The best medicine books

Who picked these books? Meet our 87 experts.

87 authors created a book list connected to medicine, and here are their favorite medicine books.
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Forensic Medicine

By Keith Simpson,

Book cover of Forensic Medicine

Colin Cotterill Author Of The Coroner's Lunch

From the list on reads whilst awaiting radiology and/or death.

Who am I?

When you write a book, it’s natural to put yourself in it. You’re the avenger, the rookie agent, the hard-drinking detective. But how many of us volunteer to be the corpse? I sit here every day in the cancer unit at a public Thai hospital and smile at folks who won’t be around much longer. I wrote fifteen books in a series about a coroner. I painted the victims colorfully when they were still alive but how much respect did I show them once they were chunks of slowly decaying meat? From now on my treatment of the souls that smile back at me will take on a new life.

Colin's book list on reads whilst awaiting radiology and/or death

Discover why each book is one of Colin's favorite books.

Why did Colin love this book?

I thought I should include a book you have no chance of finding without dredging the second-hand book warehouses in Hay, Wales. (Which is where I found it). Like my protagonist, I had no idea about forensic medicine. But I couldn’t begin my studies in this day and age of CSI and DNA. I had to find a textbook that my Dr. Siri might use to solve cases back in the seventies. This was it, plus hundreds of gruesome photos for your coffee table. Like a true scientist, Dr. Simpson affords the dead not a shred of dignity.  

By Keith Simpson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Forensic Medicine as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Good reference. Many photos, some pretty gruesome. Shipped in cardboard mailer.


When We Do Harm

By Danielle Ofri,

Book cover of When We Do Harm: A Doctor Confronts Medical Error

Mikkael A. Sekeres Author Of Drugs and the FDA: Safety, Efficacy, and the Public's Trust

From the list on the good, bad, beautiful, and ugly in medicine.

Who am I?

As a cancer doctor, I have spent two decades dedicated to understanding the causes and therapy of cancer, how my patients experience their diagnosis and treatment, and how meaningful improvements in their experience should be reflected in the criteria we use to approve cancer drugs approval in the U.S., to improve their lives. In over 100 essays published in outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post and in two books, I sing the stories of my patients as I learn from their undaunted spirits and their utter humanity, as I try to figure out how to be a better doctor, and a better person.

Mikkael's book list on the good, bad, beautiful, and ugly in medicine

Discover why each book is one of Mikkael's favorite books.

Why did Mikkael love this book?

Nobody is perfect. But in medicine, not being perfect can cause injury in another person, or even death.

In When We Do Harm, Ofri tells the stories of patients who fell victim to medical errors, conducting root-cause analyses of how errors occur in the complicated practice of medicine, and the mundane interventions and cultural shift that will be necessary to prevent them in the future.

It’s not an easy puzzle to solve.

By Danielle Ofri,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked When We Do Harm as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Medical mistakes are more pervasive than we think. How can we improve outcomes? An acclaimed MD’s rich stories and research explore patient safety.

Patients enter the medical system with faith that they will receive the best care possible, so when things go wrong, it’s a profound and painful breach. Medical science has made enormous strides in decreasing mortality and suffering, but there’s no doubt that treatment can also cause harm, a significant portion of which is preventable. In When We Do Harm, practicing physician and acclaimed author Danielle Ofri places the issues of medical error and patient safety front and…


The Book of Not Knowing

By Peter Ralston,

Book cover of The Book of Not Knowing: Exploring the True Nature of Self, Mind, and Consciousness

Larry Gottlieb Author Of Hoodwinked: Uncovering Our Fundamental Superstitions

From the list on to help us understand human being.

Who am I?

As long as I can remember, I have wanted to understand how the universe works. I studied physics with a firm belief in scientific materialism, the belief that all things can or will be explained by science, including consciousness. However, after earning an advanced degree I found myself no closer to a satisfying answer to my inquiry into the relationship between consciousness and the physical world. Then, a personal experience of unembodied consciousness convinced me that my answers would have to come from a reexamination of all that I had believed, an internal journey over decades that has borne fruit in unexpected and magical ways.

Larry's book list on to help us understand human being

Discover why each book is one of Larry's favorite books.

Why did Larry love this book?

I found that reading this book was challenging but ultimately extremely valuable. I really appreciate the opportunity to be guided through a tour of my own beliefs, so that I can come to more fully distinguish what's real from what everyone else has told me is real. The idea that the self is ultimately a conceptual construction without a basis in reality blew my mind wide open, in the sense that my entire conception of what is real was built on top of this basic misunderstanding. This is why I call my book list the best books to help us understand human beings.

