Not yet Published - but looks good for Science Teachers...
The Remedy by Thomas Goetz (Gotham Books)
Description: The riveting history of tuberculosis, the world’s most lethal disease, the two men whose lives it tragically intertwined, and the birth of medical science.
In 1875, tuberculosis was the deadliest disease in the world, accountable for a third of all deaths. A diagnosis of TB—often called consumption—was a death sentence. Then, in a triumph of medical science, a German doctor named Robert Koch deployed an unprecedented scientific rigor to discover the bacteria that caused TB. Koch soon embarked on a remedy—a remedy that would be his undoing.
When Koch announced his cure for consumption, Arthur Conan Doyle, then a small-town doctor in England and sometime writer, went to Berlin to cover the event. Touring the ward of reportedly cured patients, he was horrified. Koch’s “remedy” was either sloppy science or outright fraud.
But to a world desperate for relief, Koch’s remedy wasn't so easily dismissed. As Europe's consumptives descended upon Berlin, Koch urgently tried to prove his case. Conan Doyle, meanwhile, returned to England determined to abandon medicine in favor of writing. In particular, he turned to a character inspired by the very scientific methods that Koch had formulated: Sherlock Holmes.
Capturing the moment when mystery and magic began to yield to science, The Remedy chronicles the stunning story of how the germ theory of disease became a true fact, how two men of ambition were emboldened to reach for something more, and how scientific discoveries evolve into social truths.
Patient H.M. A Story of Memory, Madness, and Family Secrets by Luke Dittrich Random House Publishing Group - Random House Random House Nonfiction (Adult), Science Pub Date 09 Aug 2016 I was enchanted with the details and the history of neurosurgery in this book. The author, being the grandson of the doctor in focus, provides a great insight into the life of that grandfather and the development of his surgical skills. Another aspect is the history of the lobotomy: surgical, via accident, or medication. The author reviewed the stories of Broca and Tan, as well as Phineas Gage and the sister of JFK, in a compelling, storytelling way which will appeal to high school and college students. I recommend this book for teachers and students who are interested in studying the brain, accidents involving the brain, and surgery.
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