of ww1. As it a great all round history of the changes during the war. Also the causes and affects of facial wounds on the men. This book was very easy to follow as it follow very well . It also had a medium pace. What I loved most of all about this book is that I learnt so much from reading it. 

Many thanks to the author and publishers for bringing together these fascinating accounts of the struggles and suffering that both the soldiers and the people treating them had to go through.

The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/the-facemaker-by-lindsey-fitzharris-penguin-4-stars either under my name or ladyreading365

In the face maker by Lindsay Fitzharris we learn about how World War I change the face of plastic surgery… Literally! The man at the helm was Dr. Jilly‘s he would come to make great strides in plastic surgery from helping burn victims to reconstructing a new nose he would do it all, but the surprising thing is is he wouldn’t be the first. The rhinoplasty was done in Italy by a father and son centuries before Dr. Gillies was even thought of and helping burn victims would come from ancient texts out of India. This book amaze me not only the heroic stories of brave men fighting but also how blessed we are that people are interested in this stuff. Plastic surgery isn’t only to make you look better sometimes it’s just to make you look normal and OMG I couldn’t even imagine and to think they’ve been doing this for eons is simply amazing. This story is a great one and although not all of the stories or happy endings they’re all really intriguing. I love books by pin and sword press I have yet to dislike a book I got from them yet. I think the author did a great job with this book and it was well researched and told in story form as opposed to academic text Hailee recommend this book to anyone who loves historical personal stories then this is the book to read I absolutely loved it! please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review I was given this book by net Gally and I’m leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are my own.#Facemaker, #LindseyFitzharris, #NetGalley

I found this book to be a thorough and sensitive account of the work of Dr. Gillies. I have not delved much into the history of plastic surgery, so I found it very informative. My only wish while reading was that more general history of plastic surgery be included.

A biography of Harold Gillies who is a pioneer in plastic surgery - the original plastic surgery rebuilding and repairing horrific wounds vs the cosmetic use of today. In WW1 many men were tragically disfigured facially. To the extend they were unrecognisable and people would turn away in horror. Harold treated hundreds during this time making men socially acceptable again. A fascinating, well researched biography with stories told from the survivors point of view. Although a biography a lot reads like a novel. A heart breaking and heart warming read. I read the kindle edition so did not see the photographs that would be in the book. However, google brings up an array of examples of these broken men and their after pictures.

I was pleased to be offered this great book as an ARC via NetGalley. It is full of statistics and snippets of information and yet and the same time creates a very personal perspective of the horrors of trench warfare via quotes from those who were there. This book is the story of Harold Gillies and, just and importantly, of the patients he treated. Gillies was one of the first plastic surgeons but this was born out of the desire to help those who had suffered horrendous injuries to their faces. It is a very graphic book so if you are at all squeamish then this is probably not for you.

Gillies was clearly ahead of his time by wanting to create multidisciplinary teams to collaborate on patient care. Over 100 years on, this level of collaboration is still a bonus and far from the norm. On this I can attest from the patient's perspective as I have both maxillofacial and otolaryngology specialists, amongst others, and even when they are housed within the same hospital building it can be a struggle to encourage a multidisciplinary approach.

The book puts Gillies achievements into context by making it clear why the public so reviled those who had facial disfigurements - "For centuries a marked face was interpreted as an outward sign of moral or intellectual degeneracy" as people associated this with diseases such as leprosy and syphilis. As an aside, Victoria Hislop's The Island gives a great (fictional) account of a leper colony which explores these biases further. In some ways I count myself lucky that my problems are internal but was reminded of the response of an elderly patient after I had an NG tube fitted; "Surely they are not going to let you go out like that?" she exclaimed. Thankfully I am pretty thick skinned and just laughed as having a thin tube taped to my face is a small price to pay to not starve.

So why didn't I give this book five stars? I was going to and would probably have given this 4.5 (if that was possible) due to one final sentence in one chapter. For the entirety of the book, the author does a brilliant job of staying object but slipped up on page 121. As this is an advance copy I am aware that it is possible this sentence was removed or edited for the final edition. The author was discussing how Ashworth (one of Gillie's early patients) bumped into him again years later. The surgeon mused aloud that he would have liked to have another attempt at reconstructing his face and Ashworth thanked him but declined. Personally, I think the chapter should have ended there.

