In describing these bizarre practices, Kang and Pedersen offer a constant stream of sarcastic commentary and wisecracks, which can become wearying. Bloodletting was thought effective for various ailments already in ancient times, and was often accomplished using leeches. Ingesting dissolved gold, it was thought, could give one immortality and cure alcoholism. The cures detailed in the book, which span the earliest recorded history to the 19th century, were typically based on scant scientific knowledge and often involved “cleansing” the body, whether through bowel movements, vomiting, sweating, or salivating. In this informally written but well-researched history, physician Kang and journalist Pedersen expose the strange, and to modern eyes ludicrous, ways in which humankind has tried to cure all manner of diseases and afflictions over the centuries.
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