How to Remove a Brain

And Other Bizarre Medical Practices and Procedures

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Pub Date 10 Aug 2017 | Archive Date 26 Feb 2019

Description

“Hilarious, and sometimes stomach-turning, vignettes.”

New Scientist

 

·         How was history changed by a single Soho water pump?

·         Which condition was treated by trapping a child inside a tree trunk?

·         Where is the soul found?

·         How long does it take to digest chewing gum?

·         What are hiccups for?

·         Did the Gauls brush their teeth with urine?

·         Does organ theft actually happen?

·         Is it safe to fly with breast implants?

·         Did Christopher Columbus import syphilis to Europe?

·         Was King George V killed by his doctor, in order to meet The Times’ deadline?

 

Taking in everything from the outrageous (yes, Hitler was addicted to crystal meth) to the eye-watering (such as the renowned surgeon who accidentally cut off his patient’s left testicle) to the downright disgusting (like the ‘cure’ for toothache used by the Egyptians involving dead mouse paste), this book proves that medical science is not for the faint-hearted, lily-livered or weak-stomached!

“Hilarious, and sometimes stomach-turning, vignettes.”

New Scientist

 

·         How was history changed by a single Soho water pump?

· Which condition was treated by trapping a child inside...


Advance Praise

Shortlisted for the People's Book Prize 2019


“Hilarious, and sometimes stomach-turning, vignettes.”

New Scientist


"I never thought a book titled How to Remove a Brain would be so incredibly brilliant. David Haviland, I don't know you, or why you create books like this and Why Dogs Eat Poop, but you are clearly smarter than your maturity level."

Kick Ass Book Reviews


"I’m not going to lie, I read this book with unabashed joy, and in the process I truly feel I learned a lot.  Granted, I’m not sure when the information I learned will ever come into play (How many times a day does Hitler’s potential Crystal Meth addiction come into play?) but it’s still all interesting to know, and certainly fun to read, thanks to Haviland’s ability to be both educational and whimsical at the exact same time."

Suchabooknerd

 

"Any fan of the absurd and/or obscure is sure to delight in this strange (and slightly stomach-turning) book. I love trivia and this book delivers."

As the Page Turns

 

"…a hilarious look at medicine throughout history... a painstakingly researched compendium of bizarre facts from the world of medicine, administered with a healthy dose of humour... a must for fans of the bizarre, and perfect prep for livening up dull dinner party conversations."

GQ

 

“A GP Christmas stocking must... From the ‘Wisdom of the Ancients' through to diseases, diagnoses and cures, this rip roaring journey through the wonders of medical advancement misses little. The content is without doubt one of the funniest recaps of the great, good and unbelievable of medicine. 9/10"

Pulse magazine



"Delightfully disgusting."

Whatchamacallit

 

"Haviland once again proves ideally suited for this sort of writing. His style is simultaneously breezy and matter-of-fact, bringing each vile vignette to amusing, engaging life. And it's clear that this is a guy who does his homework. These subjects, as weird and disgusting as they might be, have been pretty thoroughly researched. It creates a reading experience that is both entertaining and - God help us - educational."

The Maine Edge

 

"…contains fascinating insights into medical history, in spite of its off-beat title."

Irish Medical Times

Shortlisted for the People's Book Prize 2019


“Hilarious, and sometimes stomach-turning, vignettes.”

New Scientist


"I never thought a book titled How to Remove a Brain would be so incredibly...


Available Editions

EDITION Paperback
ISBN 9781786080240
PRICE £7.99 (GBP)

Average rating from 55 members


Featured Reviews

This is a fantastic collection. I thoroughly enjoyed the crazy facts and histories.

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Omg this book was interesting as hell. Its great for parties and family gathering

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This is an interesting little book packed full of fun facts and descriptive tit-bits throughout the ages regarding medical oddities. It was very easy to dip in and out of, and reminded me of the Horrible History books I read as a child. I liked the way it was organised, chronologically, and it was well thought out.

However, I sometimes found some of the facts and interesting bits of information a bit lacking. They could have been filled out with a bit more background. However, having said that this was still a fun and light read. Very informative.

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I read Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything last month and loved it so I thought I'd stick with the theme of quirky historical medical non-fiction this month too. I love the cover and the book on the whole was interesting but it was a little disappointing as the other book I mentioned had lots of unique images, diagrams and extra sections to it but this didn't and it felt a bit boring in comparison.

From my general knowledge, college/university experience and documentaries, I knew about 40% of the book already but the rest was very interesting and a little gross at times but good all the same. I think I'd only really recommend this book if you hadn't read or watched much about the topic, otherwise it might seem a little repetitive.

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How to remove a brain is a fun collection of trivia, weird science, chicanery and medical based factoids.

The writing style is chatty and informal and especially for medical/science type books, completely accessible. The book is broken into very short articles which are grouped with related subjects.

The subjects are well researched and the science is accurate. I really appreciated that. The subjects range from medieval medical practices (generally ineffective if not downright scary (and harmful)) to scientific history and famous scientists (Semmelweis, Pasteur, Rosalind Franklin, etc).

I really enjoyed reading the entries which are short enough to fit into any spare time standing in queue etc. I think that this book would appeal to any trivia fan and/or science curious person (9 year old me would have LOVED this book! :)

There are some articles which are somewhat graphic (as the title indicates) but nothing too objectionable in my opinion. (There are, however, some fairly horrific historical medical practices described along with charlatans throughout history).


My only real objection is how abruptly the book ends. Last entry just -ends- without any sort of tying together of themes or real ending. It didn't detract too much from my enjoyment of the book, but it was surprising (I went looking to see if I had not downloaded the entire book or if there was some mistake with my copy... there wasn't, it just ends).


Love the science, love the history. A fun/interesting/trivia filled read. I am a professional scientist, working in healthcare and I am not at all ashamed to admit I learned several things from this book which I'd never heard before (like the origin of the word 'toady' ). Cool stuff


Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.

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This book is enjoyable for the trivia buffs among us. Learn more about Jack the Ripper, what hiccups are for, and what an Unexplained Beer Injury is. I found my jaw hanging open and saying "eewww" several times. I also learned that some of what I thought was fact was in all honesty just myth. It's also a great book if you don't have a lot of time, because not only is it split into chapters, it is split into individual answers to questions, so you can quickly read excerpts when life allows. The only thing I felt could use improvement was that it was a bit dry. A little humor interjected, or even an occasional graphic, would have spiced it up nicely. This is a good addition to your reference library.

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Once you get started reading, you can't stop! Right from the start you know you have a really great book in your hands, The information provided is thorough yet concise and the anecdotes provide a well needed laugh when reading about some really nasty things... All in all, it's a great book about practices that ideas that have survived through time and nowadays may give us laughs but prove that medicine is never that easy and the quacks of today once were the scientists of days past!

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'How to Remove a Brain' proves that they call it "practicing" medicine! When you sit down and read some of the bizarre, off-the-wall things that were actually thought to be helpful, you'll be amazed. It's impossible to read this book without saying "they did WHAT??" several times.

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I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is essentially a book of random interesting science and medical facts from history. Think horrible histories! Very easy to read and great to dip in and out of as and when you want. Would recommend to anyone from children to grown adults!

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How to Remove a Brain And Other Bizarre Medical Practices and Procedures by David Haviland is a fun and crazy book with things in there I would have never thought of. I requested this book from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. Let me first say, I have two degrees, I am a nurse (that helps when reading some of this gross stuff), so I am not an illiterate person. I like trivia and I can't help it if this trivia is a little on the... strange side. I don't want to call it odd, lets call it obscure. Let's just say if you are looking for something different, you got it! I loved it, different, strange, you won't find this anywhere else! LOL

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This book does exactly what "it says on the tin", or in this case on the cover. Not one necessarily for the squeamish, but once you pick it up it is hard to put it down until you have read at least one more fact. I can see the information contained within the book being quoted time and time again in many social gatherings.

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I thank Net galley for providing me a copy to read & review 'How to Remove a Brain and Other Bizarre Medical practices' It is not more than 200 pages and can be read in one sitting.

The author David Haviland gives us many anecdotes and some fun and bizarre practices in ancient Egypt, India, Europe and US.

