Why did Elisabeth love this book?
I have been on a World War I reading binge lately. Some of it was for research, so when I came across this book, I was hooked.
The horror of the new mechanized war left unbelievable facial wounds on many of the survivors of the trenches. The only benefit was the birth of plastic surgery, which had no choice but to advance quickly. The British surgeon Dr. Gillies and his compatriots in France and the US did their best to reconstruct the devastation left by the war.
There are graphic descriptions of surgeries and photos, but most memorable were the individual stories of the soldier's lives and the doctors, failing and succeeding in equal measure but never giving up on their patients.
This book is thoroughly engaging and unforgettable.
3 authors picked The Facemaker as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
A New York Times Bestseller
Finalist for the 2022 Kirkus Prize
"Enthralling. Harrowing. Heartbreaking. And utterly redemptive. Lindsey Fitzharris hit this one out of the park." —Erik Larson, author of The Splendid and the Vile
Lindsey Fitzharris, the award-winning author of The Butchering Art, presents the compelling, true story of a visionary surgeon who rebuilt the faces of the First World War’s injured heroes, and in the process ushered in the modern era of plastic surgery.
From the moment the first machine gun rang out over the Western Front, one thing was clear: humankind’s military technology had wildly surpassed its…