Post-Mortem: Solving History's Great Medical Mysteries

by Philip A. Mackowiak

Their lives changed history. Their deaths were mysteries, until now! Solving History's Great Medical Mysteries by Philip A. Mackowiak, MD, FACP, examines the controversial lives and deaths of 12 famous men and women. Post-Mortem answers vexing questions such Was Alexander the Great a victim of West Nile virus? What caused the gruesome final illness of King Herod? Was Joan of Arc mentally ill during her heresy trial? Could syphillis have made Beethoven deaf? Did Edgar Allan Poe drink himself to death? This new book also investigates the mysterious deaths of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten, the Greek statesman and general Pericles, the Roman Emperor Claudius, Christopher Columbus, Mozart, Florence Nightingale, and Booker T. Washington. Post-Mortem traces 3,500 years of medical history from the perspective of what contemporary physicians thought about the diseases of their renowned patients and how they might have treated them. It follows the case history format of today's clinical pathologic conferences, describing the characteristics of the illnesses in question, and bringing to life the medical history, social history, family history, and physical examination of their famous victims. Post-Mortem then sifts through the medical evidence, testing a wide range of diagnostic theories against the known facts and today's best scientific research, to arrive at the diagnosis most consistent with the illness described in the historic record.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Science, Medicine, Medical, True Crime

350 pages, Hardcover

First published April 2, 2007

Reviews

[Allyson Dyar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tedious.

I love medical history, but this book was tedious in the way the author chose to present the subject.

He would have been far better to skip the gimmick of not naming the patient for the first third of the chapter and just dove right in.

The chapters would have made excellent standalone chapters, but all together in a book.

Tedious.

[G.K. Hansen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was unfinishable for me. I've now avoided touching it for almost two full months so I am Calling it. The conceit (referring to the historical figure as "the patient" 1 million times instead of using their name) makes it difficult and frustrating to follow, and this author is Not a good writer.

[Carina · Rating 1 out of 5]

In an effort to not be a standard, dry work full of medical jargon, Mackowiak used enough flowery language and descriptors that I started to get an allergy attack. I skimmed the first chapter only the realise that my third grade education told me more than the chapter about why The Patient was the way he was. The second chapter brought me to a screeching halt at the opening line of "The 5th century B.C.E. was the Golden Age of Athens, perhaps of all western history". Beg pardon? Was this written in 2007 or 1877?

It may be because I'm a lifelong history nerd, raised by a history nerd, that this book is so off-putting and....and... what's simpler than fundamental? Or maybe it gets that much better once you're further along. But I'm going to throw this on the DNF shelf and carry on.

[Debra Smetana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched and engaging

I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the intersection of history and medicine. There’s no sensationalism, only objective analysis based on history and medicine.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. I know very little about medicine and it was easy for me to understand. I also liked that the background and historical context of the patient was given, though this was weaker than the diagnostic aspect of the text.

[Ann Goddard · Rating 4 out of 5]

More than once while reading history I have become interested in what actually killed an interesting historic figure. This physician, a forensic historian,uses clues left in literature and records to try to diagnose historic figures' mortal ailments. He takes a chapter for each famous person, from Gautama Buddha to Vladimir Lenin, whose identity he holds back until the final pages of the chapter (I found that slightly annoying, but I'm sure it does focus the attention on the symptoms rather than the presumed knowledge of history). This isn't exactly action adventure genre, but it has its share of intrigues.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I caught some of the HCC's when I was at Maryland, and this book captures the fun. He des a lovely job of making things exciting and has a nice easy writing style. I think non-medical types would be able to read it, but the interest in parsing out Bright's disease from essential hypertension may not be there.

[Lillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting case series of historical figures and the etiologies of their death using what we know from the historical record. The cases are probably more compelling presented in a conference format (which I think was their original format), but still interesting.

[Leslie B Mink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, but I was able to discern identity and cause of death well before it was given by author.

Young people considering the medical arts should read this book.

Not recommended for those who are a bit squeamish.

Ok

[Annalisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating stuff. Mackowiak takes care to not just discuss symptoms, but to bring the patients alive and place them and their ailments within the cultural contexts of their lifetimes.