By Peter Ralston,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Book of Not Knowing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

For fans of Eckhart Tolle—a guide to mastering self-awareness through direct experience rather than old presumptions or harmful thought patterns

Through decades of martial arts and meditation practice, Peter Ralston discovered a curious and paradoxical fact: that true awareness arises from a state of not-knowing. Even the most sincere investigation of self and spirit, he says, is often sabotaged by our tendency to grab too quickly for answers and ideas as we retreat to the safety of the known.

This "Hitchhiker’s Guide to Awareness" provides helpful guideposts along an experiential journey for those Western minds predisposed to wandering off to…


That Good Night

By Sunita Puri,

Book cover of That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour

Sylvester J. Schieber Author Of Healthcare USA: American Exceptionalism Run Amok

From the list on why healthcare is a cancer on the American Dream.

Who am I?

I spent nearly 30 years consulting with employers about the design and operation of the health insurance and retirement benefits they provided their workers. In my work, I was familiar with economic studies showing that workers’ wages and salaries have been increasingly skewed toward higher earners and was convinced the results were less pronounced for workers' total rewards.. In developing my analysis I came to understand that the cost of employees’ health insurance was consuming a large share of workers’ growing rewards. This led me to explore how the US health system was imposing much higher costs on workers than any other segment of society and how we might address the problem.

Sylvester's book list on why healthcare is a cancer on the American Dream

Discover why each book is one of Sylvester's favorite books.

Why did Sylvester love this book?

Dr. Puri is a specialist in palliative care for patients with terminal conditions.

She describes the challenges she has encountered during her medical training and practice in dealing with a medical establishment committed to intensive care even in the face of insurmountable odds that such care will improve patients’ health or quality of life.

She also describes encounters with patients’ families who demand intensive medical treatment and are unwilling to allow patients to transition peacefully through the end of life. Often the demand for intensive care is made without the desires of the patient being considered.

This is a poignant set of stories showing that intensive care in what is often the most expensive medical cases exact a price far higher than the dollars involved in the transaction.

By Sunita Puri,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked That Good Night as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"A profound exploration of what it means for all of us to live-and to die-with dignity and purpose." -People

"Visceral and lyrical." -The Atlantic

As the American born daughter of immigrants, Dr. Sunita Puri knew from a young age that the gulf between her parents' experiences and her own was impossible to bridge, save for two elements: medicine and spirituality. Between days spent waiting for her mother, an anesthesiologist, to exit the OR, and evenings spent in conversation with her parents about their faith, Puri witnessed the tension between medicine's impulse to preserve life at all costs and a spiritual…


Sick Enough

By Jennifer L. Gaudiani,

Book cover of Sick Enough: A Guide to the Medical Complications of Eating Disorders

Jenna Hollenstein Author Of Intuitive Eating for Life: How Mindfulness Can Deepen and Sustain Your Intuitive Eating Practice

From the list on reality-check your relationship with food and body.

Who am I?

I’m obsessed with the connections between Buddhist philosophy, meditation, Intuitive Eating, eating disorder and addiction recovery, body liberation, and intersectional social justice work. These connections are everywhere! It may not seem like it, but how we relate to food and our bodies reflects how we feel about all bodies. How we speak to ourselves reflects how we feel about difference, difficulty, and interdependence. Challenging our entrenched beliefs about health, eating, food, and body helps us to ultimately recognize the inherent worthiness of all bodies. This is how we both come to know ourselves authentically and how we change the world for the better. 

Jenna's book list on reality-check your relationship with food and body

Discover why each book is one of Jenna's favorite books.

Why did Jenna love this book?

Few people – perhaps even those of us in the eating disorders field – really appreciate just how common eating disorders and disordered eating are.

In this book, an eating disorder physician calls into question the cognitive distortion that someone isn’t “sick enough” to warrant intervention and eating disorder recovery.

I love how Dr. Gaudiani not only covers the reddest flags of eating disorders, but acknowledges what many of us have come to regard as “normal” but in reality is disordered, dangerous, and harmful.

By Jennifer L. Gaudiani,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Sick Enough as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Patients with eating disorders frequently feel that they aren't "sick enough" to merit treatment, despite medical problems that are both measurable and unmeasurable. They may struggle to accept rest, nutrition, and a team to help them move towards recovery. Sick Enough offers patients, their families, and clinicians a comprehensive, accessible review of the medical issues that arise from eating disorders by bringing relatable case presentations and a scientifically sound, engaging style to the topic. Using metaphor and patient-centered language, Dr. Gaudiani aims to improve medical diagnosis and treatment, motivate recovery, and validate the lived experiences of individuals of all body…


Constance

By Matthew FitzSimmons,

Book cover of Constance

C.J. Washington Author Of The Intangible

From the list on the fluidity of reality.

Who am I?

