DR. MUTTER'S MARVELS
by
Cristin
O'Keefe Aptowicz
In celebration of the paperback release of the New York Times best-selling nonfiction book Dr. Mütter's Marvels, author Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz will be in conversation with Archivist from the Texas Surgical Society and a Clinical Professor of Surgery, Mellick T. Sykes, MD. In addition to lively talk about the life and times of Dr. Thomas Dent Mütter (founder of the (in)famous Mütter Museum of medical oddities in Philadelphia) and the oftentimes treacherous (and fascinating) world of medicine and surgery during the 19th century, the Texas Medical Association will be bringing vintage surgical tools, ether masks and other artifacts of 19th century medicine to showcase. The event will take place at BookPeople in Austin, Texas on October 12th at 7 PM, and the talk will be followed by a brief Q&A and signing.
A mesmerizing biography of the brilliant
and eccentric medical innovator who revolutionized American surgery and founded
the country’s most famous museum of medical oddities Imagine undergoing an
operation without anesthesia, performed by a surgeon who refuses to sterilize
his tools—or even wash his hands. This was the world of medicine when Thomas
Dent Mütter began his trailblazing career as a plastic surgeon in Philadelphia
during the mid-nineteenth century.
Although he died at just forty-eight,
Mütter was an audacious medical innovator who pioneered the use of ether as
anesthesia, the sterilization of surgical tools, and a compassion-based vision
for helping the severely deformed, which clashed spectacularly with the
sentiments of his time. Brilliant, outspoken, and brazenly handsome, Mütter was
flamboyant in every aspect of his life. He wore pink silk suits to perform
surgery, added an umlaut to his last name just because he could, and amassed an
immense collection of medical oddities that would later form the basis of
Philadelphia’s renowned Mütter Museum.
Award-winning writer Cristin O’Keefe
Aptowicz vividly chronicles how Mütter’s efforts helped establish Philadelphia
as a global mecca for medical innovation—despite intense resistance from his
numerous rivals. (Foremost among them: Charles D. Meigs, an influential
obstetrician who loathed Mütter’s “overly modern” medical opinions.) In the
narrative spirit of The Devil in the White City, Dr. Mütter’s Marvels
interweaves an eye-opening portrait of nineteenth-century medicine with the
riveting biography of a man once described as the “[P. T.] Barnum of the
surgery room.”
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Hall Ways Review:
Intriguing? For some.
Interesting? For all. But I have no idea how to categorize this book. Fiction?
Non Fiction? Both? FABULOUS cover aside, readers looking mostly for the marvels
(the medical oddities) may be disappointed. Similarly, readers looking for a
solid biography, will find there wasn't enough source material to really know
Dr. Mütter and quite often, some logical liberties have been taken to flesh him
out. Readers looking for a raw snapshot of the medical, surgical world of the
early to mid-1800s and how one doctor was ahead of his times -- this is your
book.
In Dr. Mütter's Marvels, readers get an often startling
recounting of the fledgling days of surgical procedures, primarily in
Philadelphia where the nation's premier medical teaching schools were first
located. Author Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
provides a good basic history of the founding of Jefferson Medical College and
its famous "Faculty of '41," which included Dr. Thomas D. Mütter. The
book sheds light on the thinking and practices of that era, especially
highlighting Mütter's divergence from the norm, and that is where those readers
seeking any kind of ghoulish material may be satisfied. Surgeries and maladies
are described in a graphic nature, raw and real -- just as they would have been
at the time. Also included is a sprinkling of drawings and photos to add to the
ghastliness of some of Mütter's patients' ailments. Readers will be fascinated
by the conditions under which surgeries took place and amazed that anyone ever
survived.
As a biography,
unfortunately, the book misses the mark because, as the author admits, there
just isn't much information to be found about Dr. Thomas D. Mütter.
As such, Mütter
remains a person who readers know only from his actions, his clothing, and
numerous quotes about him. There are holes that beg for filling -- for example,
he's described as devastatingly handsome and stylish, but there's no mention of
flirting or courting or his effect on the opposite sex. Instead, he suddenly
"takes a wife" and readers know nothing of her beyond her pedigree
and nothing of the couple's twenty plus years of marriage.
That aside, the
biggest hole is Mütter's death. From the beginning, it's clear Mütter will die
young, and it's clear he'll die from failing health -- there are even chapter
ending teasers which build up to his demise -- but readers will never know what
killed Mütter. (Obviously, the information is not to be found, but it seemed
awkward to not acknowledge it.)
The writing flows
naturally and the language isn't complicated or particularly academic, except
in the numerous quotations used (borderline overused). There is a lot of white
space in the book, plenty of illustrations (including a full page at the start
of each chapter), and the last sixty-plus pages are the author's source notes;
boiled down, this is not a very long book and might be well placed in a high
school library -- it has all the right elements to draw in a reluctant reader.
The book does need another pass from the editor, as there were typos, numerous
comma and pronoun agreement errors, some misplaced modifiers, and several
sections where pronouns caused confusion about the actors in the sentence.
Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz is an award-winning non-fiction writer, poet,
and touring author. Born and raised in Philadelphia, she first visited the
Mütter Museum in the fourth grade. She lives in Austin, Texas.
CHECK OUT SOME OF THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THIS TOUR:
Oct 3 - Books and Broomsticks promo
Oct 4 - The Page Unbound promo
Oct 5 - Feather Pens, Tartan Dreams promo
Oct 6 - Bookishjessp review
Oct 7 - Blogging for the Love of Authors and Their Books promo
Oct 8 - Texas Book Lover Author Q&A
Oct 9 - My
Book Fix review
Oct 10
- Missus Gonzo review
Oct 11
- Because This is My Life Y’all review
Oct 12
- Hall Ways review
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*NOTE FROM KRISTINE at HALL WAYS: With the exception of the Hall Ways Review, the content of this promo post was provided by Lone Star Literary Life Blog Tours. If you're a Texas blogger interested in joining the ranks of Texas Book Blog Tours, contact Tabatha Pope. Hall Ways Review will post separately
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