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    The Knife Man: The Extraordinary Life and Times of John Hunter, Father of Modern Surgery
    Unavailable
    The Knife Man: The Extraordinary Life and Times of John Hunter, Father of Modern Surgery
    Unavailable
    The Knife Man: The Extraordinary Life and Times of John Hunter, Father of Modern Surgery
    Audiobook13 hours

    The Knife Man: The Extraordinary Life and Times of John Hunter, Father of Modern Surgery

    Written by Wendy Moore

    Narrated by Steve West

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    When Robert Louis Stevenson wrote his gothic horror story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, he based the house of the genial doctor-turned-fiend on the home of John Hunter. The choice was understandable, for Hunter was both widely acclaimed and greatly feared.

    From humble origins, John Hunter rose to become the most famous anatomist and surgeon of the eighteenth century. In an age when operations were crude, extremely painful, and often fatal, he rejected medieval traditions to forge a revolution in surgery founded on pioneering scientific experiments. Using the knowledge he gained from countless human dissections, Hunter worked to improve medical care for both the poorest and the best-known figures of the era-including Sir Joshua Reynolds and the young Lord Byron.

    An insatiable student of all life-forms, Hunter was also an expert naturalist. He kept exotic creatures in his country menagerie and dissected the first animals brought back by Captain Cook from Australia. Ultimately his research led him to expound highly controversial views on the age of the earth, as well as equally heretical beliefs on the origins of life more than sixty years before Darwin published his famous theory.

    Although a central figure of the Enlightenment, Hunter's tireless quest for human corpses immersed him deep in the sinister world of body snatching. He paid exorbitant sums for stolen cadavers and even plotted successfully to steal the body of Charles Byrne, famous in his day as the "Irish giant."

    In The Knife Man, Wendy Moore unveils John Hunter's murky and macabre world-a world characterized by public hangings, secret expeditions to dank churchyards, and gruesome human dissections in pungent attic rooms. This is a fascinating portrait of a remarkable pioneer and his determined struggle to haul surgery out of the realms of meaningless superstitious ritual and into the dawn of modern medicine.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateApr 28, 2015
    ISBN9781101922033
    Unavailable
    The Knife Man: The Extraordinary Life and Times of John Hunter, Father of Modern Surgery

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    Reviews for The Knife Man

    4/5

    136 ratings16 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Fascinating, and frequently gruesome, story of the man who more or less singlehandedly revolutionized surgery and medicine. John Hunter refused to accept the traditional style of surgery, which was apparently to cut while reading the instructions from classical medical men - Galen and Hippocrates, both of whom worked on theory more than fact. Hunter insisted on observing what was actually going on in the body - which meant graverobbing to get corpses to autopsy, among other things. He also dissected every type of animal he could get his hands on, including many exotics brought back by explorers or out of various (mostly private) zoos. According to Wendy Moore, he perceived the same relationships among animals (including Man) that Darwin did some sixty years later - but a combination of religious limitations on publication and the actions of his assistant, who took all his papers and apparently destroyed a good many, kept his discoveries from being known. It's a biography, so it has a sad ending; in this case, the ending is also really annoying, as said assistant did his best to wreck everything Hunter had created. It's an illuminating look at a person and a situation I knew little about. I hope Moore has written and will write more books.
    • 5/5
      I enjoyed this book immensely. It is a quick read compared to most biographies, but it is packed with so much research and detail. John Hunter, (13 February 1728 – 16 October 1793), the "Father of Scientific Surgery", was a man ahead of his time. Hunter began his career in the service of his brother William, the famed anatomist, and having no prior experience, and using only his observational knowledge and a meticulous hand, managed to work his way up becoming the most famed surgeon at St. George's Hospital. His unrelenting determination to spread the idea of learning from correlation, observation, and investigation inspired many pupils and future doctors to improve upon the traditional methods of diagnosis. Among these gentlemen was Edward Jenner, future pioneer of the smallpox vaccine. He also made many strides and discoveries in the fields of dentistry, the treatment of gunshot wounds, venereal diseases, digestion, fetal development, and the lymphatic system. But while the author obviously enjoys her subject, she does not shy away from the more controversial points of Hunter's career. For the sake of science, there were unknowing volunteers for Hunter's experiments, hiring body snatchers to steal corpses of various sex, shape, size and age, and vivisection on live animals. But at the same time as she describes the life of John Hunter, one also learns a lot about the other scientific achievements of his friends and colleagues, as well as London life at the peak of the Enlightenment. So if you are a fan of medical history, or the 18th century, I highly recommend this book.
    • 4/5
      John Hunter rose from a poor Scottish farming family to become one of the leading men of science and medicine. His courage (he inserted a knife's point covered in pus into his urethra to see if syphilis and gonorrhea were the same disease! omg!), his lack of hypocrisy (in an age when even surgeons, who relied on dissections, refused to let their bodies be disturbed, he actually requested an autopsy), and his clear-sighted reliance on evidence instead of assumptions and tradition helped him transform surgery and natural sciences. From a farm boy with an unfashionable accent he became the chosen surgeon of such luminaries as Lord Byron, Benjamin Franklin, and William Pitt the Younger. Unfortunately, he poured all his money into creating an incredible natural history museum, so upon his death his family was left destitute. Additionally, his brother-in-law stole his papers in order to steal his ideas and ensure that Home, not Hunter, got the glory of the discoveries.

