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(26 reviews) Author: Visit Amazon's Howard Markel Page ISBN : 9780375423307 New from $7.51 Format: PDF
Free download PRETITLE An Anatomy of Addiction: Sigmund Freud, William Halsted, and the Miracle Drug Cocaine – Deckle Edge POSTTITLE from mediafire, rapishare, and mirror link (26 reviews) Author: Visit Amazon's Howard Markel Page ISBN : 9780375423307 New from $7.51 Format: PDFReview
"An incredible book...an absolutely fascinating read".
"Markel brilliantly describes the paradox of [Halsted's and Freud's] lives".
"A witty, wide-ranging book".
"Inspired, entertaining, and informative...[Howard Markel] tells this fascinating tale in an insightful contemporary book that is both intellectually engaging and exceptionally well written."
“Markel creates rich portraits of men who shared, as he writes of Freud, a ‘particular constellation of bold risk taking, emotional scar tissue, and psychic turmoil.’”
—The New Yorker
“Terrific . . . This rich, engrossing book reminds us of the strangeness of even heroic destinies.”
—Richard Rayner, Los Angeles Times
“[A] rich, revelatory new book . . . . [Markel is] a careful writer and a tireless researcher, and as a trained physician himself, Markel is able to pronounce on medical matters with firmness and authority.”
—Lev Grossman, TIME
“[An] incisive—and often damning—story of the “miracle drug cocaine.”. . . Elegantly subversive . . . . The author’s insights and analytical skills make An Anatomy of Addiction an irresistible cautionary tale”
—Deborah Blum, The Wall Street Journal
“A splendid history. . . [Markel is a] fluent, incisive and often subtly funny writer.”
—Michael Sragow, The Baltimore Sun
“Absorbing and thoroughly documented. . . a vivid narrative of two of the most remarkable of the many contributors to our understanding of human biology and function . . . A tour de force of scientific and social history, one that helps illuminate a unique period in the long story of medical discovery.”
—Sherwin Nuland, on the cover of The New York Times Book Review
“Provocative . . . persuasive and engrossing.”
—Laura Miller, Salon.com
"Compelling and compassionate. . . a book that profoundly demonstrates the complexity and breadth of their genius. . . a richly woven analysis complete with anecdotes, historical research, photos and present-day knowledge about the character of the addictive personality."
—Booklist
“Howard Markel eloquently tells the parallel stories of these two pathbreaking physicians and how their stories intersect in remarkable and sometimes tragic ways . . . Markel's extraordinary achievement combines first-rate history of medicine and outstanding cultural history.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred)
“From the dramatic opening scene on the first page to the epilogue, An Anatomy of Addiction is a hugely satisfying read. Howard Markel is physician, historian and wonderful storyteller, and since his tale involves two of the most compelling characters in medicine, I could not put it down—addictive is the word for this terrific book.”
—Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone
--Ira Flatow, National Public Radio's Science Friday
"Markel brilliantly describes the paradox of [Halsted's and Freud's] lives".
--George Rousseau, NATURE
"A witty, wide-ranging book".
--Boston Globe
"Inspired, entertaining, and informative...[Howard Markel] tells this fascinating tale in an insightful contemporary book that is both intellectually engaging and exceptionally well written."
--Journal of the American Medical Association
“Markel creates rich portraits of men who shared, as he writes of Freud, a ‘particular constellation of bold risk taking, emotional scar tissue, and psychic turmoil.’”
—The New Yorker
“Terrific . . . This rich, engrossing book reminds us of the strangeness of even heroic destinies.”
—Richard Rayner, Los Angeles Times
“[A] rich, revelatory new book . . . . [Markel is] a careful writer and a tireless researcher, and as a trained physician himself, Markel is able to pronounce on medical matters with firmness and authority.”
—Lev Grossman, TIME
“[An] incisive—and often damning—story of the “miracle drug cocaine.”. . . Elegantly subversive . . . . The author’s insights and analytical skills make An Anatomy of Addiction an irresistible cautionary tale”
—Deborah Blum, The Wall Street Journal
“A splendid history. . . [Markel is a] fluent, incisive and often subtly funny writer.”
—Michael Sragow, The Baltimore Sun
“Absorbing and thoroughly documented. . . a vivid narrative of two of the most remarkable of the many contributors to our understanding of human biology and function . . . A tour de force of scientific and social history, one that helps illuminate a unique period in the long story of medical discovery.”
—Sherwin Nuland, on the cover of The New York Times Book Review
“Provocative . . . persuasive and engrossing.”
—Laura Miller, Salon.com
"Compelling and compassionate. . . a book that profoundly demonstrates the complexity and breadth of their genius. . . a richly woven analysis complete with anecdotes, historical research, photos and present-day knowledge about the character of the addictive personality."
—Booklist
“Howard Markel eloquently tells the parallel stories of these two pathbreaking physicians and how their stories intersect in remarkable and sometimes tragic ways . . . Markel's extraordinary achievement combines first-rate history of medicine and outstanding cultural history.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred)
“From the dramatic opening scene on the first page to the epilogue, An Anatomy of Addiction is a hugely satisfying read. Howard Markel is physician, historian and wonderful storyteller, and since his tale involves two of the most compelling characters in medicine, I could not put it down—addictive is the word for this terrific book.”
—Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone
About the Author
Howard Markel, M.D., Ph.D., is the George E. Wantz Distinguished Professor of the History of Medicine and director of the Center for the History of Medicine at the University of Michigan. His books include Quarantine! and When Germs Travel. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Journal of the American Medical Association, and The New England Journal of Medicine, and he is a frequent contributor to National Public Radio. Markel is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
See all Editorial Reviews
- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Pantheon; 1 edition (July 19, 2011)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0375423303
- ISBN-13: 978-0375423307
- Product Dimensions: 1.2 x 6.5 x 9.5 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
An Anatomy of Addiction: Sigmund Freud, William Halsted, and the Miracle Drug Cocaine – Deckle Edge PDF
In Howard Markel's "An Anatomy of Addiction," two renowned figures are attracted to "a miracle drug" that reduced appetite and the need for sleep, sharpened one's focus, relieved depression, and induced a feeling of euphoria. It also had anesthetic properties that could be useful for surgeons performing dental or ophthalmological procedures. Both Sigmund Freud, the pioneering psychoanalyst, and William Halsted, one of the greatest surgeons of his time, were fascinated by this drug and decided to try it out on themselves. As a result, both became addicted to cocaine.
Dr. Markel's command of his subject is impressive; his excellent source materials include letters, journal articles, and monographs. The author provides enlightening background information about medical practice in the nineteenth century, especially in the United States and Vienna. He vividly describes Bellevue Hospital in New York City, Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, and the Allgemeines Krankenhaus in Vienna, large complexes that were bursting at the seams with both affluent and indigent patients. Young physicians-in-training flocked to these institutions to learn from more experienced and skilled medical practitioners.
It is fascinating to learn how naﶥ people were concerning cocaine's short and long-term effects. The same could be said of opium, morphine, and laudanum, all of which were dispensed liberally to treat a host of complaints. No one understood the underlying nature of addiction. There were no "rehabs." If someone were unfortunate enough to become dependent on a drug, he or she would have a very difficult time breaking the habit. Freud and Halsted were particularly susceptible to this disease because of who they were.
Both Sigmund Freud, father of psychoanalysis, and William Halsted, originator of modern surgery, practiced medicine in the 1880s and experimented on themselves and others with cocaine's possible therapeutic uses. Freud was interested in it as an antidote for morphine addiction and as treatment for addiction, Halsted saw it as a possible anesthetic. Freud found the drug cured his indigestion, dulled his aches, and relieved his depression. After taking the drug for a few months Freud shifted from his initial focus on neurology to psychology/psychiatry. Halsted became professor of surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital and devised new and safer surgical techniques - while struggling with his addiction acquired experimenting.
'An Anatomy of Addiction' opens with a laborer being admitted to Bellevue Hospital with a serious compound fracture of the leg. Staff called upon Halsted, their best surgeon, but he had just taken a dose of cocaine. He took one look at the patient and went home to a seven-month cocaine oblivion. Meanwhile, in Europe Freud was using the drug to self-medicate his own anxieties. At the time almost 15% of prescriptions contained cocaine, there were no controlled substances, and addiction was not yet a medical diagnosis. Other users of the day included Ulysses Grant, Queen Victoria, the Shah of Peria, Thomas Edison, and Arthur Conan Doyle (also a physician).
Freud's career goals was to be appointed to a faculty position at the Vienna Medical School, and saw lab experimentation as his preferred means of getting it. His focus on cocaine was initially motivated by a desire to help a friend, Dr. Fleischl-Marxow, addicted to morphine because of the intense, chronic pain created by a non-healing amputation.
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