»Cabinet of Medical Curiosities

I read Jan Bondeson's outstanding history of science book, Cabinet of Medical Curiosities: this title became a bestseller for Cornell University Press. Dr Bondeson has choice phrases that draw in the reader, such as "the Jesuits had always been enthusiastic gigantologists" in a discussion of the proportions of antedeluvian Man (was Og a 300-cubit behemoth who strode behind Noah's Ark?), as well as a stunning collection of prints and drawings to illustrate his discussion of rabbit-breeding women, toad-vomiting prelate's sons, snake- and lice-infested royal personages, and, of course, children with tails.

Bondeson's writing is engaging, and his historical breadth is impressive: he collates south-east Asian tellings of stories very similar to the familiar Scandinavian, English, and Gaulish tales; he provides ample, but never overwhelming, evidence of the medical and physiological bases for the various phenomena; and he has a strong sense of fun. He enjoyed writing this book, and I really enjoyed reading it.