Human Body

by Unknown

COLLECTIBLE.

Genres: Science

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1927

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Unknown" when the author or editor (as applicable) is not known and cannot be discovered. If at all possible, list at least one actual author or editor for a book instead of using "Unknown".

Books whose authorship is purposefully withheld should be attributed instead to Anonymous.

Reviews

[Dan]

Logan Clendening is one of the more fascinating characters in the history of the Kansas City area. In his day (the 1930s) he was a household name across the U.S. He was a physician and professor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine who wrote a daily syndicated newspaper column about health. He also wrote, with much candor and humor, books about health for the layperson, which were bestsellers. This, the most famous of those books, was in print until the 1970s. Clendening was a friend of H.L. Mencken and Ernest Hemingway, travelled widely collecting rare books and manuscripts related to the history of medicine, and was famous for his blunt and bawdy sense of humor. Besides his writing, teaching, and book collection, which later became the Clendening Library at University of Kansas, he is known for two other acts. He became a regional folk hero in the late-1930s when, after months of dubious construction projects in his neighborhood sanctioned by the crooked machine-led government of Kansas City, he put on his best suit, grabbed an axe, marched to the jackhammer nearest his home, and hacked at it until he was arrested and jailed. The second act for which is remembered is his dramatic suicide, the result of massive blood loss from a self-inflicted wound to his neck, which came as a shock to readers and many who knew him.

While the science in this book may be outdated, the writing is not. I found it amusing and a useful document in the study of an interesting historical figure. Someone ought to write a full-length biography of this guy. No offense to my East Coast relations, but if all this had happened in Manhattan, there would have been five books written about it by the 1950s, and a few new ones re-examining it all published every ten years or so until 2050.

[Duaij]

I do not know how outdated this book is, but I am amazed about Clendening's attempt to write such a book-taking an attempt to get to the points on a technical, historical and philosophical aspect of the medical field and the human body!

The language in this book is not meant to confuse those with no knowledge of medicine and not meant to amaze the physicians. I do not doubt that this was written for the average curious individual on the operations of the human body as a "unit in civilization" as Clendening argues. And absolutely no doubt that Clendening is also philosophical, and a good writer given that he's a collector of Dickens!

So sad that this man has not continued his career giving up his life early, committing suicide on his entrance to the doors of the age of 60's :( He sure left us a gem to comprehend and make wisdom out of for generations to come.