Spare Parts
An Unexpected History of Transplants
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd
Published:25th Aug '22
Should be back in stock very soon
This paperback is available in another edition too:
- Hardback£18.99(9780241370254)
'Compelling' Christopher Hart, The Sunday Times
'A fascinating book'Daily Mail
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We think of transplant surgery as one of the medical wonders of the modern world -- but it's a lot older than you think. As ancient as the pyramids, its history is even more surprising. In Spare Parts, cultural historian Paul Craddock takes us on a fascinating journey and unearths incredible untold stories, from Indian surgeons regrafting lost noses in the sixth century BC, to the seventeenth century architect who helped pioneer blood transfusions, to the French seamstress whose needlework paved the way for kidney transplants in the early 1900s.
Expertly weaving together philosophy, science and cultural history, Spare Parts explores how transplant surgery has constantly tested the boundaries between human, animal and machine. It shows us that the history -- and future -- of transplant surgery is tied up with questions not only about who we are, but also what we are, and what we might become.
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'By turns delightful and disturbing . . . A thoroughly engrossing read that I couldn't put down' LINDSEY FITZHARRIS, author of The Facemaker and The Butchering Art
'Spare Parts is a fascinating read filled with adventure, delight and surprise' RAHUL JANDIAL, surgeon and author of Life on a Knife's Edge
'This is a joyful romp through a fascinating slice of medical history' WENDY MOORE, author of The Knife Man
A fascinating book * Daily Mail *
Compelling -- Christopher Hart * The Sunday Times *
The charm of Spare Parts comes from situating these landmarks in a wider history of ideas * Spectator *
A thrilling and often terrifying ride through transplantation and the theories and techniques that made it possible . . . tantalizing -- Robert Sullivan * The New York Times *
Anyone interested in the history of surgery will find much to amaze and startle in Paul Craddock's Spare Parts: A Surprising History of Transplants * Independent *
Excellent . . . Much has been written about this subject, but with Spare Parts Paul Craddock has achieved somethingunique: a serious, entertaining and thoroughly researched work that usefully sets the history of transplantation in the context of the evolution of ideas about the human body -- Thomas Morris * TLS *
Craddock combines meticulous scholarship with wry wit in lucid prose which is all the more powerful for being understated . . .Spare Parts is a triumph * Roger Kneebone, author of 'Expert' *
I read Spare Parts with my mouth open, my eyes popping and my brain fizzing. It's a fascinating exploration of just how far humans will go to stay on the right side of death. I can't think of any other book whose pages will make you laugh, gasp, grimace and wince.Spare Parts is a triumph of medical story-telling * Michael Brooks, author of 'The Quantum Astrologer's Handbook' and 'Science(ish)' *
This is a fascinating and sure-footed exploration of the medical, historical and mythological landscape in which humans use parts from each other to make themselves whole. Withcompassion and insight, Paul Craddock elucidates vital questions about what it means to be human and to realise our dreams of survival * Dr Emily Mayhew, author of 'Wounded' and 'The Four Horsemen' *
This is a captivating and absorbing read that surprises on every page whether it be from prosthetic noses of the 16th Century to modern day bio-printing and stem cell technology * Professor Dame Sue Black, author of 'All That Remains' *
ISBN: 9780241370261
Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 20mm
Weight: 256g
320 pages