A Scientific Revolution by Ralph H. Hruban & Will Linder

A Scientific Revolution: Ten Men and Women Who Reinvented American Medicine by Ralph H. Hruban and Will Linder | 2022 | Pegasus Books | Hardcover $29.95

Johns Hopkins University, one of the preeminent medical schools in the nation today, has played a unique role in the history of medicine. When it first opened its doors in 1893, medicine was a rough-and-ready trade. It would soon evolve into a rigorous science. It was nothing short of a revolution.

This transition might seem inevitable from our vantage point today. In recent years, medical science has mapped the human genome, deployed robotic tools to perform delicate surgeries, and developed effective vaccines against a host of deadly pathogens. But this transformation could not have happened without the game-changing vision, talent, and dedication of a small cadre of individuals who were willing to commit body and soul to the advancement of medical science, education, and treatment.

Disclosure statement: I received a digital ARC of this title from the publisher.

I jumped at the chance to read an advanced copy of this book for review because of its collection of subjects. I am currently a librarian at an academic health science institution, not unlike Johns Hopkins; I am also an amateur hobbyist historian of sorts. This combination of circumstances makes me quite interested in the history and science of medicine, particularly the personal stories of the people who made that history and science happen. A couple of the names listed in the ad copy were at least vaguely familiar to me, but most were not, and I was very happy to have the opportunity to learn more about these people.

As it turns out, this book is really about people who made history specifically at Johns Hopkins University. If you’re not familiar, Johns Hopkins is a private research university in the United States; it is certainly most well-known for its cutting edge contributions to medical research, though it has other academic programs. When I say that someone made history at Johns Hopkins, that means they also made history in medical science more generally. I just wanted to be clear about the scope of the book, because it might not be super obvious from a glance at the cover or a scan of the summary.

Going into the book, I was particularly interested in the story of William Osler, whose name I was familiar with but whose actual life I knew nothing about. I was familiar with the name because my current institution offers a kind of scholarship for students that is named after Osler; the scholarship encourages students to study medicine in a way that emphasizes evidence-based practice as well as compassionate care. This is appropriate, because as a pioneer of medical education Osler insisted on a scientific approach coupled with a philosophy of treating patients humanely.

The authors make a good effort to be honest and fair about the lives of the people they’ve profiled. Osler’s chapter is a good example; in it, they describe at length his personal life and his work and his spectacular professional legacy, but they don’t shrink away from also acknowledging his lesser-known, cringe-worthy racist statements. I think they’ve handled this discussion gracefully:

Quite possibly, the most fitting ethical standard by which to measure Osler would be his own — a standard inspired by his better angels, which frequently but not always prevailed in his thinking about human affairs. [….] Osler, as is true of all of us, on occasion fell short of the mark he had set for himself when it came to the love of humanity.

We can all only hope that people of the future will consider our own shortcomings with such tact.

One person I was embarrassed to not have already known about because, given my profession, I should have known about him, was John Shaw Billings. I should have known about this guy already because he was essentially the organizer of the National Library of Medicine and the original analog version of its online database, PubMed. If you’re not familiar, PubMed is one of THE most important research tools in modern medical science, and is something that I deal with frequently as part of my job (… and if you are already familiar — yes, this is an oversimplification, but let’s not get too into the weeds in this book review).

I also really, really enjoyed reading about Mary Elizabeth Garrett, Dorothy Reed Mendenhall, and Helen Taussig, all women who had a significant influence on medical education and practice in America but whose names may be unfamiliar to many of us who’ve benefited from their work in the present day. The sexism they faced and the extra hurdles they had to overcome because of it was infuriating to read about, of course, but their achievements serve as beautiful examples of what good can be done in this world in spite of that kind of pervasive idiocy.

Also — and I realize this is going to sound rather nerdy, but here it is — I was absolutely charmed by the photos of one of the authors at the gravesites of some of the people whom they profiled in this book. Call it a genealogist’s eccentricity, but I just love seeing researchers go so far as to visit their subjects in cemeteries.

This book comes out in May! Though I think the primary audience for this book will be people who are specifically interested in the history of Johns Hopkins, I think it also holds some appeal for readers who are interested in the history of healthcare in America, or in 19th and early 20th century medical science more generally — especially when it comes to the scientific contributions women and people of color, who have often been overlooked.

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Publication information: Hruban, Ralph H. & Linder, Will. A scientific revolution: Ten men and women who reinvented American medicine. New York, NY: Pegasus Books, 2022. EPUB.
Source: ARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss.
Disclaimer: I am not compensated, monetarily or otherwise, for reviews of books or other products.

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