Medicine's 10 Greatest Discoveries (Yale Nota Bene)

The first chapter, or discovery is not all that interesting. But the rest of the book chapters are very interesting.These doctors are very focused in what they are doing, also cranky, fussy and short tempered for one or two doctors.One doctor is lucky at discovering cures by serendipity. There are a few words most people will not know, but it isan easy read and enlightening. I enjoyed the book and highly recommend it.

The authors really tell the whole story of these great men/women that made such valuable discoveries in medicine. Their family history, school experiences and all that lead up to the discovery. I loved the history and explanation. A great read!

Excellent

The book is entertaining and informative about medical discoveries that effect all of us. I loved it and so did many people I know.

very good book, informative, interesting, well written

Bought it for my husband who said it was a disappointing read and poorly written. I'm only reporting what he told me.

In the interest of full disclosure: I am an undergrad at Stanford enrolled in a seminar co-taught by Dr. Friedland. The text offers a glimpse of the personalities, missed opportunities, and scientific mistakes that normally go unmentioned in classes or textbooks. It is written in an easy, galloping style that draws on the staggering historical insight Dr. Friedman had as a collector of rare medical texts. Chapter I contains several amazing plates taken from Vesalius's Fabrica (Dr. Friedman apparently owned a copy). It also does a good job of getting rid of any naive conceptions of Science as a constant, selfless, and deliberate stampede of progress. And you can read four centuries of edifying gossip without feeling guilty like you're turning your brain to mush. Some of the chapters suffer from minor organizational problems. They aren't serious enough to obscure the major points, but may force you to re-read some meandering passages. Better editing by the Yale University Press would have avoided this problem. Absent of organizational issues, this book would deserve 5 stars (whatever that means). I would recommend the book to anyone interested in the history of science/medicine.

Drs' Friedland and Friedmans' "Medicine's 10 Greatest Discoveries" is an incomparable book that belongs on the bookshelf of every public library, High School and University, as well as every family with children. This is an amazing book, in its easy readability and uncanny insights of its authors into the minds of Medicine's greatest discovers stretching back 400 years. Who knew that DNA was actually described in the 1700's? Or how slowly the knowledge of the human Anatomy was unearthed? This book will make a wonderful gift for any enquiring young mind and act as an inspiration to budding scientists and researchers. The authors have done the world a great service with their meticulous anecdotes. My ONLY criticism of the book is the inclusion and acceptance of Cholesterol as one of the ten greatest discoveries. The subject of Cholesterol and its importance in our nutrition remains very contentious and debatable - as evidenced by the increase in diabetes, obesity and hypertension sinc we embarked oa a fat-free eating frenzy over the past fifteen years. Henry Novis M.D.