Science and Technology in Medicine

Reviews
International reviews of the book

Updated: September 1, 2008 13:11

"This remarkable monograph ..should have a prominent place on the bookself of every biomedical engineer, medical physicist and of all scientists who in some way are connected with medical science and practice."
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      Gunther Henning
      Professor Technical University Ilmenau
      Biomedizinische Technik/Biomedical Engineering 2008;53:91

"This book will be of value not only to historians but also to those who wish to illuminate their lectures and speeches with relevant and interesting facts.."
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      Tatsuo Togawa
      Ph.D. Professor, School of Human Sciences Waseda University
      Japanese Soc.Med.Biol.Eng.2007;45(3):228

"Writing a book on the histories of science, technology and medicine must indeed be difficult, but Gedeon accomplishes this with great success and turns out a veritable classic, a work of art entitled Science and technology in medicine."
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      Sanjay A. Pai
      M.D. Department of Pathology Manipal Hospital Bangalore in
      The National Medical Journal of India 2007;20(5):264

"Anybody interested in clinical medicine and clinical science should delve into this book, both to marvel at what we know and how we came to know it…"
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      Jonathan L. Rees
      FRCP,FRCPE, FMedSci Dermatology in J Am. Acad. Dermatol. 2007; 56(4):716

"Science and Technology in Medicine with its beautiful illustrations and concise text delineates the complex exchange among the sciences that underscores our increasing quantitative and technical medical diagnostic and therapeutic practices today"
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      Muhammed Hassanali
      Project engineer in Annals of Biomedical Engineering 2007;35(9):1645

"The text as a whole is a pleasure to read. Once started, it is difficult to put down...
It is a motivator for anyone thinking about the interaction of technology, engineering, and medicine."
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      Paul H. King
      Assoc.Prof. Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University in
      IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine, 2007; 26(1):99

"In the introductory material, Gedeon explains his intention both to provide new and interesting information and to entertain. He succeeds at both aims....
The illustrations add to the already unique content. ...This assemblage of illustrations is a magnificent achievement. ”
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      James W. Allen
      MD. MPH. in JAMA (Journal of American Medical Association), 2006; 296(11):1407

"By presenting a beautifully reproduced and clearly laid-out and labelled tableau of contemporary documents, and concise biographies, with a contextually targeted bibliography, this surprisingly informative book details the development of the web of science and technology that permeates and underpins the increasingly techno-scientific diagnostic and therapeutic practices of modern medicine. ”
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      Chris Degeling
      University of Sydney in Health and History, 2006;8(1)

"Science and Technology in Medicine by Andras Gedeon is an extensively illustrated selection of key works that introduced science and technology into medicine. ”
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      Alison Abbott
      Senior European Correspondent in NATURE, VOL 442 24 August 2006

"Each chapter includes enough information to put the discovery into perspective. The reader is given at least a glimpse of the importance of the discovery.
Overall Grading: Excellent”
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      Carl F Anderson
      MD in Mayo Clin.Proc 2006;81:1132

"This book is a delight.” ”It would make an excellent teaching tool for courses in biomedical engineering and medical physics and merits a place in your library”
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      Richard Kirsner
      Ph.D. in Australasian Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine (APESM), 2006;29(3):288

"..The book is beautifully illustrated, informative, and entertaining, and serves to remind us of our rich medical heritage”
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      Arpan K Banerjee
      Consultant radiologist in Brittish Medical Journal (BMJ) 2006;333:154

"Sections are well documented with footnotes and illustrations from original writings…Recommended. Health sciences libraries and academic libraries supporting a health sciences curriculum; all levels.”
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      R.D.Arcari
      Ph.D. University of Connecticut School of Medicine in
      Choice, American Library Association (44-1856) December 2006

I very much appreciate the ways the book brings together key papers, mini-biographies, mini-histories, and especially the wonderful illustrations.
      John V Pickstone
      Wellcome Research Professor
      Centre for the History of Science, Technology & Medicine
      University of Manchester
      Manchester, UK

I have been really impressed by the content of the book, it is not only a compilation of old documents, prints and literature but a thoughtful and well balanced interpretation and analysis of the intricacy between science, technology and medicine. Besides the virtues mentioned above I consider the most appealing feature of this superb book is its collection of drawings, prints and archive documents. This book is great not only for biomedical engineers and for physicians but also for all those interested in the history of technology and medicine and on their mutual interaction.
      Jean-Pierre Morucci
      Professor, past president IFMBE and IUPESM
      (International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering) and
      (International Union for Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine)
      INSERM (National Institute of Health and Medical Research) unit 455
      Toulouse, France

