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I had previously read “Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery” by Dr Marsh and enjoyed it. So when “And Finally: Matters of Life and Death” showed up on NetGalley’s list of Biographies & Memoirs available for review, I naturally requested a copy. When the book I want to read isn’t immediately available, I put in a request and am always surprised when my request is granted.

As I read the book, I was reminded of Frank Sinatra’s signature swan song, “My Way,” (“And now, the end is near; And so I face the final curtain”)
as the lyrics seem to mirror the theme of the book: facing terminal prostate cancer and reflecting on a life mostly well-lived.

Dr Marsh takes the readers through his cancer diagnosis and treatment, and despite him being a renowned surgeon, he still came across as just another patient undergoing treatment but with the knowledge of what it all “really” meant. He also reflects on how he treated his surgical patients and perhaps he could have been a bit more empathetic to their situation and feelings.

I would recommend that anyone interested in this book consider first reading “Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery” to get an idea of the kind of physician Dr Marsh was before tackling “And Finally: Matters of Life and Death.”

I recommend this book to anyone interested in how physicians view death or the idea of facing one’s own mortality.

4/5 stars

[Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest and objective opinion which I have given here.]

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book as I hadn’t read any of his previous works, however, as I dove into the story, I slowly realized how much of a complete jerk Dr Westaby was. And this was the first time I’d read a nonfiction book where I really didn’t like the lead character.

Dr Westaby explains that his impulsiveness and single-mindedness came from a frontal lobe injury he had suffered playing rugby. This, of course, suggests the unfortunate situation that Phineas Gage found himself in after tamping iron pierced his brain and completely changed his personality.

But the more I read this book, I realized that the story isn’t about Dr Westaby as much as it is about the creation of specialty trauma hospitals in England. I was already familiar with some of the history of shock trauma and R Adams Cowley efforts to centralize trauma treatment to hospitals best equipped to handle them in the United States. (Dr Cowley also coined the term “golden hour” to emphasize that patients have the best chance of surviving if they are treated within 60 minutes of their trauma.)

“The Trauma Chronicles” was well-written and reasonable easy to read. It would be of interest to anyone looking to expand their knowledge of the creation of trauma hospitals in England or interested in medical history.

4/5 stars

[Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest and objective opinion which I have given here.]

Say the word “eugenics,” and most people’s minds immediately drift towards World War II and the atrocities that the Nazi’s brought to bear on those they had deemed “undesirable.” And you might think that the idea of eugenics has been tucked away in our distance past and forgotten.

Not so fast. In fact, I just read an article from the Journal of the American Medical Association published October 07, 2022 that specifically discussed the “stigma and exclusion of individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) within medicine, social services, public health, and society have a long history that persists to this day. The practices of eugenics and institutionalization were state-sanctioned and used within the US throughout much of the 20th century to remove persons with IDD from the population through forced sterilization and placement in institutions. These movements received widespread support at the time, including from leading medical and public health authorities.” [JAMA October 7, 2022. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.18500]

As you can see, the notion of eugenics is still alive and well.

And this brings me to the book, Control: The Dark History and Troubling Present of Eugenics. I was familiar with eugenics as espoused in the United States, as I was researching it for a story I was outlining, but I wasn’t as familiar as I thought with the origins of the “theory.”

Without getting too far down the rabbit hole, eugenics can be traced back to Sir Francis Galton and his fascination with his cousin Charles Darwin’s publication of The Origin of Species in 1859, specifically, the discussion of animal breeding. Galton used his vast intellect to research various aspects of human dynamics and attempt to codify them mathematically.

Those who followed in his eugenics and mathematical footsteps improved on his statistical techniques and those methods are still in use today, such as standard deviation, regression, correlation, etc.

I found this book fascinating and an easy read. I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the subject of eugenics, especially the eugenics movement in the United Kingdom. Others who are interested in population statistics may find themselves engrossed with the uncomfortable origins of eugenics.

This is a book worth reading because the notion of eugenics won’t simply fade away.


5/5 stars

[Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest and objective opinion which I have given here.]

This book is told mostly from the point of view of tabby cat Aubrey who was recently adopted from cat rescue group. He has settled nicely into his new home, even making friends with the neighborhood cats.

Unfortunately, one of the kinder humans, an older gentleman is killed. With his previous owner killed as well, Aubrey decides to investigate the murder himself.

Aubrey is a cat and unlike Joe Grey, he can't talk directly to humans. But he can communicate quite clearly with other kitties and that allows us readers into their cat world.

This is a gritty story with a bit of snark from the cats, so I hesitate to call this a cozy. Perhaps a cozy with an edge. Still, I think that any cozy reader who loves cats will enjoy the book.

Recommended for cozy readers especially if you love kitties. I enjoyed it so much that I purchased the rest of the series!

There is one book that I measure all medical history books against and that is Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee, which details Dr Mukherjee’s experience as a oncologist against the background of the history of cancer. It won various awards, including a Pulitzer Prize (you can’t get too much better than that!)

Now, I am reading his fourth book, The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human and I am just as enthralled with it as I was with his first book on cancer. Dr Mukherjee takes us through the discovery and description of the cell. I was familiar with most of the history, but I still found his lyrical descriptions to be captivating.

The whole book isn’t just a historical retrospective as he also discusses his (and his colleagues) experiments into cell physiology.

Dr Mukherjee is amazing storyteller. He takes complex subjects and explains them in such a way that even those who don’t have a scientific background will enjoy the ride. As I read the book, I recognized a description that I had read in another book I had reviewed, “Immune: A Journey into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive” by Philipp Dettmer; it turns out that Dr Mukherjee cited Dettmer’s book in his notes section. Since Dettmer’s book was one of the best I’d read this year, I was pleased to see it included.

The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human is highly recommended for both the novice and expert in cellular biology. You won’t be disappointed.

[Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest and objective opinion which I have given here.]