This book aims to give the reader an appreciation of the historical perspective of surgery and the author illustrates this in a number of ways. Firstly, Professor Ellis describes some of the major surgical 'break-throughs', such as the first gastrectomy. He then goes on to cover some procedures which, though minor in themselves, nonetheless made a great impact on surgery. An example of this is the first operation to be performed under anaesthesia. Finally, he describes a number of operations of varying degrees of complexity that were performed on famous people (e.g. Lord Nelson). In surgery, as in all fields of human activity, history is forgotten at our peril. The examples described in this book combine to give the reader a unique insight into a remarkable specialty, using the lessons of history to instruct as well as entertain.

A notable surgeon and charismatic teacher himself, Professor Ellis has brought together in Operations that made History a fascinating collection of renowned surgical procedures each one illustrating a different aspect of the history of surgery.

Analyzes how government secrets, such as President Truman??'s decision to make a sacred secret of the Venona intercepts, distort politics and our understanding of history

'This is history with a surgeon's touch: deft, incisive and sometimes excruciatingly bloody' The Sunday Times 'Utterly eccentric and riveting' Mail on Sunday 'Eye-opening and, frequently, eye-watering . . . a book that invites readers to peer up the bottoms of kings, into the souls of rock stars and down the ear canals of astronauts' The Daily Telegraph How did a decision made in the operating theatre spark hundreds of conspiracy theories about JFK? How did a backstage joke prove fatal to world-famous escape artist Harry Houdini? How did Queen Victoria change the course of surgical history? Through dark centuries of bloodletting and of amputations without anaesthetic to today's sterile, high-tech operating theatres, surgeon Arnold van de Laar uses his experience and expertise to tell an incisive history of the past, present and future of surgery. From the dark centuries of bloodletting and of amputations without anaesthetic to today's sterile, high-tech operating theatres, Under the Knife is both a rich cultural history, and a modern anatomy class for us all.

'Thrilling... The “dizzying” story of heart surgery is every bit as important as that of the nuclear, computer or rocket ages. And now it has been given the history it deserves' James McConnachie, Sunday Times For thousands of years the human heart remained the deepest of mysteries; both home to the soul and an organ too complex to touch, let alone operate on. Then, in the late nineteenth century, medics began going where no one had dared go before. In eleven landmark operations, Thomas Morris tells us stories of triumph, reckless bravery, swaggering arrogance, jealousy and rivalry, and incredible ingenuity, from the trail-blazing ‘blue baby’ procedure to the first human heart transplant. The Matter of the Heart gives us a view over the surgeon’s shoulder, showing us the heart’s inner workings and failings. It describes both a human story and a history of risk-taking that has ultimately saved millions of lives.

Recounts the role of the United States in World War II at sea, from encounters in the Atlantic before the country entered the war to the surrender of Japan