Andras Gedeon takes the reader on an absolutely fascinating tour of scientific progress in medicine. What today is common and taken for granted can in this book be traced to its origin. For anyone with special interest in physiology, the book is a gold mine and it is fascinating to follow the change from robust hardware hands on experiments to sophisticated software developments of the late part of last century. The reproduction of numerous original documents adds to the joy of the book, which easily could be read from cover to cover or by random dives into the pages.
      Ola Stenqvist
      Professor of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care
      Sahlgrenska University Hospital
      Göteborg, Sweden

The book is marvelous. I have read virtually all of these articles before but not in one collection that links them into thematic areas. The main feature lacking in any history of medicine works is the relationship between science and technology and medicine. Most, virtually all, spend time on medicine as art and an expression of human intuition. There is, of course, the application of empirical methods but not much beyond. Magically, science comes to the fore late in the 19th century and its influence is rather taken for granted. This collection of readings places medicine in a much different light, one that is usually only reserved for the 20th century. I see a role for the book in teaching a history of medicine. It would enable an instructor to introduce the scientific and technological dynamics into medicine. One could also envision an entire class devoted to science and technology in medicine.
      Paul Fagette
      Ph.D. Historian the Biomedical Engineering Society
      Senior Lecturer Department of Biomedical Engineering
      Illinois Institute of Technology
      Chicago, USA

Andras Gedeon has assembled a remarkable collection of history and modern innovation, hard science and personal wisdom, archival documentation and literary warmth in this incredible volume. Building on his personal choices of the most important publications in science (thoughtfully chosen) he added subsequent publications and personal stories to define the history of science which is exciting to the lay reader and the academic historian.
A masterpiece!
      Robert H. Bartlett
      Professor Emeritus of Surgery
      University of Michigan
      Faculty advisor The Victor Vaughan Society for the History of Medicine
      Ann Arbor, USA

It looks an incredibly impressive publication and has, for me, already proved to be immensely helpful. I have been looking at the publication from a picture research/image cataloguing stand point and have already found information about images, that we have in our system, which had very little information describing them. I have now been able to update these images thanks to your publication.
      Clive Coward
      Acting Senior Picture Researcher
      Historical Collection
      The Wellcome Trust Medical Photographic Library
      London, UK

Three things, in particular, have impressed me with this book. The first is the underlying innovative idea. The splendid idea taken up is to base the story on ninety-nine case studies, admittedly a subjective choice of the author, but, as it proves, a very successful approach. The case studies, "landmarks", as they are called, are publications that directly or indirectly represent quantum jumps in the development of medicine.
  The second thing that impresses is the thoroughness with which this idea has been carried through. The author knows his field and gives references and points out connections that constitute a web where the "landmarks" are the nodes. The many references to persons and to results inspire the reader to further studies in the virtual library now available to everyone who has access to the Internet.
  The third thing is the visual appeal of the book. It is like looking into an illustrated magazine which offers both excitement and entertainment, but in the first place presents a panorama of a fascinating evolution with immediate consequences to everybody. The only prerequisite expected of the reader is curiosity, and in return this curiosity is highly stimulated and rewarded.
      Nils Åslund
      Professor Emeritus of Physics The Royal Institute of Technology
      MDhc. Karolinska Institutet
      Stockholm, Sweden

Thank you very much for the nice book Science and Technology in Medicine that I received as my sixty years birthday present. I will use it as a good reference book of scientific history.
      Kotaro Fukuda
      President & CEO
      Fukuda Denshi Co., Ltd.
      Tokyo, Japan

The history of medicine has been described in many ways but the approach in this book to illustrate the contributions of science and technology to the development of medicine is an exceptional idea resulting in an entertaining and informative text. When you have gone through this impressive volume you feel inclined to start reading the book all over again. I can certainly recommend my medical colleagues to read this book, which can also be used as a reference work.
      Lars Thorén
      Professor Emeritus of Surgery
      University of Uppsala
      Head of Uppsala Medicinhistoriska Museum
      Uppsala, Sweden