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The Strange Case of Dr. Couney

How a Mysterious European Showman Saved Thousands of American Babies

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The Strange Case of Dr. Couney

Written by: Dawn Raffel
Narrated by: Erin Bennett
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About this listen

"A mosaic mystery told in vignettes, cliffhangers, curious asides, and some surreal plot twists as Raffel investigates the secrets of the man who changed infant care in America.... It's a fascinating historical footnote, compassionately told." (NPR)

A New York Times Book Review New & Noteworthy Title

What kind of doctor puts his patients on display?

This is the spellbinding tale of a mysterious doctor who revolutionized neonatal care more than 100 years ago and saved some 7,000 babies. Dr. Martin Couney's story is a kaleidoscopic ride through the intersection of ebullient entrepreneurship, enlightened pediatric care, and the wild culture of world's fairs at the beginning of the American Century.

As Dawn Raffel recounts, Dr. Couney used incubators and careful nursing to keep previously doomed infants alive while displaying these babies alongside sword swallowers, bearded ladies, and burlesque shows at Coney Island, Atlantic City, and venues across the nation. How this turn-of-the-20th-century emigre became the savior to families with premature infants - known then as "weaklings" - as he ignored the scorn of the medical establishment and fought the rising popularity of eugenics is one of the most astounding stories of modern medicine. Dr. Couney, for all his entrepreneurial gusto, is a surprisingly appealing character, someone who genuinely cared for the well-being of his tiny patients. But he had something to hide....

Drawing on historical documents, original reportage, and interviews with surviving patients, Dawn Raffel tells the marvelously eccentric story of Couney's mysterious carnival career, his larger-than-life personality, and his unprecedented success as the savior of the fragile wonders that are tiny, tiny babies.

©2018 Dawn Raffel (P)2018 Penguin Audio
Medicine & Health Care Industry Professionals & Academics Infant Health Care
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What the critics say

"Fascinating, mysterious and compelling...written with great style and the energy of a can't-put-down thriller." (The Chicago Tribune)

“In this account, told in a series of non-chronological vignettes, Raffel argues that Couney deserves recognition.... Working in the shadow of the eugenics movement, [Couney] insisted that such infants, whom hospitals could seldom save, deserved a chance.” (The New Yorker)

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