My background is in computer science, specifically artificial intelligence. As a student, I was most interested in how our knowledge of the human brain could inform AI and vice versa. As such, I read as much neuroscience and psychology as I could and spent a lot of time thinking about how our minds create reality out of our senses. I always appreciate a novel that explores the fluidity of reality.

C.J.'s book list on the fluidity of reality

Discover why each book is one of C.J.'s favorite books.

Why did C.J. love this book?

Would you like to live forever—or barring that, for a really long time? If the answer is yes, then who are you? Is the person you were last month you? If your consciousness from last month could be transferred to a clone of your body, would that clone be you?

Matthew FitzSimmons explores the reality of who we are and more in his fast-paced mystery sci-fi novel Constance.

If you’re like me, and you feel a hole in your reading life when you finish this book, the good news is that the sequel is just a click away. Enjoy!

By Matthew FitzSimmons,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Constance as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A breakthrough in human cloning becomes one woman's waking nightmare in a mind-bending thriller by the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Gibson Vaughn series.

In the near future, advances in medicine and quantum computing make human cloning a reality. For the wealthy, cheating death is the ultimate luxury. To anticloning militants, it's an abomination against nature. For young Constance "Con" D'Arcy, who was gifted her own clone by her late aunt, it's terrifying.

After a routine monthly upload of her consciousness-stored for that inevitable transition-something goes wrong. When Con wakes up in the clinic, it's eighteen months later.…


Strange Practice

By Vivian Shaw,

Book cover of Strange Practice

Kitty Shields Author Of Pillar of Heaven

From the list on monsters at work.

Who am I?

Fantasy of all kinds is my jam, but I particularly like stories that weave monsters or myths into real life. When an author manages to reinvent a familiar monster trope, like Vivian Shaw with Van Helsing, and spin it into a new, stylized story, that’s the best display of cleverness. I’ve read an embarrassing amount of these kinds of books from Terry Pratchett to Frank Herbert. I think the notion of monsters/creatures/gods is our way of examining the different layers of the human psyche and a well-written monster trope story delivers that self-examination with a spoon full of fantastical sugar.  

Kitty's book list on monsters at work

Discover why each book is one of Kitty's favorite books.

Why did Kitty love this book?

Greta Helsing’s family dropped the ‘Van’ half a century ago. And they don’t hunt vampires so much as heal them. That’s right, Greta is a supernatural doctor. Vivian Shaw has created a world where the good guys are genuinely good, unselfish people. I love me an antihero, but it’s a refreshing change of pace when the good guys really just want to help other people without ulterior motives. Despite the fact that most of the characters aren’t human, it restores my faith in humanity. I also appreciate the historical references and subtle geekery in these books. For example, Greta is a specialist in mummy reconstruction, and the detail Shaw goes into, just tickles me.

By Vivian Shaw,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Strange Practice as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The first book in a delightfully witty fantasy series in which Dr. Greta Helsing, doctor to the undead, must defend London from both supernatural ailments and a bloodthirsty cult

Greta Helsing inherited her family's highly specialized and highly peculiar medical practice. In her consulting rooms, Dr. Helsing treats the undead for a host of ills: vocal strain in banshees, arthritis in barrow-wights, and entropy in mummies. Although she barely makes ends meet, this is just the quiet, supernatural-adjacent life Greta's been groomed for since childhood.

Until a sect of murderous monks emerges, killing human and undead Londoners alike. As terror…


Women in White Coats

By Olivia Campbell,

Book cover of Women in White Coats: How the First Women Doctors Changed the World of Medicine

Melissa L. Sevigny Author Of Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon

From the list on women in science whose names everyone should know.

Who am I?

I’ve always loved science—especially ecology and geology, because I grew up among the strange plants and rocky mountains of the Sonoran Desert. In college, however, I found my chosen field felt a little lonely. I didn’t know many stories about the women who had come before me. Now, I know history is full of women who ran rivers, climbed mountains, and made significant scientific contributions in their chosen fields. I find power in these stories, which I hope will make the world of science more welcoming to people of all backgrounds—and also reveal science as the great adventure I always felt it to be.  

Melissa's book list on women in science whose names everyone should know

Discover why each book is one of Melissa's favorite books.

Why did Melissa love this book?

Victorian women were once welcomed as nurses and caretakers, but barred from the world of medicine.

Elizabeth Blackwell, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, and Sophia Jex-Blake sought to change that. Olivia Campbell tells the story of how these three women earned medical degrees and changed the nature of medicine. One gripping part of the narrative, for me, were the stories of female patients who avoided medical care due to the indifference of their male doctors or the stigma associated with many types of disease.

It’s a battle that women still fight in today, and I found Women in White Coats to be both a fascinating history and highly relevant to our modern experiences in healthcare. 

