Quackery: A Brief History Of The Worst Ways To Cure Everything

by Lydia Kang, M.D. & Nate Pedersen

Ever wondered where the saying ‘blowing smoke up your a**’ came from? Or the origins of the insulting nickname ‘Snake Oil Salesman’? Or perhaps you wondered about the healing properties of melted human fat, ground-up mummies, and moss cultivated on human skulls. If you did, I’ve found the book for you!

Macabre without being gross. Irreverent without being disrespectful. Filled with all kinds of cures, one ardently wishes the medical community never thought to prescribe to anyone ever. Quackery is a riveting read.

Even better, the book is sensibly and well-organized. So if you ever want to find a brief and horrifying history of lobotomies or the terrible fate of Rosemary Kennedy — you can do so in seconds.

Admittedly, Quackery only gives brief accounts of the world’s worst cures. However, the authors do an excellent job filling each section with rich detail and salient facts. So should you ever want to learn more about, say, the Bureau of Cosmotherapy, you possess more than enough information to do so.’

Quackery also exponentially increases empathy for those who got sick in centuries past and those with epilepsy. (The “cures” for this neurological disorder were particularly dodgy. And that’s saying something.)

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Fascinating, funny, without ever inducing a squeamish flip-flop of my stomach — I would recommend this book to anyone who loves listening to podcasts like The Poisoner’s Cabinet or Sidedoor by the Smithsonian. (And if you haven’t checked these two podcasts out, you should — they are excellent!)