12 ratings | 8 reviews | avg rating:4.83

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Holly Tucker

Goodreads Author

Website

http://www.holly-tucker.com

Genre

History, Mystery & Thrillers, Science

Member Since

November 2010

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/holly_tucker

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Holly Tucker teaches at Vanderbilt University, where she holds appointments in the Center for Medicine, Health & Society and the Department of French & Italian. Her writing has appeared in the New Scientist, the Wall Street Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle, Christian Science Journal, among others. Holly is also the author of Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine & Murder in the Scientific Revolution (Norton, March 2011), and edits the general history website Wonders & Marvels.

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Holly Tucker's Blog

Summer Reading from Emma B.

By Susan Hiner, Guest Contributor

Figure 1

Bonjour! It’s me, Emma B.[1]

Looking for a good book? … well, your search is over! Just in time for your beach vacation on the Normandy coast (or, if you’re lucky, off to the Hamptons with your lover), or maybe to while away the hours of your “staycation” at home with the kids on those sweltering days in the burbs (my most likely scenario, alas), or possibly

Combine Editions
Holly Tucker’s books

Average rating: 3.63 · 6,168 ratings · 933 reviews · 13 distinct works • Similar authors

	City of Light, City of Poison: Murder, Magic, and the First Police Chief of Paris 3.60 avg rating — 3,348 ratings — published 2017 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution 3.65 avg rating — 2,626 ratings — published 2010 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Do What You Love, Love What You Do: The Empowering Secrets to Turn Your Passion into Profit 3.84 avg rating — 157 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pregnant Fictions: Childbirth and the Fairy Tale in Early Modern France 3.89 avg rating — 19 ratings — published 2003 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Do What You Love, Love What You Do: The Empowering Secrets to Turn Your Passion into Profit 3.57 avg rating — 7 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Quelque humeur empoisonnante: Nicolas de la Reynie et l’affaire des poisons by Holly Tucker (Goodreads Author), Grégoire Ladrange (Translator) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Behind the Curtain: Discover the Power of Companionship with Christ 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Quelque humeur empoisonnante: Nicolas de la Reynie et l´affaire des poisons 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Do What You Love, Love What You Do [Hardcover], Talk Like TED, Predictably Irrational, Creative Confidence 4 Books Collection Set 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Blood Work 1st (first) edition Text Only 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Holly Tucker…

Holly is Currently Reading

Holly Tucker is currently reading

State of Wonder

by Ann Patchett

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Jun 18, 2011 06:49PM

Holly Tucker is currently reading

Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution

by Caroline Weber

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Holly Tucker said: " I am loving every minute of this book. The writing is gorgeous and the topic is, of course, absolutely fascinating! "

Jun 05, 2011 05:18PM · see review

Quotes by Holly Tucker (?)

“Very many maintain that all we know is still infinitely less than all that still remains unknown. —William Harvey, De motu cordis (1628)”
― Holly Tucker, Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution

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“Montpellier produced nearly 40 percent of all physicians in France, but the university had a troubled reputation as a party school where medical students were just as likely to drink and cavort with prostitutes as they were to learn the intricacies of the Hippocratic corpus.”
― Holly Tucker, Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution

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Polls

Addendum: Since we only usually get about 11 or so votes each time, I'm going to close this poll and put up a tie-breaker poll for Unbroken and The Ancestor's Tale.

September is now officially a non-fiction month for genre so it's time to vote for our September read. Last day to vote will be Saturday, August 9. (Non-Fiction will no longer be present in our regular monthly genre polls)

There are some really great titles on this list so please do your research before placing your vote. Thanks!