By Olivia Campbell,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Women in White Coats as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Meet the pioneering women who changed the medical landscape for us all

For fans of Hidden Figures and Radium Girls comes the remarkable story of three Victorian women who broke down barriers in the medical field to become the first women doctors, revolutionising the way women receive health care.

In the early 1800s, women were dying in large numbers from treatable diseases because they avoided receiving medical care. Examinations performed by male doctors were often demeaning and even painful. In addition, women faced stigma from illness--a diagnosis could greatly limit their ability to find husbands, jobs or be received in…


The Servant as Leader

By Robert K. Greenleaf,

Book cover of The Servant as Leader

Kate Vitasek Author Of Vested Outsourcing: Five Rules That Will Transform Outsourcing

From the list on how to get outsourcing right.

Who am I?

I am an international authority for my award-winning research on the Vested® business model for highly collaborative relationships. I began my research in 2003 by studying what makes the difference in successful strategic business deals. My day job is the lead faculty and researcher for the University of Tennessee’s Certified Deal Architect program; my passion is helping organizations and individuals learn the art, science, and practice of crafting highly collaborative win-win strategic business relationships. My work has led to seven books and three Harvard Business Review articles and I’ve shared my advice on CNN International, Bloomberg, NPR, and Fox Business News.

Kate's book list on how to get outsourcing right

Discover why each book is one of Kate's favorite books.

Why did Kate love this book?

The Servant as Leader may be one of the most influential business books ever published! But how does it apply to outsourcing? Creating a servant/leader mindset is essential to prevent what I call the outsourcing paradox—where you outsource the expert and then tell them how to do the work. It also prevents another common outsourcing ailment I call the Junkyard Dog Factor where a company outsourcing keeps a shadow organization that creates redundancies and limits the cost saving a company can get through outsourcing. Greenleaf’s basic message is simple: manage the business with the supplier as opposed to managing the supplier. Organizations that follow Greenleaf’s advice will most certainly benefit with healthier outsourcing relationships. 

By Robert K. Greenleaf,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Servant as Leader as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This is the essay that started it all. Powerful, poetic and practical. The Servant as Leader describes some of the characteristics and activities of servant-leaders, providing examples which show that individual efforts, inspired by vision and a servant ethic, can make a substantial difference in the quality of society. Greenleaf discusses the skills necessary to be a servant-leader; the importance of awareness, foresight and listening; and the contrasts between coercive, manipulative, and persuasive power. A must-read.


Book cover of Marijuana Grower's Handbook: Your Complete Guide for Medical and Personal Marijuana Cultivation

Robyn Griggs Lawrence Author Of The Cannabis Kitchen Cookbook: Feel-Good Edibles, from Tinctures and Cocktails to Entrées and Desserts

From the list on for people who are curious about cannabis.

Who am I?

I discovered cannabis as good medicine in 2009, when my gynecologist recommended it for severe dysmenorrhea. When I couldn’t find a cookbook offering healthy, sophisticated cannabis-infused recipes, I decided to write one. As an amazing group of cannabis chefs taught me how to cook with cannabis and shared their recipes, I fell in love with the plant as well as the open-hearted community that supports it. I followed the Cannabis Kitchen Cookbook, published in 2015, with Pot in Pans: A History of Eating Cannabis, a textbook tracing the plant’s culinary history to ancient Persian and India, in 2019. I’ve learned how to grow my own, and I write regularly about cannabis trends and liberation.

Robyn's book list on for people who are curious about cannabis

Discover why each book is one of Robyn's favorite books.

Why did Robyn love this book?

This is the home grower’s bible, written by an OG. Everything you could ever want to know about growing cannabis—but didn’t know to ask—is packed into these 500 pages, and the photos are pure plant porn. Before Rosenthal walks you through the growing process, from garden design to post-harvest, he provides a comprehensive guide to the cannabis plant and how it grows. This book gave me the confidence to grow my own medicine, and that changed my life.

By Ed Rosenthal,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Marijuana Grower's Handbook as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Ed Rosenthal's legacy handbook contains the foundational knowledge, tools, and methods to enable you to grow great marijuana—inside and out. 

All aspects of cultivation are covered, from the selection of varieties, setting up of the garden, through each stage of plant growth all the way to harvesting. Use efficient technology and save time, labor, and energy. Photographs throughout clarify instructions and show the stunning results possible by following Ed's growing advice.

This classic guide was groundbreaking when it was first released in 2010. For the very latest in technologies, tips, and techniques, including advances in LED lighting, garden design, genetics,…


Life in Revolutionary France

By Mette Herder (editor), Jennifer Heuer (editor),

Book cover of Life in Revolutionary France

Christine Haynes Author Of Our Friends the Enemies: The Occupation of France After Napoleon

From the list on the French Revolution from a wide range of perspectives.

Who am I?

In my research and teaching, I have long been fascinated with the effects of the French Revolution on France, Europe, and the broader world.  In my most recent book, Our Friends the Enemies, I sought to examine the aftermath of the wars provoked by the Revolution, which lasted (with only two short breaks) from 1792 to 1815.  In particular, I wanted to reconstruct the story—which had long been overlooked by historians—of the occupation of France by the Allies who defeated Napoleon.  Lasting from 1815 to 1818, this occupation was the first modern peacekeeping mission, with profound consequences for the history of France and Europe in the nineteenth century and beyond.

Christine's book list on the French Revolution from a wide range of perspectives

Discover why each book is one of Christine's favorite books.

Why did Christine love this book?

This new collection of essays by an international team of cutting-edge scholars allows readers to see how the French Revolution affected ordinary men and women, in Paris, the French provinces, and the French empire overseas.  Treating a broad range of topics—from female activism to property, justice, medicine, food, material culture, childhood, religion, and war—these essays collectively paint a vivid picture of everyday life during this tumultuous period.  Each essay is accompanied by a primary document from the time, which enables readers to see for themselves the kinds of sources on which historians rely in their work.  Inspired by innovative historiographical approaches to spaces, emotions, and artifacts, Life in Revolutionary France paves the way for new research into the everyday experience of revolution.

By Mette Herder (editor), Jennifer Heuer (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Life in Revolutionary France as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The French Revolution brought momentous political, social, and cultural change. Life in Revolutionary France asks how these changes affected everyday lives, in urban and rural areas, and on an international scale.

An international cast of distinguished academics and emerging scholars present new research on how people experienced and survived the revolutionary decade, with a particular focus on individual and collective agency as discovered through the archival record, material culture, and the history of emotions. It combines innovative work with student-friendly essays to offer fresh perspectives on topics such as:

* Political identities and activism
* Gender, race, and sexuality
*…


The Hour of Our Death

By Philippe Aries,

Book cover of The Hour of Our Death: The Classic History of Western Attitudes Toward Death Over the Last One Thousand Years

David Healy Author Of Children of the Cure: Missing Data, Lost Lives and Antidepressants

From the list on how medicine should be.

Who am I?

I’ve been researching treatment harms for 3 decades and founded RxISK.org in 2012, now an important site for people to report these harms. They’ve been reporting in their thousands often in personal accounts that feature health service gaslighting. During these years, our treatments have become a leading cause of mortality and morbidity, the time it takes to recognize harms has been getting longer, and our medication burdens heavier. We have a health crisis that parallels the climate crisis. Both Green parties and Greta Thunberg’s generation are turning a blind eye to the health chemicals central to this. We need to understand what is going wrong and turn it around.   

David's book list on how medicine should be

Discover why each book is one of David's favorite books.

Why did David love this book?

Modern medicine has dramatically extended life expectancies. But as our life spans extend, our fear of death grows. As our hope of living a long life and seeing our children survive grew, we became more rather than less anxious about losing out. We might have expected the opposite. Aries vividly illustrates how people viewed death as a part of life before the nineteenth century and how they reconciled themselves to it. He picks out 1886 as the point where Tolstoy in The Death of Ivan Illych recognized that medical advances were creating anxiety rather than hope. This book may make you less fearful of death. It will ask you whether you can now achieve serenity half as well as those before us did and whether medicine is bad for our sanity? 

By Philippe Aries,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Hour of Our Death as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An “absolutely magnificent” book (The New Republic)—the fruit of almost two decades of study—that traces the changes in Western attitudes toward death and dying from the earliest Christian times to the present day.

A truly landmark study, The Hour of Our Death reveals a pattern of gradually developing evolutionary stages in our perceptions of life in relation to death, each stage representing a virtual redefinition of human nature.

Starting at the very foundations of Western culture, the eminent historian Phillipe Ariès shows how, from Graeco-Roman times through the first ten centuries of the Common Era, death was too common to…


Book cover of The Power of Energy Medicine: Your Natural Prescription for Resilient Health

Lauren Walker Author Of The Energy to Heal: Find Lasting Freedom From Stress and Trauma Through Energy Medicine Yoga

From the list on understanding what energy is and how to use it.

Who am I?

I remember being a kid and wanting to know everything about everything. After I’d been teaching yoga for several years, and finding myself struggling with stress and trauma that the yoga wasn’t helping, I really started to dive into the world of Energy. That world is fascinating, endless, and powerful. And the more I study and learn, the better my life gets. I’ve created my own teaching methodology from all the studies I’ve done and helped thousands of people find their own inner strength and healing. I love learning how other people overcame their struggles and how at the root, we basically all want to help each other! That's the kind of world I aspire to. 

