Robert B. Greenblatt

Some interesting suggestions, but attitudes and medical knowledge have changed since the book was written. For example, hormone replacement therapy is not the safe, obvious solution it once was and transgender people are much more open about who they are and unlikely to agree that the way to treat a child who shows interest in cross-dressing is "to seek help at once. For with proper guidance, and with conditioning before the tendency becomes the habit, much may be accomplished for this serious problem of behavior." [p. 79]
On the other hand, in an earlier chapter looking at hermaphroditism and pseudohermaphroditism he talks about what can be done for people with these and other related conditions; I must admit I did not completely understand what he was saying. Maybe you will understand this better (and if you read the book can tell me if I am taking this quote out of context). In any case, I like the last part of this excerpt:
"Much can be done today to compensate for the glandular or genetic error. Removal of gonadal structures not in harmony with the instinctive drives of the individual, together with the administration of replacement hormone therapy to develop the appropriate secondary sex characteristics, has met with considerable success. Also, surgery of the external genitalia is performed to enable the patient to conform with the laws of nature. Many such unfortunate individuals may be restored to semi-normalcy so that they may walk, head high and unbowed, with their spirits unbroken because of an error in development. Fate plays many tricks, and there is indeed a destiny that shapes our ends.
" Some lay people and men of the cloth, as well as physicians, feel that interference, surgical or hormonal, with such individuals is against the will of God. Such arguments are not new and apply not alone to developmental abnormalities of man. When the Erie Canal was being built, there was strong opposition to it, even on religious grounds. Harry Emerson Fosdick relates that at a Quaker meeting a solemn voice was heard: 'If God had wanted a river to flow through the State of New York, He would have put one there.' After a few minutes of profound silence, another member rose and said simply, 'And Jacob digged a well.' An eloquent and sobering statement, something that reactionaries might well ponder." [pp. 51-52]… (meer)

The premise of the book is appealing, but I found it less than satisfying. As an internist/ endocrinologist, Greenblatt speculates about the health of people (including Joseph, Sarah, and Zaccheus), considering how their health problems may have contributed to their actions as recorded in Scripture. His ideas are interesting, but in the process of his speculations, he seems to ignore the biblical context and moral tone surrounding the people and events in question. Esau MAY have been hypoglycemic, but the Bible says that he sold his birthright because he didn't value it, not because he was genuinely ill. I'd be comfortable holding both views, but I object to discrediting the second reason on account of the first. From all appearances, Greenblatt seems to have merely an academic interest in the Bible, and this approach will affect his treatment of his topic. Not a must read book.… (meer)