Under the Knife, Arnold van de Laar
Under the Knife, Arnold van de Laar
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Under the Knife
A History of Surgery in 28 Remarkable Operations

Author: Arnold van de Laar

Narrator: Rich Keeble

Unabridged: 9 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/02/2018


Synopsis

Surgeon Arnold van de Laar uses his own experience and expertise to tell this engrossing history of surgery through 28 famous operations—from Louis XIV and Einstein to JFK and Houdini.

From the story of the desperate man from seventeenth-century Amsterdam who grimly cut a stone out of his own bladder to Bob Marley's deadly toe, Under the Knife offers a wealth of fascinating and unforgettable insights into medicine and history via the operating room.

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?

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

About Arnold van de Laar

Arnold van de Laar is a surgeon in the Slotervaart Hospital in Amsterdam, specialising in laparoscopic surgery. Born in 1969 in the Dutch town of 's-Hertogenbosch, van de Laar became fascinated by how the human body works in school biology lessons and went on to study medicine at the Belgian University of Leuven. Having travelled the world - the Himalayas, Bhutan, Tibet, Nepal, Kashmir, and extensively in Africa - van de Laar took his first job as general surgeon on the Caribbean Island of Sint Maarten. He started writing pieces on surgical history in the Dutch medical journal Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Heelkunde in 2009. He now lives in Amsterdam with his wife and two children where, a true Dutchman, he cycles to work every day. Under the Knife is his first book.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Stefan on March 29, 2022

"Под ножа" е история на хирургията в 28 забележителни операции. Без никакво замисляне давам оценка 5 от 5 и съм сигурен, че книгата ще бъде полезна на всеки лекар, независимо от неговата специалност и интереси. Нидерландският писател и хирург Арнолд ван де Лаар ни повежда в забележително пътуване в м......more

Goodreads review by Grumpus on December 20, 2018

I love this stuff...medical history. It makes me thankful everyday for living in this time. Our ancestors must have been extremely tough people. Between disease, infections, wars, and starvation, I am continually amazed how any of us are here today. We are certainly a resilient species. This book cov......more

Goodreads review by Nostalgiaplatz on August 07, 2021

Interessante, divertente, alla portata anche del lettore privo di competenze mediche. L'autore, chirurgo egli stesso, in ventinove capitoli dedicati ad altrettante tipologie di intervento, narra la storia della chirurgia, guardando all'epoca in cui era un'arte sanguinosa che più facilmente conduceva......more

Goodreads review by Literary on June 05, 2019

As a former medical writer, I was intrigued by this history of surgery described by a laparoscopic surgeon through 28 famous operations of notables including JFK, Louis XIV, Houdini, and Einstein. How far we’ve come from blood letting to today’s robotic procedures, and the author takes us right into......more