Modern Medicine

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 middle of the 19th century. Although he died at just 48, 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.

Practicing medicine is traumatic: coping with the death of a patient, sharing a life-changing diagnosis, grieving futility in the face of a no-win situation. The emotional burden placed on doctors, nurses, and other healthcare practitioners is profound...and yet their suffering is often displaced, dismissed, or unrecognized. Here, Rachel Jones breaks the silence, daring to imagine a future where every healthcare worker is provided with the right tools to process grief, the space to integrate trauma, and--most importantly--the knowledge that they’re not alone.

Thanks to the popularity of personal genetic testing services, it's now easier than ever to get information about our own unique DNA - but who does this information really benefit? And, as genome editing and gene therapy transform the healthcare landscape, what do we gain - and what might we give up in return?

Salk became a cultural hero and icon for a whole generation. Now, at the fiftieth anniversary of the first national vaccination program, and as humanity is tantalizingly close to eradicating polio worldwide, comes this unforgettable chronicle. Salk's work was an unparalleled achievement, and it makes for a magnificent listen.

In 1995, a scandal erupted when the New York Times revealed that the Smithsonian possessed a century’s worth of nude “posture” photos of college students. In this riveting history, Beth Linker tells why these photos were only a small part of the incredible story of twentieth-century America’s largely forgotten posture panic—a decades-long episode in which it was widely accepted as scientific fact that Americans were suffering from an epidemic of bad posture, with potentially catastrophic health consequences.

Katsuki Sekida était à la fois un bon écrivain et un grand maître zen, et ses livres sur le zen figurent parmi les plus complets jamais écrits en anglais. Dans cet enregistrement, son ancien étudiant, Marc Allen, a choisi les plus beaux passages des œuvres originales pour créer un manuel de la méditation zen, magnifiquement clair et brillamment éclairant. Il commence par un résumé du zen, poursuit par un cours complet de méditation zen, et termine par des commentaires sur un classique zen, "La quête du bœuf".

Between 1927 and 1979, more than 8,000 people were involuntarily sterilized in five hospitals across the state of Virginia. From this plain and terrible fact springs Elizabeth Catte's Pure America, a sweeping, unsparing history of eugenics in Virginia, and by extension the United States.

Praised for his erudite writing, renowned scientist Frank Gonzalez-Crussi penned this concise history of medicine, beginning with the most primitive health-care practices and ending with the technology of modern medicine that we enjoy today. As with all Modern Library Chronicles, A Short History of Medicine is a wonderful primer for anyone interested in the subject.

Intensive care units and mechanical ventilation are the crucial foundation of modern medical care: without them, the appalling death toll of the COVID-19 pandemic would be even higher. In The Autumn Ghost, Dr. Hannah Wunsch traces the origins of these two innovations back to a polio epidemic in the autumn of 1952. Drawing together testimony from doctors, nurses, medical students, and patients, Wunsch relates a gripping tale of an epidemic that changed the world.

Are you suffering from depression, anxiety, or PTSD? Are you facing a crippling pain condition while trying to avoid opiate dependency? Are you relapsing during attempts to break your addiction? You are not alone. Millions are now afflicted with these difficult-to-treat conditions. Even with medication, getting sustained relief without dreadful side effects is rare. What if there was a new, safe, and effective treatment that really worked?

Whether you're a Fortune 500 CEO or busy stay-at-home mom, the secret to being more effective and living a happier, healthier life is to hurry up and slow down, or unplug. As Anne Lamott said, "Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you." Contrary to what every Type-A person thinks, studies show that you can actually be more effective by doing less, by unplugging from the chaos of your life for just minutes a day.

As late as the 1930s, virtually no drug intended for sickness did any good; doctors could set bones, deliver babies, and offer palliative care. That all changed in less than a generation with the discovery and development of a new category of medicine known as antibiotics. By 1955 the age-old evolutionary relationship between humans and microbes had been transformed, trivializing once-deadly infections.

Seven years ago, Christian Wiman, a well-known poet and the editor of Poetry magazine, wrote a now-famous essay about having faith in the face of death. My Bright Abyss, composed in the difficult years since and completed in the wake of a bone marrow transplant, is a moving meditation on what a viable contemporary faith - responsive not only to modern thought and science but also to religious tradition - might look like.

Modern Medicine is an entertaining how-to on utilizing the teachings of a specific medicine wheel in order to better understand who we are and how we function in the world. Self-governance, which refers to the way we conduct ourselves and our self-perception, is explored through teachings and personal ceremonies. Find inner peace, harmony, and your life's purpose while listening to the audiobook.

Blood Runs Coal comes at a time of resurgent labor movements in the United States and the current administration's attempts to bolster the fossil-fuel industry. Brilliantly researched and compellingly written, it sheds light on the far-reaching effects of industrial and socioeconomic change that unfold across America to this day.

In this hip, sensual Ayurveda bible for the modern woman, holistic health and wellness expert and New York Times bestselling author Katie Silcox offers a spirit-infused yet pragmatic guide that seamlessly brings this ancient wisdom into our modern lives without sacrificing the occasional rendezvous with red wine, fashion magazines, and other sensual pleasures. Healthy Happy Sexy offers not only a philosophy of life but a time-tested (we're talking thousands of years!) method for living your most radiant, healthy, and sexually vital life possible.

In the first three books of the Torn Between Two World series, we established a framework for human dualism. In the fourth book, we move from a philosophical discussion to a hands-on self-help presentation, providing helpful answers to everyday issues. Every human being can aspire to their full potential, and therefore, all the suggestions in this book can be used to move closer to this goal, regardless of the current state of your spiritual health.

Step into the captivating world of healthcare innovation and scientific breakthroughs with Medical Marvels: Amazing Discoveries in Health. This meticulously crafted journey takes you on a 30-day exploration of the most remarkable milestones in the field of medicine and healthcare. Each day unveils a new chapter in the story of humanity's quest for better health, offering a glimpse into the groundbreaking discoveries, cutting-edge technologies, and revolutionary advancements that have shaped the way we understand and approach healthcare.

Lifelong meditation teacher Eric Harrison intimately understands the benefits of mindfulness, from improved focus and better judgment to relaxation and inner peace. He’s helped 10s of thousands of students to achieve these goals by rooting his practice in the Buddha’s original text on how to meditate and live mindfully: The Satipatthana Sutta. Brain Training with the Buddha offers a secular perspective on this ancient wisdom that requires no familiarity with Buddhism itself - only openness to the Buddha’s original teachings.

This user-friendly guide gives straightforward and practical advice to anyone who wants a holistic approach to taking care of themselves naturally. Following the traditional framework of an anatomy book that explains each body system chapter-by-chapter, Pip Waller—an experienced practitioner and teacher—provides fundamental information and tips about exercise, diet, supplements, understanding and caring for your emotional and mental health, naturopathic principles from various traditions, and simple yet effective ways of working with spiritual energy.