Under the Knife: A History of Surgery in 28 Remarkable Operations
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- Create Date：2021-05-09 10:55:33
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Arnold van de Laar
- ISBN：1473633680
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Summary
In Under the Knife， surgeon Arnold Van de Laar uses his own experience and expertise to tell the witty history of the past， present and future of surgery。
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 all kinds of fascinating and unforgettable insights into medicine and history via the operating theatre。
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？
From the dark centuries of bloodletting and of amputations without anaesthetic to today's sterile， high-tech operating theatres， Under the Knife is both a rich cultural history， and a modern anatomy class for us all。
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 all kinds of fascinating and unforgettable insights into medicine and history via the operating theatre。
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？
From the dark centuries of bloodletting and of amputations without anaesthetic to today's sterile， high-tech operating theatres， Under the Knife is both a rich cultural history， and a modern anatomy class for us all。
Reviews
Rose Marstaller
，
This book started out being extremely interesting and insightful， something I could keep reading。 Towards the end of the book， the stories told to convert the surgeries became more and more dran out and it seemed like Laar felt the need to repeat himself over and over。Still a great book， that I might have liked a lot more， had I read it over a longer timeframe instead of a few days。
Jo Ladzinski
，
Listened to the audiobookContent warning: Infections， sutures， stitches， fatphobia （mentions of obesity）， gore， blood， old-timey medicineClearly， my non-fiction reads have taken on a specific mood。 We have more gross human anatomy and the things people have done to it。 This time， it’s not about cadavers， but about the major turning points in development of the operational theater。Van de Laar clearly has a passion for the work he does。 He takes great care describing the importance of his work， bu Listened to the audiobookContent warning: Infections， sutures， stitches， fatphobia （mentions of obesity）， gore， blood， old-timey medicineClearly， my non-fiction reads have taken on a specific mood。 We have more gross human anatomy and the things people have done to it。 This time， it’s not about cadavers， but about the major turning points in development of the operational theater。Van de Laar clearly has a passion for the work he does。 He takes great care describing the importance of his work， but also contextualizing the attitudes and beliefs leading up to the pivotal changes。My knowledge about medical history barely scratches the surface， so it feels disingenuous to say that I learned a lot。 But I did！ The histories told here are as interesting as the voyeurism of someone explaining medical procedures。 Particular highlights include Bob Marley’s toe， Pope John Paul II’s bullet wound， and the number of times I whispered， “Oh no， don’t do that” while listening。 Your mileage may vary depending on your squeamishness when it comes to infections and related。 。。。more
Kae
，
It was good but very different from what I expected。 Less exciting then I thought as it didn’t go over the cases as I thought they would。I just wish it had more interesting unique cases such as that if the electric eel instead of the overview of some and the slightly odd focus on the anus？ I did like hearing about Liston again， as he was mentioned several times in Dr。 Mütters marvels。
LBD
，
Engaging， highly informative， funny in many occasions and disgusting in a few others （sometimes both at the same time！） I really appreciated the idea of using 28 specific cases to delve deeper in different aspects of the history of surgery。 It’s a really interesting way of doing it and I believe it makes the book go faster。
Lynne Emmett
，
A remarkable history， not for the squeamish maybe， but I found it fascinating。
Imogen
，
Engaging， beautifully written。
Lydia Paladina
，
Absolutely fascinating and written with the clinical precision of a surgeon in understandable layman's terms！ My only complaint would be that this is a totally male dominated book on both patients and surgeons。 Although this isn't necessarily the fault of the author （it it wholly recognised that medicine， up until recently， used to be a male focused practise and most female medical workers have been left out of the history books）， he only uses two paragraphs right at the end of the book as a sid Absolutely fascinating and written with the clinical precision of a surgeon in understandable layman's terms！ My only complaint would be that this is a totally male dominated book on both patients and surgeons。 Although this isn't necessarily the fault of the author （it it wholly recognised that medicine， up until recently， used to be a male focused practise and most female medical workers have been left out of the history books）， he only uses two paragraphs right at the end of the book as a side note to mention women。 He sites some interesting and notable periods of history containing female surgeons， however， it clearly wasn't fascinating enough for him to create an entire chapter on it。 。。。more
Lisa
，
Super interessant und unterhaltsam geschrieben
Adri Dosi
，
Populárně naučná kniha o chirurgii je naprosto skvělá。 Tahle kniha si rozhodně nezaslouží být prodávána se slevou， protože je naprosto skvělá。 Nedívím se， že je to světový trhák。 Arnold van de Laar je nizozemský chirurg， který na 29 známých postavách， ale v reálu jich je mnohem více， přibližuje problematiku chirurgie。 Její historii， perličky o nichž se neví a taky se tu spoustu věcí z medicíny dozvíte。 Je tu člověk rozebrán od shora až dolů。 Je to ohromně zajímavé， zábavné a přínosné。Můžete si t Populárně naučná kniha o chirurgii je naprosto skvělá。 Tahle kniha si rozhodně nezaslouží být prodávána se slevou， protože je naprosto skvělá。 Nedívím se， že je to světový trhák。 Arnold van de Laar je nizozemský chirurg， který na 29 známých postavách， ale v reálu jich je mnohem více， přibližuje problematiku chirurgie。 Její historii， perličky o nichž se neví a taky se tu spoustu věcí z medicíny dozvíte。 Je tu člověk rozebrán od shora až dolů。 Je to ohromně zajímavé， zábavné a přínosné。Můžete si to dávkovat po kapitolách。 。。。more
Brogan Ganley
，
❤️
Recoco
，
“Under the knife” is organized into 28 different parts （chapters）。 Although this is book is mainly about surgery， the creepy bloody part aren’t too scary （maybe there is one part。。。）。 The book contains famous operations or on famous people。 Each chapter contains interesting stories， like a 300 percent death toll on a surgery， which is just bizarre， Harry Houdini’s operation， surgery before amnesia， etc。The chapters have unique historical stories of how the operations were handled at the time vs。 “Under the knife” is organized into 28 different parts （chapters）。 Although this is book is mainly about surgery， the creepy bloody part aren’t too scary （maybe there is one part。。。）。 The book contains famous operations or on famous people。 Each chapter contains interesting stories， like a 300 percent death toll on a surgery， which is just bizarre， Harry Houdini’s operation， surgery before amnesia， etc。The chapters have unique historical stories of how the operations were handled at the time vs。 how they would be handled today as well as a medical explanation of how things are supposed to work。 They also contain sidebars that contain key information， which is pretty helpful。 Each chapter basically turns from a narrative to a detailed informative。 The narration sets the scene for the operation/surgery and then the operation is described in detail （without too much gore。。。） and then ends by explaining how the surgery works。 The story’s are actually interesting and the explanation goes into lots of details。 The book’s introduction is also very interesting。You will find something of interest in these chapters and you will definitely learn something。 Completely recommend。 。。。more
Pat
，
A fascinating journey into the story of surgery and how famous people influenced the outcome。 Van De Laar’s accounts are based on true events in the lives of well known patients - such as J。F。K， Queen Victoria， Houdini and the Sun King。 If you like in-depth explanations of surgical operations you will enjoy this book。 Perhaps not a bedtime read though。
Franzi
，
Nachdem ich im Oktober "Der Horror der frühen Medizin" von Lindsay Fitzharris gelesen habe （was übrigens sehr zu empfehlen ist） wurde meine Liebe für das Genre der Medizingeschichte geweckt und ich brauchte dringend Nachschub！ Dieses Buch behandelt ein weites Spektrum von Ereignissen， die die Chirurgie wie wir sie heute kennen geprägt haben， wie bspw。 die Erfindung der Betäubung， anhand von Geschichten von mehr oder weniger berühmten Patienten， unteranderem John F。 Kennedy und Lenin。 Die Aufmach Nachdem ich im Oktober "Der Horror der frühen Medizin" von Lindsay Fitzharris gelesen habe （was übrigens sehr zu empfehlen ist） wurde meine Liebe für das Genre der Medizingeschichte geweckt und ich brauchte dringend Nachschub！ Dieses Buch behandelt ein weites Spektrum von Ereignissen， die die Chirurgie wie wir sie heute kennen geprägt haben， wie bspw。 die Erfindung der Betäubung， anhand von Geschichten von mehr oder weniger berühmten Patienten， unteranderem John F。 Kennedy und Lenin。 Die Aufmachung des Buches finde ich persönlich sehr gut und die einzelnen Geschichten sind interessant und sehr detailreich beschrieben （nichts für schwache Mägen！）。 Alle medizinischen Aspekte und Fachbegriffe werden kleinlich und verständlich erklärt， sodass auch Leute， die sich nicht so gut damit auskennen， dennoch alles verstehen。 Auch findet man hinten im Buch nochmal ein Glossar， sodass man beim Lesen hin und wieder mal einen Begriff nachschlagen kann。Ich bin mit nicht ganz so hohen Erwartungen an das Buch rangegangen， da ich von vielen Personen gehört habe， dass das Buch nicht annähernd so gut ist wie "der Horror der frühen Medizin" und dass van de Laar sehr viel von sich hält und man dies in seinem Schreibstil wiederfindet。 Dies kann ich jetzt nicht wirklich bestätigen。 Ich fand zwar "Der Horror der frühen Medizin" einen Ticken besser， aber auch finde ich， dass man die Bücher einfach nicht miteinander vergleichen kann。 In "Der Horror der frühen Medizin" geht es hauptsächlich nur um Joseph Lister， sein Leben und seine Entdeckungen und Lindsay Fitzharris hat konkret Medizingeschichte studiert。 Van de Laar hingegen， schildert Geschichten von mehreren Chirurgen und ist selber Chirurg， weshalb das Buch aus einem komplett unterschiedlichen Blickwinkel geschrieben ist und er den Verlauf der Operationen viel ausführlicher erläutern kann。 Dennoch hatte ich ein paar Probleme mit dem Buch。 Zum einen haben mich die Erklärkästen gestört， die einfach mitten in den Text geklatscht wurden， meistens nichts wichtiges/wissenswertes für das Kapitel darin stand und man komplett aus dem Lesefluss des Kapitels gerissen wurde。 Und zum anderen， dass keine zeitliche oder inhaltliche Ordnung in dem Buch zu finden war。 Das eine Kapitel spielt im 2。 Jahrhundert， dann springt man auf einmal nach 1976 und dann zurück ins Mittelalter。 Diese Zeitsprünge finde ich persönlich nervig， da man sich immer auf ein anderes Zeitalter einstellen muss und nochmal überlegen muss， welche gesellschaftlichen und sozialen Umstände zu der Zeit gerade herrschten。Dennoch ist das Buch sehr lehrreich und ich hatte großen Spaß es zu lesen。 Man hat nicht nur über die Geschichte der Chirurgie gelernt， sondern auch einen Einblick in die Funktionsweise und Aufbau des Körpers， sowie dem Ablauf verschiedener Operationen und ärztlicher Vorgehensweisen erhalten。 Auch interessant finde ich， das das Buch selber von einem Chirurgen mit Berufserfahrung geschrieben wurde。 Das Buch ist interessant und humoristisch geschrieben und ich musste an manchen Stellen laut auflachen。Alles in allem hat mir das Buch sehr gut gefallen und ich würde es auf jeden Fall weiterempfehlen。 Also， wenn euch "Der Horror der frühen Medizin" gefallen hat， oder ihr neu in dem Genre seid und mehr über Medizingeschichte erfahren wollt， ist das Buch sehr zu empfehlen！ :） 。。。more
Bethany
，
A bit repetitive and dry， although the author does liven it up with a lot of mentions of the scrotum， anus， and other titillating body parts and functions。 I was fascinated by some cases， bored by others。
Luca Bonazza
，
Tante storie carine， bello per chi vuole avvicinarsi alla chirurgia。 Forse un po' troppo semplicistico e la traduzione italiana non è accuratissima。 Tante storie carine， bello per chi vuole avvicinarsi alla chirurgia。 Forse un po' troppo semplicistico e la traduzione italiana non è accuratissima。 。。。more
Anna Dzh
，
Книга для тих， хто думає， що подорож назад у часі - чудова ідея。
Paula
，
I agree with the criticisms regarding the simplicity of language used and the lack of women in surgery。 However， it is a very entertaining read full of fun historical anecdotes about presidents， dictators， etc。 So many famous names in medicine and surgery are discussed。 Terms and procedures are explained for the layperson。
B
，
Very fascinating， not exactly what I was expecting however- the title lists “a history of surgery in 28 remarkable operations。” There were some surgeries described， but quite a few health conditions versus actual surgeries。 But still an interesting read。
Nurul Syahirah Mohd Nazri
，
This is really good！！ The author invites you into a world of curiosity and respect for and towards the surgical world。 This book covers some interesting historical operations。 The stories described and explained in the most medical manner。 All the following chapters have unique historical stories of how the operations were handled at the time vs。 how they would be handled today！
meg fitzwater
，
so good。 so gory。 recommend listening to the audiobook for full gross effect， a real weak-at-the-knees listen at points。 especially enjoyed listening in public and trying not to make faces and certain disgusting parts。 it was also v educational。 LOVED the breakdown in between each chapter of surgical terminology/history/procedures etc。 kinda wanna relisten ！！！
Janet Mitchell
，
This is a really fascinating read for anyone interested in the world of medicine， Written in layman's terms and with some great stories to underpin each chapter， I thoroughly enjoyed it。 I am not a Doctor or， indeed in the medical profession in any form but I am a sceintist by training。 I do believe it is accesible to all。 I read it in 2 days！ This is a really fascinating read for anyone interested in the world of medicine， Written in layman's terms and with some great stories to underpin each chapter， I thoroughly enjoyed it。 I am not a Doctor or， indeed in the medical profession in any form but I am a sceintist by training。 I do believe it is accesible to all。 I read it in 2 days！ 。。。more
Amy
，
I really enjoyed the format of the book。
Kbrown5455
，
Very interesting work with evidence of huge historical investigation。 Occasional misanthropic statement detracts from this， and the effete tone of the narrator amplifies this。 Probably would have been better to have read the physical book than the audiobook
Ioana Chiriac-Moruzzi
，
I enjoyed it from cover to cover。 I found out some really useful information on why and how doctors do the things they do and history facts that should be taught in history of medicine subject。
Kelly Harris
，
To be frank， I was quite apprehensive prior to reading this book。 With limited medical knowledge， I feared that I would not be able to truly understand this novel and all it entailed because of my ignorance。 However， van de Laar writes in an intellectual manner that no only provides you a basic understanding of medical history but does not assume knowledge。Under the Knife is a thrilling novel where each chapter provides a snippet in time of history， a surgical procedure， and how we have evolved To be frank， I was quite apprehensive prior to reading this book。 With limited medical knowledge， I feared that I would not be able to truly understand this novel and all it entailed because of my ignorance。 However， van de Laar writes in an intellectual manner that no only provides you a basic understanding of medical history but does not assume knowledge。Under the Knife is a thrilling novel where each chapter provides a snippet in time of history， a surgical procedure， and how we have evolved in medicine。 It provided me with a greater understanding and appreciation for how far we have advanced in medicine and how the profession of a Surgeon has evolved。I highly recommend this book to those who are seeking an understanding of medical history， have a keen interest in medicine， or are enthralled by non-fiction novels。 。。。more
Paul Snelling
，
A collection of stories， originally journal articles， combining accounts of historical figures’ surgical procedures along with erudite explanations of the techniques involved then and now。 We learn of Lenin’s strokes， an astronaut’s placebo and a particular favourite， Louis XIV’s bottom and his revolting habits。 My bath book for the past year， its a rare combination of wit and information brilliantly written by a dutch surgeon。 Highly recommended。
Lee McKerracher
，
This is a fascinating book that looks at the development of surgery across the centuries。 Each chapter is devoted to a specific type of procedure and how it was originally conducted， through to modern developments that include hygiene procedures and of course technology。The accounts of surgeons looking after King Louis XIV， Lee Harvey Oswald， Bob Marley and even an electric eel are fascinating。 It is incredible to read about how surgeons in the 16th and 17th centuries conducted procedures withou This is a fascinating book that looks at the development of surgery across the centuries。 Each chapter is devoted to a specific type of procedure and how it was originally conducted， through to modern developments that include hygiene procedures and of course technology。The accounts of surgeons looking after King Louis XIV， Lee Harvey Oswald， Bob Marley and even an electric eel are fascinating。 It is incredible to read about how surgeons in the 16th and 17th centuries conducted procedures without any anesthetic - just hold down the patient！The author， Arnold van de Laar is a surgeon in Amsterdam， so is an authoritative voice who provides excellent insights。 A really good historical read。 。。。more
Marco
，
Fantastic walk through the history of surgical advancements。Van de Laar uses famous figures like JFK and Bob Marley， who needed surgical interventions， to make the reader appreciate surgeons even more。
Ed
，
3。5 Fascinating stuff if you’re interested in medical history with lots of blood， guts and pus。 If that’s not your cup of tea， pass。
Vivek Kulanthaivelpandian
，