Lauren's book list on understanding what energy is and how to use it

Discover why each book is one of Lauren's favorite books.

Why did Lauren love this book?

I absolutely love this book. When I first picked it up, I’ll admit, I was skeptical. I know a lot about Energy Medicine, and I wasn’t sure what new information I’d learn. It turned out to be one of those books that you cannot put down. The author has an engaging and friendly voice, while also being an astute authority on her topic. Her stories draw you in and open your mind to the possibilities that there is so much more that we don’t know about how the body/mind/spirit works. But this book also allows you to experience her process and get a taste of the power you hold within yourself to accelerate healing.  

By Hilary Crowley,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Power of Energy Medicine as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Learn how to connect to your own good medicine and discover the powerful energy healing that will bring authentic wellness, health, hope, and joy into your life.

Hilary Crowley is the resident energy healer at a general family medical center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Working alongside surgeons, physicians, nurses, and holistic practitioners, she uses energy medicine modalities and hands-on techniques to facilitate her clients' healing. In this book, Hilary sheds light on questions surrounding energy medicine by sharing stories from cases including cancer battles, suicide attempts, and chronic pain. She shares how to find healing through the good medicines in…


Synchrodestiny

By Deepak Chopra,

Book cover of Synchrodestiny : Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence to Create Miracles

Allan Combs Author Of Synchronicity: Through the Eyes of Science, Myth, and the Trickster

From the list on synchronicity and the power of the unconscious.

Who am I?

I am a teacher and writer, drawn to the topic of synchronicity because I have experienced so many remarkable coincidences during my life that it seems I have no choice but to study them. As a young man, I spent much time working with dreams, coming to understand them especially through Carl Jung’s explorations of archetypes, myths, and the deep unconscious. This led naturally to the study of synchronicity. I am also interested in the related topic of consciousness and have written several books about it. Out of all this I have come to see the cosmos as a strangely mysterious and wonderfully orchestrated community of beings and events.

Allan's book list on synchronicity and the power of the unconscious

Discover why each book is one of Allan's favorite books.

Why did Allan love this book?

Deepak Chopra gives us a lovingly personal and spiritual perspective of synchronicity. On the practical side, it offers a variety of exercises to help the reader discover the power of synchronicity in his or her own life. In essence, however, it is simply about noticing the organizing intelligence seen through synchronistic events and inviting it into your life. In Chopra’s own words, “You don’t have to assign a specific meaning or interpretation to the coincidences, just … gently appreciate the cosmic coordination of your life with everything else.” This is a book that has changed the lives of its readers.

By Deepak Chopra,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Synchrodestiny as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dr Deepak Chopra, the bestselling pioneer in mind/body medicine, shows how coincidences are messages about the miraculous potential of each moment. He reveals how, through understanding the forces that shape coincidences, you can learn to live at a deeper level and access the flow of synchronicity that lies at the heart of existence. You can start to transform your life through full-contact living, in which all things will be within your reach.

Discover:
- That there's no such thing as a meaningless coincidence
- The seven principles of synchrodestiny
- Practical techniques for applying those principles

The seeds of a…


Strangers at the Bedside

By David J. Rothman,

Book cover of Strangers at the Bedside: A History of How Law and Bioethics Transformed Medical Decision Making

Allen M. Hornblum Author Of Against Their Will: The Secret History of Medical Experimentation on Children in Cold War America

From the list on human experimentation.

Who am I?

I began working in prisons 50 years ago. I was just out of grad school and I accepted the challenge of starting a literacy program in the Philadelphia Prison System. The shock of cellblock life was eye-opening, but the most unexpected revelation was the sight of scores of inmates wrapped in bandages and medical tape. Unknown to the general public, the three city prisons had become a lucrative appendage of the University of Pennsylvania’s Medical School. As I would discover years later, thousands of imprisoned Philadelphians had been used in a cross-section of unethical and dangerous scientific studies running the gamut from simple hair dye and athlete’s foot trials to radioactive isotope, dioxin, and US Army chemical warfare studies. My account of the prison experiments, Acres of Skin, helped instill in me an abiding faith in well-researched journalism as an antidote to societal indiscretions and crimes.

Allen's book list on human experimentation

Discover why each book is one of Allen's favorite books.

Why did Allen love this book?

Rothman was one of the first to examine the culture of research medicine and its relationship to science and American culture at large. Doctors on the cutting edge of new procedures, much desired medical elixirs, and scientific advancement used a utilitarian calculus to determine what was ethical and what the public was willing to accept. Scientific breakthroughs were celebrated with few - certainly no one of renown - taking notice that the breakthroughs were coming at the expense of vulnerable, powerless populations.

