The Mystery of the Exploding Teeth: And Other Curiosities from the History of Medicine

Medicine has changed so much in the last three hundred years, and, fortunately for us, medical historian Thomas Morris has written a book that highlights some of the most astonishing, strange, and even horrifying cases that have been documented during that time. The seven sections in the book: Unfortunate Predicaments, Mysterious Illnesses, Dubious Remedies, Horrifying Operations, Remarkable Recoveries, Tall Tales, and Hidden Dangers€” are each chock-full of fascinating tales of things people have done to themselves in an effort to overcome some physical problem or what some creative or poorly educated doctor (or quack) has done to some poor fool trying to fix what ailed him. Some of the methods used can hardly be believed, and that the luckier of the patients survived is even more surprising.

Author Morris has a terrific writing style and a great sense of humor that shines throughout this book. His excellent research skills are apparent as he includes primary source information in many of the articles. The only problem readers might have is putting the book down. Once one gets started reading, one will want to stop. This is simply the most fun history book to come out in a very long time.