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1: A Little Known Tragidy
This is a fascinating look inside the mind and career of on of medicine's most controversial figures. Jack El-Hai does an excellent job not only showing you the horrible events that surround one of the most notorious medical procedures of the twentieth, but depicts a man driven by a need to greatness. That assent, and subsequent fall are what really make this book excellent. Even once you are done, it is hard to label Dr. Freeman a monster or a misguided man wanting to help the mentally ill.
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2: Thorough and informative -- but take it with a huge grain of salt
Author Jack El-Hai makes it clear in the prologue that he does not wish to demonize Walter Freeman. That wish is admirable, but the author puts so much effort into humanizing Freeman he glosses over the incalculable suffering he caused.
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3: Where did the lobotomy come from?
Excellent book. If history is your interest, you will not be able to put the book down. It puts a scary spin on what we allowed to transpire in the name of science when in reality we knew so little about the brain.
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4: Captivating: A Look into Chipping Away at the Mind
El-hai's The Lobotomist is an engaging read. He brings into light the grim world of psychiatrics and neurosurgery during the twentieth century. A vivid look into the disturbing mind of Walter Freeman, the man on a mission to chip away at insanity through experimental lobotomies. El-hai's book is a definite read for medical school students, as a reminder of what medicine used to mean and as a way to not repeat the mistakes done in the past. The Lobotomist is very well written, and is scary enough to make one forget that it is non-fiction.
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5: Very interesting but....
I had never heard of Dr. Freeman before and therefore was very interested in reading about him. However, this book does go on for a while. It tends to be quite repetitive in some places and just when you think you are going to go into another phase of his life, it backtracks. It is taking me a little to get thru it but, it is interesting all the same.
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