      Moore weaves together the zeitgeist and scientific theories of the time with the facts of Hunter's extraordinary life. His story is fascinating, and her writing is lucid and energetic.
    • 3/5
      This was a bit of an interesting read that takes you back into the late 1700's and headfirst into the medical fields where surgery is starting to emerge from the barbers as a more prestigious field. And in the middle of this transition into scientific thinking and experiments and modern surgery is John Hunter.

      The book was a lot denser than I would have expected just because there was so much information that didn't read as easily as a story would. But that is to be expected because it really is hard to condense a person's life into so many pages. It went from experiment to discovery and back to experiments with bits of John Hunter's life to connect them all. Which was fascinating when I cared about the experiment or didn't realize that Hunter had a hand in a discovery. But at times, it bogged down a bit and I just didn't care about some fantastical freak or strange exotic animal called the giraffe.

      But the experiments were quite fascinating, and sometimes the name-dropping was interesting. Such as the knowledge that Hunter treated Lord Bryon, or his writing on whale anatomy would inspire the book Moby-Dick, or that he was the one to use vivid dyes to highlight veins and blood flow, or that he managed to be the first to understand human embryology by dissecting a pregnant lady, etc.

      There were so many ethical issues! So many of his experiments would NOT have gone down in modern times. Stealing someone's dead body despite their last will? Pulling teeth from impoverished kids to implant into wealthy nobles? Digging up cadavers, injecting himself with syphilis and gonorrhea for an experiment, etc. My goodness!

      But one very interesting thing that I kept noticing throughout the book was how there are still similarities from the late 1700's in modern medicine. Things like publication wars, differing opinions of certain surgeries, the lack of respect between different scientific professions, the disagreement between religion and science, the use of connections to get ahead... I can see a lot of it in the present world as well.

      I found myself a little distracted with the title of the chapters because they weren't always exactly relevant to the central theme of that chapter.

      Really, it was all very fascinating and quite cohesive, following a chronological flow.

      Two and a half stars rounded up to three because it was a good read and I'm glad I read it. I won't read it again because I don't think there is any reason to revisit these experiments. It was enough to know that Hunter was a part of this revolutionary ideas. I've expanded my knowledge and learned something new. The book was interesting, but not enrapturing and completely engaging, so two and a half. But it was good, so I'm putting it up as three.

