Contributions

  • Pedersen, Nate, author - Contributor

Publication

2017 - Workman Publishing, Inc., USA, New York (State)

Language

English

Word Count

86,000 words, Guess

Page Count

344 pages

Physical Format

Hardcover

Identifiers

and 1 more

Classifications

  • DDC615.8/56/09
  • LCCR730 .K36 2017

Description

"What won't we try in our quest for perfect health, beauty, and the fountain of youth? Well, just imagine a time when doctors prescribed morphine for crying infants. When liquefied gold was touted as immortality in a glass. And when strychnine--yes, that strychnine, the one used in rat poison--was dosed like Viagra. Looking back with fascination, horror, and not a little dash of dark, knowing humor, Quackery recounts the lively, at times unbelievable, history of medical misfires and malpractices. Ranging from the merely weird to the outright dangerous, here are dozens of outlandish, morbidly hilarious "treatments"--conceived by doctors and scientists, by spiritualists and snake oil salesmen (yes, they literally tried to sell snake oil)--that were predicated on a range of cluelessness, trial and error, and straight-up scams. With vintage illustrations, photographs, and advertisements throughout, Quackery seamlessly combines macabre humor with science and storytelling to reveal an important and disturbing side of the ever-evolving field of medicine"--

Subjects

Other Editions

  • Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways To Cure EverythingHardcoverWorkman Publishing, Inc.2017-01-01

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