He also mentioned about the myth relating to Julius Caesar, his birth that he was not born of Caesarean section as it is only performed either to save the child or the mother. Since Julius Caesar mother died in her ripe age and not during giving birth to Caesar. David Haviland gives examples for Doctrine of Signatures that natural remedies embodies or reflect the ailments they are designed to cure. That is the appearance of certain fruits resembling our body parts.


There are many unknown facts in the book one such is that we share many diseases with animals and they are known as 'zoonoses' we caught common cold from horses, measles from dogs, influenzas from pigs & ducks, smallpox and tuberculosis from cattle. Another fact relates to great artists, and how they were affected by using Emerald Green a chemical made from copper acetate and arsenic trioxide. The artist such as Cezanne, Van Gogh and Monet. All these artists excessively used Emerald Green in their paintings which lead to arsenic poisoning, Cezanne developed series diabetes, Van Gogh suffered from neurological disorders and third artist Monet got blinded.

The cabbies of London have bigger hippo campus region as longer they are driving taxi the bigger the region become. And to compensate the growth the other part of the brain shrinks.

There are many facts, one such is about Syphilis, an epidemic which spread throughout Europe after 1495. Each nation in Europe blamed their enemy. The French called this disease as Le mal Naples, while the Italians called it the Spanish disease. The Japanese called it as the Chinese disease and while Chinese people blamed it as Cantonese.

The author has given detailed account on the invention of X ray and aftermath and how one guy in London began marketing X ray proof underwear and made a small fortune.

One chapter is allotted to the Live Typhoid carrier Mary. She was a cook. Everywhere she went and cooked the people in the house get infected with typhoid but she never had the disease herself. A law was passed and she was isolated from others.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book. A must book for information gatherers.

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Humorous and scary look at medical weirdness

I enjoyed this book. Author David Haviland put together a collection of medical weirdness that at times had me cringing or shaking my head. Haviland writes with a sense of humor and doesn’t use a lot of science, keeping things conversational. Actually, in type of content, tone and manner, I found the book much the same as Lydia Kang’s and Nate Pedersen’s Quackery, but there was little actual overlap in subjects. Both these books take a superficial look at the various topics and both are equally well-written and enjoyable to read, so I can’t recommend one over the other. For a more detailed look at the subject of medical weirdness, I recommend Paul Offit’s Pandora’s Lab.

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I don’t, because I’m not a brain surgeon. And David Haviland didn’t exactly teach me how to remove a brain in his book HOW TO REMOVE A BRAIN AND OTHER BIZARRE MEDICAL PRACTICES.

(I say not exactly because he discussed how the Ancient Egyptians would yank out pharaohs brains through the nose before mummification, but I already knew that.)

23217984I forgive Mr. Haviland, though, because the “other bizarre medical practices” included in his collection of super bizarre medical stories. I yammered on and on and on, to the point of possibly annoying friends and family, while I was reading this book. And I have no regrets.

No regrets because I did not know things like the fact that people used to grind up mice into a paste as a cure for a toothache. That the French nearly drove leeches to extinction with their intense devotion to bleeding and bloodletting, and actually imported leeches from other places in Europe. (I’m writing this review unfortunately late so I don’t remember a lot of specifics… or maybe I’m just really trying to get you, Unknown Blog Reader, to read this book. It works either way.)

I loved this book. I love this book. I’m going to read it again one day. Why? Because I forgot some things, because it is history (and I LOVE all things history), and because it makes for a great conversation starter. Even if people might look at you a little bit sideways!

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I enjoyed reading this book. It is a non fiction book about how the brain works in a person and how to stay healthy. It is my first book read by this author. I hope to read more books by this author.

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How to Remove a Brain is the new book from the highly talented David Haviland and he has a growing reputation of producing these fact-filled, trivia, fun reads, on multiple subjects. This medical subject really resonated with me as I often speak about the dubious practices that existed in healthcare and medicines, which led to the establishment of the FDA and other regulatory bodies. I find this whole area totally engrossing and debatable, and the book delivers amazing titbits of medical and physiological information along with its history and practices, to fuel many discussions and revelations. A fascinating book full of medical vignettes that will enlighten, astound, amuse and disgust the reader.

