This Librarian's Quick Picks: Bleed, Blister, Puke, and Purge

Bleed, Blister, Puke, and Purge: the Dirty Secrets Behind Early American Medicine
by J. Marin Younker
Zest Books, 2016
Middle Grade Narrative Nonfiction

Summary:

Riots over the medical use of cadavers. Public access to institutions for the insane. And full-blown surgeries without the aid of anesthetics or painkillers. Welcome to the middle ages of American medicine. Bleed, Blister, Puke, and Purge exposes the extraordinary practices and major players of American medical history, from the Colonial era to the late 1800s. It's hard to believe that today's cutting-edge medicine originated from such crude beginnings, but this book reminds us to be grateful for today's medical care, while also raising the question: what current medical practices will be the horrors of tomorrow?

Why You'll Love It:

• Readers learn about a variety of early American oddities as well as incremental medical advancements, such as the proliferation of freak shows, the practice of grave robbing for dissection of cadavers, medical quacks, and the emergence of the first hospital and medical school.
• Numerous sidebars chock-full of fascinating anecdotes coupled with Younker's sarcastic commentary peppered throughout add interest.
• It's gruesome -- need I say more??

Who Should Read It:

Great for 6th grade and up.

What Else You Should Read:

• An American Plague by Jim Murphy
• Bubonic Panic by Gail Jarrow
• Fatal Fever by Gail Jarrow