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From Last Hope to First Aid: Stories from the History of Emergency Medicine
What connects the famous magician Mandrake to a lifesaving drug such as atropine? What link is there between the beautiful cherry blossom trees of Washington and the discovery of adrenaline? Is it true that the ambulance and triage systems were borne after the terrible experiences of t soldiers on the Napoleonic War battlefield? What is the "sweet whiskey" that allowed for major surgical operations in the past?
The answers to these questions and other anecdotes and curiosities, are presented in From Last Hope to First Stories from the History of Emergency Medicine. In search of the origin of practices, drugs, and devices present today on our ambulances and in our hospitals and emergency rooms, we get a passionate glimpse into the history of emergency, meeting the founding fathers of medicine. We get to know more deeply the brilliant doctors and passionate pioneers who with their greatest inventions have revolutionized the way we live and survive.
In 37 short and fresh chapters, independent of each other, we take an extraordinary journey into the history of medicine, science and humanism. Every big or small step has been animated with love, passion, and dreams toward one single saving the life of another person.
The answers to these questions and other anecdotes and curiosities, are presented in From Last Hope to First Stories from the History of Emergency Medicine. In search of the origin of practices, drugs, and devices present today on our ambulances and in our hospitals and emergency rooms, we get a passionate glimpse into the history of emergency, meeting the founding fathers of medicine. We get to know more deeply the brilliant doctors and passionate pioneers who with their greatest inventions have revolutionized the way we live and survive.
In 37 short and fresh chapters, independent of each other, we take an extraordinary journey into the history of medicine, science and humanism. Every big or small step has been animated with love, passion, and dreams toward one single saving the life of another person.
243 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 17, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 31, 2017
A good book, written in a weird way where chapters are totally disconnected, lots of chapters, and the footnotes sometimes are longer than the chapter itself.
It is full of stories of creations, discoveries, and inventions, it shows you how much of what we take for granted in the world of emergency and medical help is actually the result of a story, of a lot of research, and of pain and courage.
I liked the book even though it gave me a bit of a hard time because I don't come from a medical background.
It is full of stories of creations, discoveries, and inventions, it shows you how much of what we take for granted in the world of emergency and medical help is actually the result of a story, of a lot of research, and of pain and courage.
I liked the book even though it gave me a bit of a hard time because I don't come from a medical background.
June 2, 2017
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This was a very good book. It was easy to read for someone like me, who has no experience and very little knowledge in the medical field. Some parts seemed boring, but I attribute that to the aforementioned lack of previous knowledge. Mostly it was fascinating.
This was a very good book. It was easy to read for someone like me, who has no experience and very little knowledge in the medical field. Some parts seemed boring, but I attribute that to the aforementioned lack of previous knowledge. Mostly it was fascinating.
February 13, 2018
The scope of the book is interesting and many of the emergency medicines and practices highlight truly surprising histories or motivations. However, many of the entries were extremely short and felt at times like a simple gloss, a slightly embellished Wikipedia article instead of unfolding more research or story. Maybe this was due to the sheer number of chapters/subjects and an effort to keep the page total down, I don't know. Maybe it was the mark of enthusiasm and a little research carrying the day when more research and careful writing would have resulted in a better whole. I'm presuming the book was translated and there are a few (presumably) translation issues, including several missing and/or incorrect word choices. I do hope the author continues writing and works to hone the craft of his writing.
April 14, 2018
This is a comprehensive history of emergency medicine and how it came about and evolved. While I don't work in the medical field, I found it fascinating to read how these techniques came about. The language used is easy to understand and not loaded with jargon.
My main complaint is that the footnotes often are as long as the chapters but they did contain some interesting information. I would have liked to have seen that more integrated into the main narrative with a shorter footnote at the end of the chapter.
I received a free copy of this book
My main complaint is that the footnotes often are as long as the chapters but they did contain some interesting information. I would have liked to have seen that more integrated into the main narrative with a shorter footnote at the end of the chapter.
I received a free copy of this book
December 24, 2018
Dr. Adami is an Italian ER physician who writes about the history of many of the advances in medicine, particularly as applied to the emergency room. It is really fascinating to learn about simple devices that we all take for granted such as thermometers, syringes, certain medicines, and medical equipment. Well researched with wonderful notes that follow each chapter on e-books.
May 29, 2024
Interesting Topic, Needs an Editor
There are a lot of interesting topics in this book. I found that the chapters lacked depth, often reading like a Wikipedia article. I found it annoying when the author jumped around in time during a chapter. It makes everything look thrown together. A lot of editing would have improved the book a lot.
There are a lot of interesting topics in this book. I found that the chapters lacked depth, often reading like a Wikipedia article. I found it annoying when the author jumped around in time during a chapter. It makes everything look thrown together. A lot of editing would have improved the book a lot.
January 11, 2017
Very dry. I fell asleep reading it several times. It has good information, but is somewhat repetitive.
March 13, 2017
As an ex-emt I found this book disappointing
July 20, 2019
Resourceful
Thi#. Was too technical from.a position
Of an attorney. It certainly was revealing as to how antiseptic practices & speed of treatment from onset was vital.
Thi#. Was too technical from.a position
Of an attorney. It certainly was revealing as to how antiseptic practices & speed of treatment from onset was vital.
April 14, 2021
Disconcertingly amateurish translation, too long and too many assumptions made about reader knowledge. However, the information was interesting; a good editor could make all the difference.
February 20, 2017
Interesting but not compelling story of medical advancement
A perfectly acceptable treatment of individual medical advancements, told one at a time. There is, perhaps understandably, little cohesion among chapters. Each advancement is covered in workmanlike fashion, but the reader looks in vain for highlights in each case.
A perfectly acceptable treatment of individual medical advancements, told one at a time. There is, perhaps understandably, little cohesion among chapters. Each advancement is covered in workmanlike fashion, but the reader looks in vain for highlights in each case.
January 25, 2017
Informative, but Drier than Expected
Reading this in English, I found a lot of language barrier/translation issues, but those are probably the fault of the editor.
Also, some of the footnotes were of an ungodly length and probably should have had their own chapters.
Overall, though, some of the stories were interesting. I wish it had been written less like a textbook, but that's harder to do when dealing with stories from history, especially for someone with a more scientific background. Some cool stories, but somewhat bad execution.
Reading this in English, I found a lot of language barrier/translation issues, but those are probably the fault of the editor.
Also, some of the footnotes were of an ungodly length and probably should have had their own chapters.
Overall, though, some of the stories were interesting. I wish it had been written less like a textbook, but that's harder to do when dealing with stories from history, especially for someone with a more scientific background. Some cool stories, but somewhat bad execution.
April 9, 2017
I didn't finish this book. I was hoping for more of a story line to it, but the author gives more of a glossing over of how each item/technique in medicine came about, and it just couldn't hold my interest.
April 25, 2017
Footnotes could have incorporated into the main story; they were as interesting as the main writing.
August 28, 2017
I love books about medical history and usually once I find a book to read I do everything I can to finish it I got about 30% of the way through before I returned it to Kindle unlimited the first few chapters were fascinating but after awhile it just seem to get repetitive so I didn't finish it and I'm moving on to something else
November 2, 2017
(Kindle eBook version) One of my all-time favorite books. I learned so much about how our medical practices have evolved --both at home and in the hospital setting. Most chapters can be read independently and in no particular order; however I did enjoy reading it front-to-back as the author intended. My mother grew up during the polio outbreak and subsequent rush to find a cure/vaccine, and so I was particularly interested in this topic. The whole book was downright fascinating. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in lifelong learning.
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January 3, 2018Drops off in quality and effort in the second half of the book.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews