Strange Medicine: A Shocking History of Real Medical Practices Through the Ages

Nathan Belofsky

Oct 2021 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Chris Andrew Ciulla

About this audiobook

Now published in five languages, Strange Medicine casts a gimlet eye on the practice of medicine through the ages that highlights the most dubious ideas, bizarre treatments, and biggest blunders. From bad science and oafish behavior to stomach-turning procedures that hurt more than helped, Strange Medicine presents strange but true facts and an honor roll of doctors, scientists, and dreamers who inadvertently turned the clock of medicine backward: - The ancient Egyptians applied electric eels to cure gout. - Medieval dentists burned candles in patients' mouths to kill invisible worms gnawing at their teeth. - Renaissance physicians timed surgical procedures according to the position of the stars, and instructed epileptics to collect fresh blood from the newly beheaded. - Dr. Walter Freeman, the world's foremost practitioner of lobotomies, practiced his craft while traveling on family camping trips, cramming the back of the station wagon with kids-and surgical tools-then hammering ice picks into the eye sockets of his patients in between hikes in the woods. Strange Medicine is an illuminating panorama of medical history as you've never seen it before.

About the author

Nathan Belofsky is the author of Strange Medicine and The Book of Strange and Curious Legal Oddities. His writings have appeared in major publications and been cited by the New Yorker Book Bench, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist. He lives in New York City, where he writes and practices law.

Chris Andrew Ciulla is a versatile performer with over 50 audiobook credits to his name. In addition to frequent film, television, and on-camera commercial work, Chris has voiced characters for the popular video game titles Fallout 4 and Mafia III, and can be heard in national commercial campaigns.