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The Falling Sickness: A History of Epilepsy from the Greeks to the Beginnings of Modern Neurology
Owsei Temkin presents the history of epilepsy in Western civilization from ancient times to the beginnings of modern neurology. First published in 1945 and thoroughly revised in 1971, this classic work by one of the history of medicine's most eminent scholars now returns to print in a new softcover edition.
492 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 29, 2010
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April 14, 2025
My reading of the Napoleanic Wars was simultaneous to reading Tolstoy's War & Peace. However, epileptic amnesia saw that I'd only read 10% of War and Peace; then restart and make it to 15%; culminating into a major episode around 25% of my 3rd attempt.
The Falling Sickness by Oswei Temkin (John Hopkins Press) is a historical overview of Epilepsy from the Greeks to "Modern Neurology." Note, modern neurology refers to 60 years prior to publication (1st published in 1942).
The nearly 82-year-old text is a meticulous comb through the Western medical thought and social history of epilepsy: ie The Sacred Disease (400BC; Hippocrates) and The Falling Sickness (1599; Shakespeare).
The text is seminal of medical histories. (Not only its abstruse cost). No author has since attempted to redress the topic in the last 80+ years. This is recently evidenced through Simon Shorvon's 2023 medical and social history (The Idea of Epilepsy; Cambridge) starting precisely at the end of The Falling Sickness.
The Falling Sickness by Oswei Temkin (John Hopkins Press) is a historical overview of Epilepsy from the Greeks to "Modern Neurology." Note, modern neurology refers to 60 years prior to publication (1st published in 1942).
The nearly 82-year-old text is a meticulous comb through the Western medical thought and social history of epilepsy: ie The Sacred Disease (400BC; Hippocrates) and The Falling Sickness (1599; Shakespeare).
The text is seminal of medical histories. (Not only its abstruse cost). No author has since attempted to redress the topic in the last 80+ years. This is recently evidenced through Simon Shorvon's 2023 medical and social history (The Idea of Epilepsy; Cambridge) starting precisely at the end of The Falling Sickness.
Displaying 1 of 1 review