THE KNIFE MAN: THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE AND TIMES OF JOHN HUNTER, FATHER OF MODERN SURGERY, by Wendy Moore, 341 pages, $26.
The title "The Knife Man," combined with the color painting on the jacket of this book, will blow you away. But do not be deceived; this is not a crime novel.
Wendy Moore has concocted a splendid historical account of John Hunter, the man who pioneered scientific surgery in 18th century England. A seasoned journalist, Moore has specialized in medical topics for more than 20 years.
By studying the life of this complex, talented man, it is possible to understand the evolution of modern medicine in a remarkably interesting way. At a time when the medical world emphasized bleeding as almost a universal cure-all, Hunter was desperately trying to understand the workings of the human body.
He knew that the only dependable way to study the human anatomy was to get access to the bodies of the recently deceased. That was a major challenge in the 18th century because no more than six bodies per year were allowed to be used for medical research in England. So Hunter and virtually every other person who aspired to be a surgeon participated in what was considered the unseemly act of body snatching.
There were a number of people who could be hired to carry out such a dangerous and unpleasant task. And if medical people really needed cadavers, they would go after them themselves — including Hunter.
The most famous acquisition Hunter made was the body of Charles Byrne, known as "the Irish Giant," who was reported to stand 8 feet 4 inches. When the young man died while still in his 20s, Hunter engaged in chicanery to secretly get his body for purposes of dissection.
In the process of performing numerous dissections of human bodies, Hunter learned a great deal about anatomy, as well as the body's internal functions. Far from an elitist, Hunter yearned to improve medical care for both the poorest people, and the richest and most powerful figures of his era. The result is that he became extremely good at wielding the knife for medical purposes.
At a time when all forms of surgery were clumsy, painful and often fatal, medical experimentation was badly needed — or so thought the ebullient Hunter. Eccentric to the core, Hunter had the ability to get along with a variety of people. He often spoke in a rough manner, he hated lecturing but did it because he had to, he hated the printed word and he learned everything by experience. And he was totally dedicated to his work.
It is instructive that the author places Hunter in the context of his time — especially in recounting his interactions with such famous people as Adam Smith, Benjamin Franklin and King George III. He either operated on or served as an adviser to surgery performed on a number of well-known historical figures.
The author has accomplished a major feat in telling the compelling story of a previously unknown major medical figure while instructing readers in the many strange practices that slowly evolved into modern surgery.
E-mail: dennis@desnews.com