      Only recommended for people who like biographies and a bit of a history lesson - with some interest in the medical field. This is a book for pretty specific interests.
    • 4/5
      A thoroughly readable, meticulously detailed biography of a crucial figure in the development of modern medicine who remains relatively unknown outside the medical profession. While Moore makes a strong case that Hunter's contributions to surgery, anatomy, biology, and paleontology were under-appreciated both in his time and ours, his lack of name recognition might also be blamed on the fact that his career, unlike those of, say, Pasteur or Jenner, cannot be summed by a single invention or idea. Moore gets around this problem by painting a fascinating picture of the social and medical scene that Hunter worked in. In "The Knife Man," we learn a great deal about dissection lectures, body snatching, medical politics, and the primitive, painful, and gruesome state of medicine in the eighteenth century. This isn't a book for the squeamish, and, in its forthright descriptions of surgeries performed without anesthetics or antiseptics will probably be too much for some readers. Meanwhile, its descriptions what might be politely termed the anatomical supply industry tips Moore's subject into the surreal – the fight for the bones of Charles Byrne, an eighteenth century oddity known as "the Irish Giant," seems right out of a Hollywood farce. In this sense, "The Knife Man" makes an interesting companion volume to Mary Roach's "Stiff," the important difference being that most of cadavers that Roach met with had agreed to donate their bodies to science while alive.Moore also does an excellent job of bringing John Hunter himself to life in the pages of "The Knife Man." He comes across as an enormous personality – difficult, tireless, endlessly curious, and always on the lookout for another preserved body part or worthwhile experiment. The engaging portrait of Hunter that Moore paints in "The Knife Man" is all the more remarkable for the fact that most of his personal papers seem to have been destroyed after his death. In a sense, In a sense, it's Hunter's spirit that might be his greatest contribution to modern medicine. He loved to experiment, to teach, and to collect, but while many of contemporaries owned "cabinets of curiosities," his collecting seemed to be driven not by a taste for the lurid and unusual but for a genuine appreciation of life in all of its forms and varieties. For this, Moore names him one of Darwin's precursors. I don't know enough about any of this to comment on that, but in "The Knife Man," she convinced me that John Hunter read the "book of nature" as well as, and as enthusiastically as, any scientist who ever lived.
    • 4/5
      An excellent biography of what has to be one of the greatest forces in English Medicine and worldwide surgery ever. An amazing story about how a boy from rural Scotland became the premier surgeon in London, during Hanoverian times. Absolutely superb, and very enlightening about other famous surgeons from that time in history, Pott, Hebederden, etc. The dual nature of how Hunter was percieved, in terms of the body snatching, the anatomical dissection of others, is not glossed over. This isn't hero worship from Wendy Moore, and all the better for it. I can think of no finer introduction for anyone interested in the history of surgery, medicine or anyone with an interest in Georgian London and England. If I had one quibble and it is only a minor one, it is that there does need to be some editing in parts of the work. Other than that, highly recommended
    • 5/5
      This is a well researched and well written biography of the life and the career of John Hunter, who is called the "Father of Modern Surgery". John Hunter was a surgeon in Georgian England. He was a dedicated student of anatomy -- both human and animal. He believed in knowledge through observation, and in teaching young doctors to observe, and to think. Mr. Hunter's ideas were centuries ahead of his time and his knowledge of the human body was second to none. He treated kings, prime ministers, writers and other famous people, including Benjamin Franklin. He also devoted considerable attention and time to the poor. He is said to have inspired both Dr. Doolittle and the setting of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.Not only did the author do an excellent job of describing Mr. Hunter's theories and discoveries, she also painted a vivid picture of life in Georgian England. As autopsies were new, and controversial, Mr. Hunter worked regularly with body snatchers; cleanliness was far from godliness as the causes of disease were unknown; and explorers are navigating the oceans -- bringing back previously unseen animal and plant specimens to Hunter.Very well done and likely to be enjoyed by people with an interest in medicine or biographies.
    • 5/5
      This has been given to me by one of my buisness partners and is absolutel brilliant> Highly recommended for those who have an interest in the history of medicine or Georgian London. Hunter himself, a fascinating subject for any biography is well drawn pout and his curiosity is infectious. That said, his faults and unethical procedures are not shirked and this makes for a very interesting character study and fascinating insight in a very neglected area of the history of medicine. Recommended absolutely
    • 5/5
      Oh this was great: biography of John Hunter, who pioneered the science of anatomy.
    • 5/5
      The Eighteenth Century ushered in what would become known as the "Enlightenment". A new philosophy of progress was proclaimed by intellectuals throughout Europe. They proclaimed that Reason would create a better future; science and technology, as Francis Bacon had taught, would enhance man's control over nature, and cultural progress, prosperity and the conquest of disease would follow. While Condorcet's vision is still not complete, Wendy Moore's biography of Dr. John Hunter, The Knife Man, captures one man's contribution to it.Moore depicts Hunter's life and catches the reader's attention through the use of intriguing episodes in his life. Told in a chronological style, the life of Hunter had many exciting episodes to recount as he was what one might call a "larger than life" character. Always unafraid to upset friend and foe alike, he never rested in his search for the truth about human and other animals' physiology. He become a premiere surgeon despite his distaste for "book learning" through his own observations and what we call the scientific method of experimentation and verification. He impressed me as an enlightenment version of Aristotle in his method of theorizing based on observation of the real world. He was among the first to do autopsies on dead people, he developed methods for revival of life through electric shock (Benjamin Franklin was among his friends), and he used artificial insemination to help a woman conceive. He would work for free with poor people