I am assuming that there is no record of Ashworth discussing why he made that decision but Fitzharris goes on to speculate "Perhaps he had made peace with the face that Gillies had given him during a time when he had thought all hope of a normal existence was lost." What is wrong with that? I can almost hear the cries. As a person who has become disabled, I find the term "normal existence" slightly problematic. What is a "normal existence" for a start? Perhaps Ashworth did not want to undergo numerous surgeries again as it could have taken up years of his life? Perhaps Ashworth did not want to risk dying on the operating table each time? The book was excellent at highlighting how Gillies was trying to marry function and aesthetics by reconstructing in stages etc. The truth is that no one other than Ashworth himself knows why he declined. For me, the fact that he did suggests that he was content with his life as it was. I think it is safe to assume that he felt that the benefits certainly didn't outweigh the risks. Placing that sentence at the end of the chapter had the suggestion of judgment by the author about what constitutes a good life. One of the best pieces of advice I ever had was from a fairly young maxillofacial consultant who pointed out that "surgeons like to operate" and whilst I'm sure that they all want to help their patients, sometimes it is not in the best interest of the patient to have surgery. I've met many people who seemingly live in dire circumstances and yet they can be some of the happiest and most content which I find to be a testimony to the human spirit. Gillies and many of the patients who gave him their trust to undergo the surgeries are perfect examples of this irrepressible spirit.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book - part biography, part history, part anecdote and part human interest stories involving very real and personal tragedies.
Harold Gillies was a remarkable man and surgeon, not least because of his focus and expertise in repairing the faces of people who had become disfigured as a result of war or accident.
The book, has an engaging and vivid narrative that draws the reader in to share the challenges that Gillies experienced at a personal level whilst pioneering and refining the hitherto little-known field of ‘plastic surgery’.
The book describes how Gilles learned his craft working with dentist Auguste Valadier and how the idiosyncratic artist Henry Tonks was pivotal to widening our understanding of Gilles’ nascent surgical techniques (you can find many examples of these on the web). The author guides us through examples of Gilles’s expertise being applied in the field and the theatre, and shares some of the heart-warming and heart-rending stories from the people he treated. It also covers the blossoming multi-disciplinary team that Gillies surrounded himself with - recognising that surgery, dentistry, radiography and other specialisms were all necessary for maximum effect.
For me, the book was all the more poignant because my maternal grandfather was severely wounded by shrapnel at Passchendaele in the 3rd Battle of Ypres. He was operated on by Gilles at Sidcup to repair his shattered jaw. As a consequence of reading this book, it is reassuring to know what safe and confident hands he was in for the reconstructive surgery that enabled him to live a life free from any stigma.
Many thanks to NetGalley and to the author & publishers for access to this e-ARC in exchange for my review. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

World War I brought the need for a visionary surgeon in the form of Harold Gillies. He pioneered plastic reconstructive surgery for many men whose faces were destroyed in battle during the First World War and beyond.

A brilliantly written book that gives a wonderful image of a man dedicated to the art of surgery and his patients. Giving hope to many disfigured by war. Read, learn, enjoy and be inspired.

This is such a well researched and engrossing book. It tells the story of Harold Gillies and his team of assistants who attended soldiers in WW1, where the incidence of extreme facial injuries left these brave men, absolutely devastated. The facial injuries left them almost unrecognisable to family and sweethearts, and some preferred to commit suicide rather than live with such disfigurement. Broken faces led to broken hearts in the war. Those who were crippled gained sympathy, but a facial injury provoked feelings of horror and disgust.
Harold and his team banned mirrors on the wards. They constructed facial prostheses, noses, ears and earlobes, eyes were set into masks, all held in place with metal straps, sometimes spectacles were placed on the top of these masks to hide the scars and to complete the whole facial appearance. If you have seen the series Boardwalk Empire, there is a perfect example of this there.
I loved the description of the American Red Cross, doing portrait masks for these soldiers , by using prewar photographs of the man, even using a open mouth on these masks to allow a pipe or cigarette to be smoked!! Such detail, such kindness, it must have meant such a great deal to those sufferers.
The medical detail was marvellous, I was so disappointed that my download didn’t bring up any photographs, as an Orthopaedic nurse, when we had patients come in with such injuries, it was burns unit at John Radcliffe hospital, and facials were transferred to the nearest Max Fax unit.
The history of facial reconstruction goes back way further than I had realised. The term plastic surgery was first used in 1798, and bone grafts performed in 1668! Skin flaps and pedicules, I have seen , and external pins and plates used upon faces, but nowadays, with society putting a greater emphasis upon attractiveness, this type of medicine has taken large steps to fulfil that brief.
A wonderful read. Some gory details, but nothing gratuitous at all. Everything is well described, and the effect upon mental health was well recognised . A five star read.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers Penguin Press for my digital copy in exchange for my honest and unsolicited review. I will leave reviews to Goodreads and Amazon.