George Biro

The title, What Killed Jane Austen? And Other Medical Mysteries, is a bit of a misnomer in that this book, by retired Australian physicians George Biro and Jim Leavesley, is really a collection of short essays about a variety of topics in the history of medicine. Yes, there is an article about what killed Jane Austen (likely Addison's Disease) and bits about other well-known people such as Churchill, Stalin, Queen Mary Tudor and so on, but the book also includes information on such medical events as the swine flu "epidemic" in the 1970s, the treatment of wounded soldiers at the Battle of Waterloo and, in the closing piece, a discussion of the importance of vaccination in reducing child mortality rates in Third World countries. If you're interested in the history of medicine as a whole, this book is probably not for you as it's quite light-weight and doesn't cover such important topics as the discovery of viruses or how the need for operating in sterile conditions to prevent infection was recognized and developed. But if you enjoy collecting light facts about this'n'that, Biro and Leavesley's short book could be just up your alley, as they have a breezy style and they pick a number of very interesting topics to write about.… (meer)