Biography

Genius on the Edge: The Bizarre Double Life of Dr. William Stewart Halsted

Genius on the Edge: The Bizarre Double Life of Dr. William Stewart Halsted

  • Downloads：4003
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-09-05 08:53:55
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Gerald Imber
  • ISBN：1607148587
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Summary

Now in paperback， the groundbreaking biography of the most influential surgeon in American history。

“Gerald Imber’s new biography is the first retelling of Halstead’s story in many decades and a particularly expert and thoughtprovoking narrative makes the intense strangeness of Halstead’s subsequent career a gripping story。”


—Abigail Zuger， New York Times Science Section

Dr。 William Stewart Halsted’s life was fascinating and complex。 Halsted， perhaps the most important surgeon America has ever produced， battled a lifelong cocaine addiction and maintained numerous secret relationships while simultaneously devising revolutionary medical innovations。 Yet the story of Halsted’s life， one of seemingly irreconcilable extremes， is in many ways the story of modern medicine。

Before Halsted， poorly-trained doctors performed surgery without anesthesia in unsanitary conditions and patients were rarely expected to survive。 Halstead transformed the medical practice by inventing local and spinal anesthesia; introducing the use of rubber gloves during surgery; pioneering the use of fine silk thread for sutures; developing techniques for stabilizing blood pressure during surgery; and inventing the radical mastectomy， blood transfusions， and surgical cures for hernias。

Genius on the Edge is an illuminating biography of a complex and troubled man whose brilliance we continue to benefit
from today。

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Reviews

Marije ，

3。5 stars

Karol ，

Events were effectively described in detail， not boring， but intriguing and I honestly was impressed。

Paalan ，

The story is quite interesting， but probably will be revealed better in the future sequels （hope there are more）

Tonya ，

Quick read。 I really liked the beautiful story line。

Joana ，

The plot was fresh。

Sheri ，

I love this story。 It held my attention from start to finish。

Ettie ，

I would highly recommend this brilliant book written by Gerald Imber。

ag Berg ，

Interesting history of surgery and antiseptic practices but a bit dull to read。

Mike Dorenbusch ，

Outstanding biopic of a true revolutionary in medicine and in surgery。

Reviews by Joline ，

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Genius on the Edge: The Bizarre Double Life of Dr。 William Stewart Halsted 。

Boyce Reviews ，

Well written with a little more insight with passing pages。

Caitlin Carr ，

Totally fascinating biography， recommend to anyone with an interest in medical and surgical history！

Dries Human ，

Fascinating and revealing about medical history。Well told

Dhartridge ，

I ended up skimming the last third or so of this book。 Others have mentioned the fact that having all his letters destroyed left a gap in the ability to get a sense of Haldane as a person。 I almost invariably enjoy books about doctors and medical history， but my feelings about this one are tepid。

Lovepug ，

One of the best medical historical nonfiction books I have ever read （and I have ready many）。 It’s a page turner from the start！ I am in healthcare and a little dorky so my enthusiasm maybe strongly linked to my love for medicine。 If you are In healthcare or fascinated by history of medicine then it is a MUST read。

Janelle ，

There is so much to learn in this wonderful biography of the father of modern surgery。 It has some astonishing details and facts that show how Halsted helped birth some of the accepted norms of modern medicine。 What's even more incredible are the quirks and oddities of his personality which makes his success even more astonishing。 This is a wonderful look at some of the founding members of the medical community （along with the dawn of Johns Hopkins） around Halsted in a well-written， easily under There is so much to learn in this wonderful biography of the father of modern surgery。 It has some astonishing details and facts that show how Halsted helped birth some of the accepted norms of modern medicine。 What's even more incredible are the quirks and oddities of his personality which makes his success even more astonishing。 This is a wonderful look at some of the founding members of the medical community （along with the dawn of Johns Hopkins） around Halsted in a well-written， easily understood manner。 。。。more

Nathan Douthit ，

I read this on a beach trip and it was a perfect beach read。 The man was compelling and the time he was alive was a fascinating period in medical history。 The writing was good， not great and the storyline was a bit difficult to follow。 All in all it’s one I’m glad to have in my personal library and will recommend to others。

Miriamgreen ，

Between 1880 and 1920 modern medicine as we know it came into being。 William Halsted and three of his contemporaries were largely responsible for this miracle of medicine。As steward and rare book librarian at the Historical Medical Library [Cushing-Klebs-Fulton collections] at Yale School of Medicine [New Haven] for most of my library career， Halsted was always a figure of interest。 The 80s were cocaine-time so he obviously peaked my interest。 Knowledge of Halsted came from many avenues， but esp Between 1880 and 1920 modern medicine as we know it came into being。 William Halsted and three of his contemporaries were largely responsible for this miracle of medicine。As steward and rare book librarian at the Historical Medical Library [Cushing-Klebs-Fulton collections] at Yale School of Medicine [New Haven] for most of my library career， Halsted was always a figure of interest。 The 80s were cocaine-time so he obviously peaked my interest。 Knowledge of Halsted came from many avenues， but especially through his interactions with Harvey Cushing， the founder of modern brain surgery， who trained under Halsted at J Hopkins during the early 1900s。 The Historical Library was basically the Cushing collection， and the archives dealt with most of the names mentioned throughout the book。 The biography was fascinating， comprehensive， intelligent， and insightful。 The many small details led to filling out a portrait of Halsted whose enormous dedication to surgery was interwoven with other threads of his life。 Absent for 6 months of the year from Johns Hopkins， he spent two months in the Adirondacks on his wife's large property， grew flowers and enjoyed being a country gentleman。 The other four months no one knew where he was， or on what side of the Atlantic， indulging his cocaine habit。 Halsted despite his use of morphine on a daily basis， successfully remained the leading surgical master of his age， initiating at least five branches of newer surgeries that had not before been attempted。 Among the most significant， Halsted pioneered breast cancer surgery。 His quirks of having bespoke French shirts， and sending them back to France to be laundered， of making his Turkish coffee with imported beans to serve his visitors， his fastidious dress code were just the tip of his many facets。 His activity was incessant whether correspondence， research or teaching。his academic marriage where his life lived on the third floor and he on the second and the first for his offices， where they met only for lunch and dinner， lasted his entire life。 Imber is to be congratulated for the overview and detail of his career。 He never sought the spotlight。 While Harvey Cushing was far more celebrated， Halsted's pupils were the essential phalanx of surgeons whose own student flourished and populated the best hospitals in the country。 One more detail is his use of dogs for subjects with these animals treated with the same sanitary， and palliative care after surgery procedures， to alleviate any pain or infection， treating these 'patients' with same procedures as those with two legs。 [he never corresponded or acknowledged European colleagues who operated on dogs without anesthesia] Owing to this care， Johns Hopkins also created a small veterinary hospital。 He treatment of canine subjects speaks to the humanness of his entire obsession with finding cures for all the ailments he saw affecting his fellow human。 For any physicians interested or knowledgeable of their modern medical history， this book is the grand tour。 。。。more

Kathy Zorn ，

Hard book to read。 Not what I expected。 Lot of neat medical history。 Only for people with medical backgrounds。

Cortney Smith ，

A grizzly bear of a book to get through because it's filled with detail but it is an amazing story of a troubled but brilliant man。 A grizzly bear of a book to get through because it's filled with detail but it is an amazing story of a troubled but brilliant man。 。。。more

Rezknello ，

Informative albeit disorganized。

Casey ，

readable and a decent history， but the whole 'bizarre double life' thing is way overhyped in the title and not really that relevant readable and a decent history， but the whole 'bizarre double life' thing is way overhyped in the title and not really that relevant 。。。more

