Booknote: Dreadful Diseases and Terrible Treatments

Jonathan J. Moore, Dreadful Diseases and Terrible Treatments. New York: Metro Books, 2017. ISBN: 9781435164710.

Genre: nonfiction
Subgenre: history, health and medical, trivia
Format: paperbackM
Source: We bought this

The book is a history of disease and treatments over time. If anything, it reads a lot like a catalog of seriously bad medical ideas too. Before the medical establishment began to get a clue about things like washing your hands before surgery, things could be pretty gruesome if you were a patient.

The book is arranged into 11 thematic chapters. The narrative is not fully linear in terms of chronology. Chapter topics include:

• The Black Death
• Shocking Surgery
• Tropical Diseases
• On Fecal Matters

The book is an interesting read overall, but it can get gross at times. The author also includes plenty of engravings, illustrations, and photographs to complement the text. Some of the visuals can be a bit strong for some readers. I found the chapter on mental illness particularly interesting.

Overall, this is a book to read a bit a time. It  is not always easy to read, but it is interesting, and if nothing else, it may make you think twice about longing for "the good old days."  The book does give you a sense of how disease and responding to it shapes history. It is an accessible selection. Some parts have more depth than others, but still a good book. I liked it.

3 out of 5 stars.

This book qualifies for the following 2017 Reading Challenges: