Under the Knife cover art

Under the Knife

A History of Surgery in 28 Remarkable Operations

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Under the Knife

By: Arnold van de Laar
Narrated by: Rich Keeble
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About this listen

The history of surgery in 28 famous operations - from Louis XIV to JFK, and from Einstein to Houdini.

In Under the Knife, surgeon Arnold Van de Laar uses his own experience and expertise to tell the witty history of the past, present and future of surgery. From the story of the desperate man from 17th-century Amsterdam who grimly cut a stone out of his own bladder to Bob Marley's deadly toe infection, Under the Knife offers all kinds of fascinating and unforgettable insights into medicine and history via the operating theatre.

What happens during an operation? How does the human body respond to being attacked by a knife, a bacterium, a cancer cell or a bullet? And, as medical advances continuously push the boundaries of what medicine can cure, what are the limits of surgery?

From the dark centuries of bloodletting and of amputations without anaesthetic to today's sterile, high-tech operating theatres, Under the Knife is both a rich cultural history and a modern anatomy class for us all.

©2018 Arnold van de Laar (P)2018 Hodder & Stoughton Limited Medicine & Health Care Industry Physical Illness & Disease Surgery Witty

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All stars
Most relevant  
Entertaining and informative, and a fascinating tale of humankind's discovery of ways to cut into the body to cure all kinds of ailments. My attention never wandered. Highly recommended - but you must not be afraid of gore, body parts and bodily functions!

Excellent reading, fascinating subject

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A fantastic introduction to the world of surgery. The author introduces really interesting case studies with great technical back story. A great listen.

Fascinating!

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I am making this essential reading for my medical students. It gives informative stories how we get to current management. Fascinating. I’ll listen again.

Beyond Excellent

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Very interesting, particularly for non medical people. Although I am a medical student and did enjoy the history aspect! Great for people looking to persue medical career

For people without medical knowladge

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Loved this book. The story of ‘surgery’ through the ages and told by a surgeon who recalls his favourite antidotes. It’s not a book for the squeamish but it’s a wonderful book if you want to learn. Brilliant narration too!

Wonderful

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Many books about surgery gloss over the gory details, which I find disappointing since that is quite often what I'm reading them for! There is a good balance of education and storytelling in this book, which made for a really entertaining listen.
There are many unbelievable tales in the history of surgery. The ones collected here by Arnold van de Laar illustrate the progression of surgery as a discipline in medicine - or in some cases, regression of surgery - as well as showcasing some truly bizarre moments in history. You will meet presidents, popes, royalty and excessively brave Dutch men in these stories, as well as the pioneering (or otherwise) surgeons who operated on them.
The level of detail about tools and techniques and the nitty-gritty of anatomy was fantastic. But I felt this book maybe lacked the heart (no pun intended!) of similar books like 'Adventures in Human Being' or 'All That Remains'. It is still extremely enjoyable, and at times had me gasping out loud in horror as well as 'mmm'ing in amazement.

Fascinating - nothing left out

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Great book which was turned into a wonderful narration by the narration.
I could have listen to.many more stories.told.as.though you were face to face with the narrator.

wonderful Narration

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an easy listen with lots of explanations and definitions to make the experience enjoyable for everyone with no details spared from some very amusing examples of surgery through the ages!

enjoyable, funny, informative.

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You need a strong stomach for some of the content of this book but it is extremely interesting and well researched. Highly recommended!

Fascinating

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I was enthralled and amazed by the stories. this could have been a bore but was delivered in such a way to keep the listener wanting to know more. Great book.

Amazing stories

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