Ben Wainblat ，

Excellent read on the birth of modern surgery！ While I was expecting the addiction to come up， I was surprised at how little it influenced resident training in terms of working "crazy hours。" Goes to show that one shouldn't believe everything on the internet， but then again perhaps I could broaden my scope to see where the 30-hour shifts originated from。 Excellent read on the birth of modern surgery！ While I was expecting the addiction to come up， I was surprised at how little it influenced resident training in terms of working "crazy hours。" Goes to show that one shouldn't believe everything on the internet， but then again perhaps I could broaden my scope to see where the 30-hour shifts originated from。 。。。more

Petr Augustin ，

Really interesting book on early medicine of United States before the WW2。

Jan Stone ，

If anyone is interested in the history of modern surgery， this is a good place to start。 Even though Halsted was flawed and addicted to cocaine and morphine， he was still able to develop the basis for aseptic technique and surgical procedures。 Worth the time to read

Nicole ，

disappointed。 not that its a bad book but the title is misleading。 this is not a biography of Dr Halsted but a biography of the john hopkins hospital/medical school。 but in saying that it was a very interesting story and i did enjoy it， it just wasnt what i was expecting。 the is little personal information on halsted。 so if you are looking for the story on how the 'worlds greatest surgeon' managed to function despite 。。。。 to be finished laster disappointed。 not that its a bad book but the title is misleading。 this is not a biography of Dr Halsted but a biography of the john hopkins hospital/medical school。 but in saying that it was a very interesting story and i did enjoy it， it just wasnt what i was expecting。 the is little personal information on halsted。 so if you are looking for the story on how the 'worlds greatest surgeon' managed to function despite 。。。。 to be finished laster 。。。more

Deborah ，

Very dense。 Fascinating。 It became more dry for me when they branched out to talk about Dr。 Halsted's friends/coworkers。。。which is what took me so long。 But a great book overall。 Very dense。 Fascinating。 It became more dry for me when they branched out to talk about Dr。 Halsted's friends/coworkers。。。which is what took me so long。 But a great book overall。 。。。more

Bob ，

Very interesting history of the beginning of safe surgery。

Elmer T ，

Great read if you are interested in William Halsted and the early history of medicine。 Well written。

Jenna ，

A fascinating topic， a strangely written book。 For one， there strangely doesn't seem to be enough information about Halsted to really warrant the title "a bizarre double life。" Since his drug habit was in secret， there's seemingly barely any record of it other than "then he would disappear for six months every year and who knows， we can assume drugs。" Imber also repeats himself often， sometimes from chapter to chapter， making it seem like either his editor only worked chapter by chapter or there A fascinating topic， a strangely written book。 For one， there strangely doesn't seem to be enough information about Halsted to really warrant the title "a bizarre double life。" Since his drug habit was in secret， there's seemingly barely any record of it other than "then he would disappear for six months every year and who knows， we can assume drugs。" Imber also repeats himself often， sometimes from chapter to chapter， making it seem like either his editor only worked chapter by chapter or there was actually not enough information to warrant 350~ pages。 He does mentions a good chunk of Halsted's correspondence was burned by his wife's sister after her death， but he'll allude to letters and correspondence that he doesn't bother to quote or reproduce。 Like， I'm here for Halsted， dude。 Lets get some words from the man's mouth himself。 I'm a big girl， I can handle it。 Perhaps its just that Imber was simply more interested in the medical information than the man。 There is a lot of that， and its written pretty clearly in laymen's terms for the most part。 And it is totally fascinating。 There -is- a lot of information about Johns Hopkins – which is super interesting and obviously relevant – but it makes you wonder if perhaps it would have been easier to just write the book about the founding members instead， with initial chapters devoted to each man's life – sort of the way a lot of rock and roll anthologies are written nowadays。 ANYHOW， overall， an interesting read either way if you're into the man， the medicine or medical history in general。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Genius on the Edge: The Bizarre Double Life of Dr. William Stewart Halsted

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Genius on the Edge: The Bizarre Double Life of Dr. William Stewart Halsted&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Genius on the Edge: The Bizarre Double Life of Dr. William Stewart Halsted&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0