The book starts with the medical wisdom of the ancients and the Egyptians in particular. How do you remove a brain? You could say, saw through the top of the head and lift out, or use a long wire with a hook and feed it through the nasal cavity to scrape it away in chunks – as the ancient Egyptians did in preparation for mummification. The region around Egypt and Greece developed many of the concepts and terminology we still use today. Plastic as in plastic surgery doesn’t come from the use of the material context but rather the Greek word ‘plastikos’ which means to mould. We all know the importance of the Hippocratic Oath but it runs to several principles and is still sworn (or a modified version of it anyway) by most doctors today.

In 1535, Belgian Andreas Vesalius stole the dead body of a hanging criminal and secretly investigated the human skeletal and organ composition, thus disproving many of the beliefs held since Aristotle and Galen. With so many errors from Galen it is now presumed that he could not have dissected a human body to have gained his knowledge, but instead used other animals and assumed a similarity. Vesalius is recognised as the father of modern-day anatomy.

How often in all innovations do we hear how the real inventor, or the seminal piece of work, was conducted by someone other than who is given credit for it? There are some interesting revelations here and often the pursuit of knowledge is accompanied with macabre and clandestine activities.

All David’s work is very well researched and common misconceptions challenged with a more logical proposition, such as the eradication of the Plague by the Great Fire of London. David makes the reading of this book entertaining and engaging as he often builds the background to the proposed question. For example, was Jack the Ripper a Surgeon? Do we only use 10% of our brain? Can some people go mad at a full moon? Does snake oil work?

Many thanks to David Haviland for providing me with a copy of his book in return for an honest review.

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Thanks to Thistle publishing for my copy.

This is a unique and fascinating insight into some obscure and truly weird medical facts and procedures. The author has thoroughly researched his subject and his writing style is both informative and at times amusing. As a retired nurse I loved this collection of medical trivia and loved the author's tongue in cheek style of explanation.

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“Physicians of all men are most happy;
What good success soever they have the world proclaimeth,
And what faults they commit, the earth covered” (Francis Quarles)

On this jolly note, Author David Haviland begins his presentation of the odd and awful, the famous and infamous, and the puzzling and perplexing stories of humans, their bodies and diseases. When I considered whether to read and review this book, I said yes, mainly because I have a secret crush on the author. (He’s English…his name…he works in publishing…)

And now I have to say that I am delighted I read this book. I enjoyed it and I have become quite the conversationalist since I added these interesting stories to my repertoire.

The chapter titles themselves are fascinating: Disgusting Diseases, Curious Cures, Rude Bits and my two favorites, The Good Doctor and Snake Oil. In The Good Doctor, we learn about many major breakthroughs in medicine, eradicating smallpox and cholera. And that’s all wonderful, but I loved the story titled, “What was unusual about Dr. James Barry?” This answer to this is incredible!

The reason I enjoyed the Snake Oil chapter is because it demonstrates the power of marketing. We think we invented marketing and social. Ha! Marketing was amazingly successful hundreds of years ago- people made fortunes. May I recommend the story about the tapeworm trap and also James Graham’s Celestial Bed- now those bits showed the power of marketing! (Would you be surprised to learn that Mr. Graham was a self-styled “sex guru”?)

The author writes in a clear and light-hearted style. Each story begins with a question that will hook you in, and Mr. Haviland’s answer is concise, yet flavored with fun and interest. The book seems to be accurate and well-researched. I liked that the author was curious and not critical. Time have changed but curiosities and wonder, trivia and fun facts remain and make this an engaging read. This book is Shortlisted for The People's Book Prize 2019.


Thanks to Net Galley and Thistle Publishing for a review copy. This is my honest review.

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Love these sort of books! Lots of medical trivia that is really pretty thought provoking and yet entertaining. Makes me wonder how the medicine of today will be looked back on in the future.... I've read some of the tales in this book before (live long enough!) but enjoyed a good laugh again and actually find more reason to think about what I'm reading this time around. It's a great book to browse as one can pretty much skip around and read whatever looks interesting. Great book for lovers of trivia, medical, and science , and history- so it covers lots of bases. Might even make a great gift! I'd love to get it as a gift! But I'll end up buying it myself.

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Thank you NetGalley, Thistle Publishing and David Haviland for the eARC.
My goodness, this was such a fun (and at times quite creepy!) read; I was laughing and going 'eeew' quite a bit and just couldn't put the book down. My husband practically tore my Kindle away from me and is reading it now.
I think the one fact I was grossed out the most by is the mouse paste, just unbelievable! There were many more jaw dropping parts and all I can say is: read this book! You'll enjoy it and thank your lucky stars medical practices have come a long way...

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A fun collection, I really enjoyed it.

I love medical memoirs. This is a bit different in that it's a collection of facts and figures; weird and wonderful; horrid and sometimes hilarious, about medical complaints and practices from years gone by. Unusual uses for substances and articles. A good book to read in between other bigger books. I just had a glance at this as I was reading something else- but I was hooked from the first page and had to continue.

It was a fun, quick read. If you like quirky facts and figures-this is for you. As I was reading it, so many times I was saying to myself: "Oh my goodness!", "Gosh!" and cringing. Some of the facts I had heard of before, and some were new ones on me too. Some are hilarious! Not just silly facts either-some incredibly interesting facts and info in here. An enjoyable history of medicine. Some things are still done today-and thank heavens some practices are not!!! A great book to satisfy your thirst for knowledge.

I love watching QI, over and over again, so I know the answers to some of the questions! If you love having loads of interesting facts at your disposal, being a mine of useful-and useless-information, this book is fab!

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This quirky collection of interesting medical facts and historical bits educates while it entertains. All the entries are quick to read yet thought-provoking, and share an unexpected element of wackiness. Plenty of helpful takeaways, from pathological trivia to fascinating word etymology - who wouldn't want to know that Anaesthesia was for a time a fashionable name for newborn girls, or the origin of the term "blowing smoke up ones ass"? Personally I found this book really funny, but even if you don't share my sense of humor, there are so many other aspects I'm sure you'd appreciate!

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Rating: 4.0/5.0

Don't be fooled by its title because this book is lots of fun to read. It has lots of bizarre medical procedures or practices. It is weird but very enjoyable at the same time. In ten chapters, many subjects have been covered. Examples are many like How ancient Egypt believed dead mouse paste could cure toothache, How to remove a brain! and how plastic surgery happened.

Everything here is about bizarre medical practices. Some people might get disgusted (There is a whole chapter about disgusted diseases!) and others might find that interesting. One drawback about this book is that it has no references to back up all these claims. Some of the practices could be true while others just assumptions or conclusions reached by the author. For example, in one of the chapters, there is talk about the benefits of drinking urine. I have read about that some time ago that there were some tribes that encouraged this habit for the benefits they thought this practice give. However, the author also mentions in the same chapter "The Koran bizarrely recommends the drinking of camels urine" and I say this is a completely wrong statement and has no truth to it. I don't know how and from where the author reached this false conclusion? Just because some old tribes in Saudia Arabia do this practice does not mean that it is written or recommended by Koran! This and many other stuff makes me question a lot of the things written in the book.

I would say read this book for enjoyment only, I don't think the author meant for it to be taken seriously as there are no references and many points are based on his own interpretation rather than real facts. I understand that some of the subjects he mentioned were just based on pure myths like whether Hitler was a meth addict or not, but that point about Koran is just pure false statement and not even a myth. It would have been a lot better if he backed up the points he made with references.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thistle Publishing for providing me a free copy of this book in return of an honest and unbiased review.

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Thanks to David Haviland and Thistle for sending me a digital copy.

A very entertaining but also insightful and interesting book. What is bizarre? Yes, using dung as a contraceptive seems rather bizarre - and it didn't even help, of course - but the people who practiced this really thought about it and thought they were doing something good. I'm always on the hunt for interesting facts and I found some nice new ones in this book, particularly regarding useful medical inventions.
I had to laugh out loud sometimes, for instance when reading about Queen Victoria and her personal physician - who never ever saw her in her bed or without her clothes. Only after she died he found out she suffered from some nasty ailments, as a hernia.
Not the kind of book you read in one sitting; it is the kind of book you read a chapter at the time. It is very well written with honesty ánd humor.

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How to remove a brain by David Haviland has tons of little tidbits of various medical treatments and operations that go back thousands of years. I knew of many of the common facts.. such as using urine for jellyfish stings, how the Egyptians removed the brains during mummification, etc.. But, there were also many MANY factoids that I had never heard about prior to reading this book! The perfect book for anyone who loves watching Jeopardy or just delights in knowing obscure off the wall tidbits! Good stuff!

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What good fun this book is! Filled with medical trivia, it entertains and educates at the same time. The author has done his research, and approaches his subject with a light-hearted approach that makes the book a joy to read, whilst imparting much knowledge along the way. Well written, gently debunking some medical myths, yet always keeping to the facts, this is the sort of book that makes an ideal present for – well, just about everyone!

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Author David Haviland has put together a great collection of bizarre,weird,sometimes totally gross and unbelievable medical facts.

I really enjoyed this book it was great for dipping in and out of or just randomly opening at a page. It would make a great present,for a person who like me loves recording and collecting bizarre and random facts.

Also a great little book full facts that you can start random conversations with at dinner parties.

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I loved this book! But then again, Trivia like this is my favorite. I like to have stories like this to pull out at family gatherings to see how people will react. This book was well researched and definitely had some great stories in it. I was engaged the whole time and couldn't put the book down. I read almost all of it in one sitting. I would recommend this book to the trivia lovers, people that want to know more about history, or science. But beware there is some slightly gruesome parts, so not for the kiddos. 5 out of 5 stars.

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How To Remove a Brain is an amazingly captivating book about some very strange historical medical facts. From the start of the book, the seemingly random vignettes are increasingly absorbing and encourage the reader to delve deeper into the quirky and gruesome past of the medical profession.
Having a slight stammer most of my life, I was particularly horrified to learn of a 19th century brutal medical procedure to cure stammering by cutting off half the patients tongue. Not surprisingly, the cure was ineffective, especially as many bled to death.
It was sad to learn that Edward Jenner, the pioneer of vaccines, was never fully accepted by his blinkered Physician contemporaries.
I will definitely read some more David Haviland books. From previous reviews, they all promise to be as good a read as this one.

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This is a fantastically funny collection of bite size tales of medical oddities, everything from disgusting diseases, to rude bits, and snake oil. A fabulous easy to read, humorous book! Would recommend. Thank you to Netgalley and the author for a ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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A fantastic informative book about the medical practice around the world from the beginning of the medical practice. The story are amazing and very well narrated.

#NetGalley #HowtoRemoveaBrain

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How to Remove a Brain by David Haviland is a book of medical procedures from many years ago. From brain removal during the mummification process to how to remove a tapeworm before medications and a host of other medical treatments. I loved reading the first Hippocratic Oath written by Hippocrates and his followers. It contained what now would be called the HIPPA Laws. It's an amazing book and anyone who has an interest in medicine, new or old will love this book. It's a serious book with some chuckles thrown in. I would recommend this book highly. I received this book from Net Galley and Thistle Publishing for a honest review. The opinions expressed are my own.

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This is a highly readable collection of short essays on a whole variety of strange and unusual medical facts, history, curiosities and myth. I found the whole thing fascinating because I'm a GP with a special interest in travel medicine, and therefore tropical and infectious diseases, many of which feature here, but this would be just as fascinating to a lay-person.

Organised by chapters beginning with the Wisdom of the Ancients, we learn about the use of crocodile dung as a contraceptive, and how mummies were prepared for burial - from whence comes the title. Moving on to Disgusting Diseases, Dodgy Diagnoses and Curious Cures, and so on, virtually all facets of medicine and its history are covered, humorously but accurately.

Some descriptions will make you cringe, wince or put down your glass of apple juice, but many myths are also debunked, some very widely held - such as the Great Fire of London being the reason for the end of the plague. There are famous names, like Typhoid Mary and the other John Snow, but also accounts of many medical pioneers who for whatever reason are not household names.

I read this as an ebook but it would probably work best as a paperback to dip in and out of. My only criticism is I would've liked to have seen a list of references and a bibliography to know where the author got all his facts.
I feel like I've learned or been reminded of lots of interesting things that may also come in handy at pub quizzes (and maybe even the odd consultation, but just as a conversational topic I hope!)

My thanks to David Haviland, who contacted me directly to offer me a free copy, in exchange for an honest review, although I actually downloaded it through NetGalley. I've already got one colleague interested in buying a copy!

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A really interesting read. Full of fascinating and unusual facts. My only gripe is that the author has not listed his sources.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

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