The Palgrave Handbook of the History of Surgery

“Surgery is approached as a specialized knowledge, as a technology, and as a social fact. … it will be used by a wide range of readers, from surgeons to historians of the hospital … . Chapters are divided in subsections identified by clear titles and the text includes references to notes (all grouped at the end of the chapters) together with a list of readings for further explorations. A substantial index ends the book.” (Alain Touwaide, Doody's Book Reviews, October, 2018)

“The essays range from antiquity to today’s bariatric, cosmetic and minimal access surgery, and are widely researched, clearly written and authoritative, backed up by extensive bibliographies. This is an important contribution to the subject of surgical history. It is not light reading, but it will be a valuable source book to anyone wishing to research in depth into any of its specialist topics.” (Harold Ellis, British Journal of Hospital Medicine, Vol. 79 (3), March, 2018)

Thomas Schlich, MD, is James McGill Professor in the History of Medicine at the Department Social Studies of Medicine at McGill University, Canada, and has a double qualification as physician and historian. His research interests include the history of modern medicine and science from the eighteenth to the twenty-first century. He has previously written books on transplantation, and on operative fracture care as a domain where surgery, science, and industry come together. He is currently working on a monograph about the emergence of modern surgery, 1800-1914.