{"title":"Druin Burch","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"digging-up-the-dead-book-druin-burch-9780701179854","title":"Digging Up the Dead","description":"'When I was four or five years old my mother took me to see a dead man'. This riveting memory from the author's own life is the start of \"Digging Up the Dead\", a terrific historical narrative and an evocation of a whole world, where surgeons and body-snatchers colluded and conspired because this was the only way the surgeons could get anatomical experience. It tells the story of Astley Cooper 1768-1841, a tearaway young man from Norfolk who became a fiery radical (he took his pregnant wife to Paris during the Revolution) and a brilliantly successful surgeon. He was a student of the famous John Hunter, and the teacher of the poet John Keats, who was a medical student at Guy's; he became a fellow of the Royal Society and was the first person to describe the function of the middle ear, with its drum and bones. He became surgeon to three successive British Kings, as well as Princes and Prime Ministers. When Cooper died it was said that he had 'earned more than any surgeon or lawyer that ever lived', and his funeral drew huge crowds. The village where he had spent his last years was hung with black and a statue of him was placed in St Paul's. But Cooper's real passion was dissection. He began with student raids on graveyards (and on neighbours' cats and dogs) and ended up running a country-wide network of informers and body snatchers, later boasting to a House of Commons enquiry that there was no man or woman in Britain whose body he could not obtain after their death. Druin Burch became fascinated by Cooper when he was working as a busy Accident and Emergency doctor, and he sets the past against his own reactions to autopsies and operations, hospitals and poetry. Beautifully written, brilliant and original, with a touch of the gothic, \"Digging Up the Dead\" suggests that biography too is a form of dissection, anatomizing and 'autopsy', which means 'to see for oneself'.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49529250349329,"sku":"GOR001939437","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49550253359377,"sku":"GOR003620476","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51828529561873,"sku":"GOR005538750","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0701179856.jpg?v=1751199419"},{"product_id":"taking-the-medicine-book-druin-burch-9780701182786","title":"Taking the Medicine","description":"This is a controversial history of medicine and medical drugs from a completely new angle - and a wake-up call to us all. Instead of merely placing cures in the culture of their day, Druin Burch dares to ask 'did they work?'. The answer is a resounding no. We follow the stories of major drugs like opiates, quinine and aspirin, and meet startling accounts of use and abuse, of accidental findings, and of heroic labours to understand their impact. Clearly these were powerful substances that had a major effect on the human body, but no one was quite sure how they worked, or if, in the long term, they really did effect a cure or merely relieved symptoms, masking the real problems. After the Second World War things started to change, beginning with antibiotics. But the great leap forward came with the development of reliable testing - unglamorous statistics and data that saved millions of lives.The real heroes are the men and women who have persuaded the world of the vital importance of blind, randomised, controlled trials as against the 'intuition' of doctors. Only by such testing can we avoid the horrors of misapplied drugs like thalidomide. And only by long-term tests, as well as those undertaken before a drug's release, can we discover that apparent miracle cures may bring more harm than benefits. We want to put our faith in doctors and the drugs they offer, but for centuries this faith has been misplaced. We need to ask more about how our new wonder drugs work and how they have been tested. We need to question our own doctors; to make the medical profession as a whole examine its prejudices; to press governments against handing control to powerful global companies. \"Taking the Medicine\" - written with passion and wit, packed with fascinating stories and scientific surprises - is both alarming and optimistic. By understanding the past, we can safeguard the future.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49543195066641,"sku":"GOR001364403","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49642519658769,"sku":"GOR003784404","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0701182784.jpg?v=1751328314"},{"product_id":"taking-the-medicine-book-druin-burch-9781845951504","title":"Taking the Medicine","description":"Doctors and patients alike trust the medical profession and its therapeutic powers; yet this trust has often been misplaced. Whether prescribing opium or thalidomide, aspirin or antidepressants, doctors have persistently failed to test their favourite ideas - often with catastrophic results. From revolutionary America to Nazi Germany and modern big-pharmaceuticals, this is the unexpected story of just how bad medicine has been, and of its remarkably recent effort to improve.   It is the history of well-meaning doctors misled by intuition, of the startling human cost of their mistakes and of the exceptional individuals who have helped make things better. Alarming and optimistic, Taking the Medicine is essential reading for anyone interested in how and why to trust the pills they swallow.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49545149939985,"sku":"GOR003988898","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50392255725841,"sku":"CIN1845951506G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50441902162193,"sku":"GOR010286564","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50859836473617,"sku":"GOR002542727","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1845951506.jpg?v=1750725024"},{"product_id":"shape-of-things-to-come-book-druin-burch-9781788543392","title":"The Shape of Things to Come","description":"In this humane and important exploration of modern medicine, Druin Burch examines the future of medicine, our changing physicalities and the implications of longer life.  From birth to death and through the exploration of topics such as disease, sex, mind, eating and drinking, Burch tracks the future of medicine by looking at what is already possible today. Weaving in insights from literature, art and history, The Shape of Things to Come considers the cultural complexity surrounding medicine as well as its impact on the humanities.  As a specialist in geriatric medicine Burch writes with a keen understanding of the medical profession. He outlines the areas of medicine which have seen the greatest improvements and optimistically offers insight into further advancements. Praise for Druin Burch:  'A writer of searing intelligence and lively wit' GOOD BOOK GUIDE  'Each chapter is a self-contained pleasure to read' SUNDAY TIMES  'Intriguing and informed' THE TIMES","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49550764671249,"sku":"GOR013350735","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49657902432529,"sku":"GOR013279193","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49737969303825,"sku":"NGR9781788543392","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50122503717137,"sku":"CIN1788543394G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51878825132305,"sku":"GOR014441380","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1788543394.jpg?v=1751450305"},{"product_id":"digging-up-the-dead-book-druin-burch-9781845950132","title":"Digging Up the Dead","description":"A tearaway young man from Norfolk, Astley Cooper (1768-1841) became the world's richest and most famous surgeon.   Caught up in the French Revolution, and in attempts to bring radical democracy to Britain, Cooper nevertheless rose to become surgeon to royals from the Prince Regent to Queen Victoria.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49562923335953,"sku":"GOR002358259","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50447268774161,"sku":"CIN1845950135G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50474181689617,"sku":"GOR003867076","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51093684191505,"sku":"NGR9781845950132","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":51324234760465,"sku":"CIN1845950135A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52816651485457,"sku":"CIN1845950135VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1845950135.jpg?v=1750930308"},{"product_id":"shape-of-things-to-come-book-druin-burch-9781788543385","title":"The Shape of Things to Come","description":"In this humane and important exploration of modern medicine, Druin Burch examines the future of medicine, our changing physicalities and the implications of longer life.  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Praise for Druin Burch:  'A writer of searing intelligence and lively wit' GOOD BOOK GUIDE  'Each chapter is a self-contained pleasure to read' SUNDAY TIMES  'Intriguing and informed' THE TIMES","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50254159282449,"sku":"GOR009936260","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50771309232401,"sku":"GOR010219291","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1788543386.jpg?v=1751248705"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-druin-burch.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}