Leo T. reviewed The Strange Case of the Walking Corpse : A Chronicle of Medical Mysteries, Curious Remedies, and Bizarre but True Healing Folklore on + 1775 more book reviews
A slim volume but many cases are summarized, written in a rather lighthearted manner given the subject. Much of the research was via the worldwide web; the author has published a shelf of popular books.
There are tables for things like uncommon treatments, parasites are covered, and so are odd mental problems. The book ends with consideration of beauty treatments, especially those offered in the days of patent medicine. I myself found this more palatable than some of the other chapters that I glanced at while riding the bus. A case could be made that some of the information is rather disgusting. LA Public Library has five copies but this is the last copy (discarded and sold for two bits) owned by LA County Library. Worldcat shows a scattering of libraries nationwide still own this book and it was reissued in 2013 as an e-book.
Included in other chapters are both old and recent cases in which there was only one person known to be afflicted. Of course, I recall that out West (and in other parts of the USA), families that thought ahead would own a book that laid out symptoms and suggested the cure--one might be far from a medical doctor.
"The word infestation never denotes a good thing. There are no such things as positive infestations--say, an infestation of stock dividends or an infestation of attractive, interesting single people at a party."
Index, bibliography.
There are tables for things like uncommon treatments, parasites are covered, and so are odd mental problems. The book ends with consideration of beauty treatments, especially those offered in the days of patent medicine. I myself found this more palatable than some of the other chapters that I glanced at while riding the bus. A case could be made that some of the information is rather disgusting. LA Public Library has five copies but this is the last copy (discarded and sold for two bits) owned by LA County Library. Worldcat shows a scattering of libraries nationwide still own this book and it was reissued in 2013 as an e-book.
Included in other chapters are both old and recent cases in which there was only one person known to be afflicted. Of course, I recall that out West (and in other parts of the USA), families that thought ahead would own a book that laid out symptoms and suggested the cure--one might be far from a medical doctor.
"The word infestation never denotes a good thing. There are no such things as positive infestations--say, an infestation of stock dividends or an infestation of attractive, interesting single people at a party."
Index, bibliography.