while buying their dead bodies from the graveyard later. He was obsessed with immortality and whether it was possible to obtain it.A fellow Scot whose heritage I share, John Hunter created modern medicine and surgery as we know it, as well as being the inspiration for the next generation of artists (Joshua Reynolds), composers (Haydn), writers (Tobias Smollett, Samuel Johnson, Lord Byron among others) and of course doctors (Lister and Jenner in particular) plus Hunter would be credited with being the inspiration for Dr Doolittle and his house would inspire Robert Louis Stevenson's "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" (another of those ubiquitous Scots). More importantly, from my perspective and interest in philosophy and economics, was his friendship with David Hume and Adam Smith, the latter whose health he aided in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to turn around his declining health in the 1780s. Hunter would later found the Royal College of Surgeons as well as the Royal Veterinary College. His museum of body parts and skeletons still exists to this very day. He would become Surgeon-Extraordinary to King George III and Surgeon-General of the British Army.As in our day and earlier times the independent-minded forward thinker is not rewarded for his views by the establishment. Just as the men who discovered the earth was not the center of the universe were chastised by the church, so Hunter was criticized by the medical establishment of his day. With his colleagues still practising medicine and surgery from the Dark Ages, Hunter would be cutting up dead bodies and examining the anatomy of bodies to discover how they worked. He would do the same with animals from dogs to elephants to zebras. He would then give lectures to an army of adoring medical students while his scheming brother would steal the body parts for his own private collection. I was impressed with the large numbers of young physicians who attended Hunter's lectures and demonstrations, for they would form the medicine of the future. Wendy Moore nicely relates the life of this giant of the enlightenment who changed the course of medicine for the better.
    • 4/5
      This was the story of John Hunter's life and career. He had a persistent curiosity in life and used his talents and life to answer these questions. In the process he brought the power of observation and experimentation into the practice of medicine, specifically surgery. Often his own worst enemy because of his unwillingness to bend to outdated treatments and philosophies he died arguing for his views. He was beloved by many because of his competance and knowledge.I enjoyed this biography because I learned the bridge from old supersitious medical care to the medi al care of today, based upon observation and experimenation. I was not bothered by any of the "ghoulish" images noted in the cover quotes etc.I would give this book 4 stars.
    • 4/5
      Moore's book is a biography of the first "modern" surgeon John Hunter, who revolutionized the science of medicine in the mid-18th century. She does an excellent of tying in the social atmosphere of the day concerning medical techniques, borrowing viewpoints from Adam Smith, Samuel Johnson (and Boswell, of course), and Benjamin Franklin. Her only downfall, however, is that some of the chapters repeat ideas/theses from earlier chapters. Her study of Hunter as doctor/surgeon/scientist/natural historian/biologist is remarkable in its breadth and scholarship regardless of its repetitiousness. A great read.
    • 5/5
      I can sum up my review thusly: I have never studied medicine, and I am not usually a fan of historical or biographical novels.I could not put this down. It is stunningly written, engaging and fascinating.
    • 3/5
      Fascinating biography of John Hunter, a body snatcher, anatomist, and pioneer of modern surgery. He clearly was working towards a theory like Darwin's, about 100 years earlier. Surgery before knowlege of the role of cleanliness, before anesthetics, and before the major systems of the body had been mapped (Hunter figured out, for instance, that the placenta had its own blood for the fetus) was gory, painful, and death-defying.Wow.
    • 5/5
      A well-written and fascinating biography of John Hunter, who was Europe’s (and probably the world’s) premier anatomist and surgeon during the 1700s. Hunter is responsible for pushing surgery away from blind following of traditions passed down from master to apprentice towards becoming a scientific enterprise, in which experimentation, analysis, and prediction based on knowledge are more important than the words of an ancient scholar.
    • 5/5
      I am not a fan of biographies but I was completely captivated by this book from page one. A fellow Scot like myself, John Hunter created modern medicine and surgery as we know it, as well as being the inspiration for the next generation of artists (Joshua Reynolds), composers (Haydn), writers (Samuel Johnson, Lord Byron and many others) and of course doctors (Lister and Jenner in particular) plus Hunter would be credited with being the inspiration for Dr Doolittle and his house would inspire Stevenson's "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde". He would later found the Royal College of Surgeons as well as the Royal Vetinary College. His museum of body parts and skeletons still exists to this very day. He would become Surgeon-Extraordinary to King George III and Surgeon-General of the British Army.But despite all this, Hunter would be despised in his lifetime for his progressive and forward-thinking theories. With his colleagues still practising medicine and surgery from the Dark Ages, Hunter would be cutting up dead bodies, examining the anatomy of the body and discovering how things worked. He would do the same with animals from dogs to elephants to zebras. He would then give lectures to an army of adoring medical students while his scheming brother would steal the body parts for his own private collection.Hunter would eventually become the premier surgeon in London, treating rich and poor with his modern ideas. He was the first to do autopsies on dead people, he invented methods which basically invented defibrillation of the heart (electric shocks) and artificial insemination to help a woman conceive. He would work for free with poor people while buying their dead bodies from the graveyard later. He was obsessed with immortality and whether it was possible to obtain it.This book is extremely fascinating. Hunter basically started what we consider today as day-to-day straight forward common surgery. If it wasn't for John Hunter, surgeons today would still be doing blood-letting and induced vomiting!!! The book is very graphic and blood-thirsty and makes you realise the horrors of falling ill in 18th Century Britain.Get this book. Read it then read it again. Keep it on your bookshelf and keep reading it time and time again. Next time you're successfully cured by your doctor, thank John Hunter.