By David J. Rothman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Strangers at the Bedside as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

David Rothman gives us a brilliant, finely etched study of medical practice today. Beginning in the mid-1960s, the practice of medicine in the United States underwent a most remarkable--and thoroughly controversial--transformation. The discretion that the profession once enjoyed has been increasingly circumscribed, and now an almost bewildering number of parties and procedures participate in medical decision making.

Well into the post-World War II period, decisions at the bedside were the almost exclusive concern of the individual physician, even when they raised fundamental ethical and social issues. It was mainly doctors who wrote and read about the morality of withholding a…


Quackery

By Lydia Kang, Nate Pedersen,

Book cover of Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything

Alina Rubin Author Of A Girl with a Knife

From the list on making you glad for modern medicine.

Who am I?

Stuck at home during the pandemic, I started watching historical fiction and fell in love with the British miniseries, Hornblower. Suddenly I found myself writing my own stories about an imprisoned midshipman and Ella Parker, a surgeon that saves him. But there was a plot hole. Women could not be doctors in 19th-century England, leave alone ship surgeons. Thus, I sent Ella into medical school disguised as a man, and Hearts and Sails series was born. Looking for interesting cases for Ella to observe and treat, I became obsessed with the history of modern medicine. I also wanted my character to overcome great obstacles and eventually prove to others what a woman can do.

Alina's book list on making you glad for modern medicine

Discover why each book is one of Alina's favorite books.

Why did Alina love this book?

I scoured this book for strange and dangerous remedies people used to administer and it didn’t disappoint. Arsenic, mercury, bloodletting, to name a few. When I read about leeches used to treat painful menstruation, I put the book down… to add that gem into my fiction, of course. Interesting stories, great illustrations, great learning, and fun.

By Lydia Kang, Nate Pedersen,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Quackery as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A tour of medicine's most outlandish misfires, Quackery dives into 35 "treatments", exploring their various uses and why they thankfully fell out of favour - some more recently than you might think. Looking back in horror and a dash of dark humour, the book provides readers with an illuminating lesson in how medicine is very much an evolving process of trial and error, and how the doctor doesn't always know bests.


Victorian Pharmacy

By Jane Eastoe,

Book cover of Victorian Pharmacy: Rediscovering Home Remedies and Recipes

Lisa M. Lane Author Of Murder at Old St. Thomas's

From the list on the wonders of Victorian medicine.

Who am I?

I have always been interested in the history of medicine, particularly the ways in which historical methods are portrayed to be inferior to modern medicine. As a historian, I am alternately amused and horrified at the way we go overboard in discarding historical methods of healthcare, ridding ourselves of perfectly useful techniques, drugs, and therapies. The more I learn about older curative methods, the more I’ve become sensitive to the knowledge and technologies that have been lost. At the same time, I am fascinated by new technologies, and find anesthesia particularly captivating as a technique that improved survival and recovery from what had previously been deadly conditions.

Lisa's book list on the wonders of Victorian medicine

Discover why each book is one of Lisa's favorite books.

Why did Lisa love this book?

A clever introduction to Victorian pharmaceuticals and remedies, this is a companion book for the popular BBC television series. It provides an explanation of the natural substances used for healing, and how they were made into marketable and regulated medicines for sale at the apothecary shop. The emphasis is on safety, because the authors don’t want you trying arsenic and mercury-based compounds at home, and indeed they leave out a great many useful Victorian remedies, particularly those containing opium! But the knowledge about how apothecary shops worked, and what the pharmacist did to turn plants and other substances into medicine, is invaluable.

By Jane Eastoe,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Victorian Pharmacy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Ties in to a fantastic new four-part BBC series from the makers of the hit Victorian Farm Shows how many products on sale in our high street chemists today can trace their origins back to nineteenth century formulations Full of fascinating facts, remedies and recipes to try at home Victorian Farm sold over 40,000 copies (Nielsen Bookscan figures)

This is the story of consumer medicine - how high street healthcare emerged in just 50 years and how we still rely on hundreds of formulations and products that can trace their origins back to the nineteenth century.

Sun cream, treatments for…


The Big Letdown

By Kimberly Seals Allers,

Book cover of The Big Letdown

Gill Rapley Author Of Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide

From the list on western society’s obstacles to breastfeeding.

Who am I?

I got hooked on breastfeeding when, during my health visitor training, our class had a lecture from Drs. Penny and Andrew Stanway, who wrote the original Breast is Best. I breastfed my own children, became a breastfeeding counsellor and lactation consultant (IBCLC), and championed breastfeeding as a health visitor and midwife. I then worked for 14 years with the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative, teaching and supporting healthcare staff to improve standards of care for breastfeeding mothers and babies. Throughout, I gained a huge respect for babies’ abilities in relation to breastfeeding. This directly influenced my belief in their capacity to continue feeding themselves when they start solid food, which is my current focus.