Unbroken

Laura Hillenbrand

3 votes, 33.3%

The Ancestor's Tale

Richard Dawkins

2 votes, 22.2%

Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women

Harriet Reisen

1 vote, 11.1%

Poe: A Life Cut Short

Peter Ackroyd

1 vote, 11.1%

Starvation Heights

Gregg Olsen

1 vote, 11.1%

Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder

Holly Tucker

1 vote, 11.1%

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

Dee Brown

0 votes, 0.0%

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Mary Wollstonecraft

0 votes, 0.0%

9 total votes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Seasonal Read...: Fall Challenge 2011 Completed Tasks - DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC!	2251	795	Nov 30, 2011 09:05PM
The History Book ...: KAROLYN'S 50 BOOKS IN 2012	39	77	Jul 20, 2012 07:59AM
The Seasonal Read...: Winter Challenge 2013: Completed Tasks (Do Not Delete Posts)	2478	655	Feb 28, 2014 09:00PM
The History Book ...: ARCHIVE TWO: PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF ~	6144	5128	Sep 19, 2015 03:18AM
The Seasonal Read...: Winter Challenge 2105: Completed Tasks (DO NOT DELETE POSTS)	3075	619	Feb 29, 2016 09:01PM
Nothing But Readi...: Hawaiian Bobtail Squids READ BOOKS	1374	340	Nov 07, 2016 12:58PM
Science and Inquiry: Work in progress links - Demo for Betsy	19	27	May 22, 2017 05:02PM
The Challenge Fac...: Cities of the World - Quebec City, Canada	41	51	Aug 04, 2017 12:59AM
Pick-a-Shelf: Book Twist (2017: Mar-May)	195	161	Aug 11, 2017 05:18PM

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Holly’s Quotes

“To be sane in a world of madman is in itself madness.”
― Jean-Jacques Rousseau

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Holly’s Groups

History, Medicine, and Science: Nonfiction and Fiction — 1542 members — last activity Oct 14, 2025 06:03PM
Discussion about the fascinating stories of our scientific and medical past

Book Buying Addicts Anonymous — 3310 members — last activity Dec 12, 2025 09:39AM
All are welcome, but this group is meant for those who not only love to read, but those who also love to buy their books to read as well as those who ...more

Science and Inquiry — 4504 members — last activity Apr 20, 2026 11:37AM
This Group explores scientific topics. We have an active monthly book club, as well as discussions on a variety of topics including science in the new ...more

National Book Critics Circle — 332 members — last activity May 04, 2021 06:29AM
The National Book Critics Circle honors outstanding writing and fosters a national conversation about reading, criticism and literature.

History is Not Boring — 2060 members — last activity Feb 10, 2026 05:12PM
Why do people think history is boring? I don't get it. ...more

ScienceOnline — 50 members — last activity Feb 28, 2012 10:33AM
Virtual book club for ScienceOnline, an initiative created by Bora Zivcovik and Anton Zuiker. Group will be fairly freeform, allowing members to discu ...more

2011 Winter Fiction Panel — 62 members — last activity May 05, 2020 03:06AM
Let's face it, it's cold out there. So now is the perfect time to settle down with a good novel. We've assembled four very talented writers to share t ...more

Q&A with Livia Blackburne on Neuroscience of Reading and Writing — 137 members — last activity Oct 29, 2012 07:59AM
What is it that transforms a page of words into something that moves us and leaves us changed? From February 13, 2011 to March 15, 2011, Livia Blackbu ...more

True Book Talk — 83 members — last activity Apr 15, 2026 08:33PM
Welcome to True Book Talk! ***Chats are on Wednesday nights at 9:30 pm eastern time. Chats are now going to take place here in the group under the to ...more

THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB — 6694 members — last activity 6 hours, 29 min ago
ALL GENRE COMMUNITY OF BOOK LOVERS-Perfect for those interested in good books of any genre, film and lively discussion!- from current fiction, thrille ...more

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Holly’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-3) post a comment »

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message 3: by E.A.

May 28, 2012 05:40AM

Hi, thank you for accepting my friend invitation!

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message 2: by Holly

Jun 05, 2011 05:17PM

Tamara wrote: "Saw you on t.v. the other day and you were great. It was fun to see you."

Hi Tamara! Thanks for the nice note--it was a fun experience. You should have heard the whole family scream when we watched it all together!

All my best, Holly

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message 1: by Marata

May 26, 2011 10:19AM

Saw you on t.v. the other day and you were great. It was fun to see you.

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