History, Medicine, and Science: Nonfiction and Fiction discussion

Please post your book selections here. We will vote on them in a couple months.

I'll start the bidding (lol) by suggesting we read In Stitches by Anthony Youn.

He's a member of our group and I think we could have a great discussion with him regarding this book.

From HMS member Ashland:

Between Expectations: Lessons from a Pediatric Residency

From HMS member Ashland:

The Cure of Childhood Leukemia: Into the Age of Miracles

Written by HMS group member

Dracula in Love

From HMS member Bunnie:

An American Doctor's Odyssey: Adventures in Forty-Five Countries

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

The Year We Were Famous

The Daughter's Walk

sex sleep eat drink dream: a day in the life of your body

The House of God: The Classic Novel of Life and Death in an American Hospital

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements

Asleep: The Forgotten Epidemic

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science

Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History

Anything Goes: A Biography of the Roaring Twenties

Wow! Great list Yvonne. I hadn't realized Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void is now in paperback. Heard great things about The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements, bad things about The Memory Keeper's Daughter. Looks like I should just send Amazon all my money now. (The kids don't REALLY need to go to college, do they?)

Starvation Heights Gregg Olsen

This one sounds really interesting!

Great nomination, Michelle!
I just got Starvation Heights last month and I'm really looking forward to reading it.

Yvonne wrote: "Great nomination, Michelle!
I just got Starvation Heights last month and I'm really looking forward to reading it."

Thanks, Yvonne! And I finally got Holly's book! Now to find the time to read it. =O)

Michelle/ wrote: Thanks, Yvonne! And I finally got Holly's book! Now to find the time to read it..."

You're gonna love it -- it's fascinating!

Melki wrote: "Wow! Great list Yvonne. I hadn't realized Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void is now in paperback. Heard great things about The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements, bad things about The Memory Keeper's Daughter"

Yeah, The Memory Keeper's Daughter may be a little too "main stream" for this ecletic group.
And, no, children do not REALLY need to go to college. My daughter's already gotten used to idea of getting herself some scholarships. Lots and lots of scholarships! ;-)

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements is fantastic..I second that vote. Those who liked the Poisoner's Handbook should like it as well.
Or, Body of Work: Meditations on Mortality from the Human Anatomy Lab, or Corpse: Nature, Forensics, and the Struggle to Pinpoint Time of Deathor, lastly, Good Germs, Bad Germs: Health and Survival in a Bacterial World.

Great suggestions, Elizabeth! I'll be sure to include all of them next month when we vote.

If anyone's interested in SUPERBUG (international epidemic of antibiotic resistance) or Beating Back the Devil (CDC's disease detectives), I'd be happy to do an online Q/A about them.

Beating Back the Devil sounds fantastic.

The House of God

Maryn wrote: "If anyone's interested in SUPERBUG (international epidemic of antibiotic resistance) or Beating Back the Devil (CDC's disease detectives), I'd be happy to do an online Q/A about them."

Thank you so much, Maryn -- it'd be an honor to have an author of your caliber actively participate in our monthly book discussion.
Your books sound fascinating, albeit a little scary :)

I'd like to suggest Pointing from the Grave: A True Story of Murder and DNA.

It's written by Samantha Weinberg, whose other book A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth we're reading right now.

Phylwil wrote: "Beating Back the Devil sounds fantastic."

I agree!! I'm adding that to my "to read" shelf now.

I just read The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements, it is an amazing book.

I don't know what books you have read already, but I also recommend:The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales and Civilization & the Limpet

I have a copy of Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of Historythat has been sitting on my bookshelf for months that I need the motivation to read.

A People's History of Science: Miners, Midwives, and "Low Mechaniks"

Just started it!

The Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Medicine, Madness & the Murder of a President

Reading now. It's about President Garfield's death--and the misguided attempts of doctors to save him. Had a chance to meet the author this past weekend at the Southern Festival of Books. She was fantastically nice--and, so far, 3 chapters in, I'm blown away by the writing.

And I have to say over and over again how sorry I am to be so MIA. Thank heavens for the amazing Yvonne who is holding it all together.

I'm a professor at a large university and picked up a couple of huge administrative assignments. I'm just now coming up for air! :)

Hope everyone is doing GREAT! Holly

Thanks Holly!
We've missed you, but I think we all understand that "life happens". Good to hear from you again, though... :)
The Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Medicine, Madness & the Murder of a President sounds like a great book -- I've added it to my TBR pile.

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Any additional book nominations should be listed on the new Feb-Mar-Apr Book Nominations thread. Voting is now open for all the books listed above.