Gill's book list on western society’s obstacles to breastfeeding

Discover why each book is one of Gill's favorite books.

Why did Gill love this book?

Kimberly writes from personal experience and from the heart. She pulls no punches. Her book covers a lot of the obstacles you’d expect – societal attitudes to breastfeeding, the formula industry, and so on – but it’s her chapter on ‘the feminist fallacy’ that really spoke to me. I’ve always been baffled by the lack of support that feminist writers have shown for breastfeeding. They talk about it as a chore, as a restriction on women’s freedom, not as something amazing that a woman’s body can do. Kimberly challenges this thinking head on, fearlessly exposing the flawed thinking that has, in the name of equality, blindly followed an agenda set by men, with the result that motherhood is devalued and breastfeeding is framed as simply an issue of ‘choice’. Her conviction provides me with the hope that we can reverse this. Brilliant.

By Kimberly Seals Allers,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Big Letdown as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Breastfeeding. The mere mention of it has many mothers wracked with anxiety (how will I manage with work, other kids, what if I don't make enough milk?) or guilt about not doing it (will I be hurting my child ifl choose not to breastfeed? what will people think of me if I choose not to?). This hot-button issue is one we've talked about repeatedly in the media and in celebrity culture. Remember when Angelina Jolie posed for the cover of W nursing her new-born? Oh, the controversy! And when Barbara Walters complained about the woman breastfeeding next to her on…


Elderhood

By Louise Aronson,

Book cover of Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life

Katharine Esty Author Of Eightysomethings: A Practical Guide to Letting Go, Aging Well, and Finding Unexpected Happiness

From the list on aging well and flourishing as you age.

Who am I?

When I turned 80, I was in a bit of a funk until I began interviewing people in their eighties for my book. I was astonished to find how happy the vast majority of them were and what active and exciting their lives were leading. I realized that life after 70 and 80 was not the same today as in the past. As a psychotherapist, a social psychologist, a writer, a mother of four, and a grandmother of 10, I realized I was the perfect person to write about this good news. And for the last 8 years my mission has been to spread the word about aging today.

Katharine's book list on aging well and flourishing as you age

Discover why each book is one of Katharine's favorite books.

Why did Katharine love this book?

Louise Aronson was a practicing physician who worked primarily with older patients before becoming a social critic. Now she focuses on ageism in our medical institutions and well as society in general. Her book, Elderhood, is a penetrating analysis of what it means to be older in the US and a critique of the anti-aging culture we live in. Her book is filled with her own observations and stories that show the reader what needs to change in our culture and institutions. Her model of the three stages of life—childhood, adulthood, and elderhood intrigued me.

By Louise Aronson,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Elderhood as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction
Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction
Winner of the WSU AOS Bonner Book Award

The New York Times bestseller from physician and award-winning writer Louise Aronson--an essential, empathetic look at a vital but often disparaged stage of life, as revelatory as Atul Gawande's Being Mortal.

For more than 5,000 years, "old" has been defined as beginning between the ages of 60 and 70. That means most people alive today will spend more years in elderhood than in childhood, and many will be elders for 40 years or more.…


De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem

By A. Vesalius, G. Hartenfels, J. Dalton

Book cover of De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem

Jacopo della Quercia Author Of License to Quill: A Novel of Shakespeare & Marlowe

From the list on understanding the dark side of Shakespeare's world.

Who am I?

I prefer to write historical fiction because so many fascinating stories have already happened in the past, and these tales are filled with real-life characters with rich backstories and personalities. I try to find the best historical figures and scenarios I can through exhaustive research and then stitch them together into thrillers that mesh seamlessly with the history I researched. My books are written to educate and entertain, and nothing makes me prouder than when readers follow the breadcrumb trails I leave behind for further research. I hope you enjoy the hunt!

Jacopo's book list on understanding the dark side of Shakespeare's world

Discover why each book is one of Jacopo's favorite books.

Why did Jacopo love this book?

De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem ["On the Fabric of the Human Body in Seven Books"] will likely catch you by surprise since, unlike most books featured on this website, this one was printed back in 1543. Fortunately, this means that anyone with a working Internet connection and web browser can access this mystifying medical atlas from the sixteenth century. Annotated editions of On the Fabric of the Human Body are available online from numerous medical colleges, so please take the time to find and appreciate this masterpiece of anatomy and artistic imagination.

By A. Vesalius, G. Hartenfels, J. Dalton

Why should I read it?

1 author picked De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This book, "De humani corporis fabrica libri septem", by A. Vesalius, J. Dalton, G. Hartenfels, is a replication of a book originally published before 1568. It has been restored by human beings, page by page, so that you may enjoy it in a form as close to the original as possible.