The Great War and the Birth of Modern Medicine

A History

By: Thomas Helling MD

Narrated by: Mack Sanderson

Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

A startling narrative revealing the impressive medical and surgical advances that quickly developed as solutions to the horrors unleashed by World War I.

The Great War of 1914-1918 burst on the European scene with a brutality to mankind not yet witnessed by the civilized world. Modern warfare was no longer the stuff of chivalry and honor; it was a mutilative, deadly, and humbling exercise to wipe out the very presence of humanity. Suddenly, thousands upon thousands of maimed, beaten, and bleeding men surged into aid stations and hospitals with injuries unimaginable in their scope and destruction. Doctors scrambled to find some way to salvage not only life but limb.

The Great War and the Birth of Modern Medicine provides a startling and graphic account of the efforts of teams of doctors and researchers to quickly develop medical and surgical solutions. Those problems of gas gangrene, hemorrhagic shock, gas poisoning, brain trauma, facial disfigurement, broken bones, and broken spirits flooded hospital beds, stressing caregivers and prompting medical innovations that would last far beyond the Armistice of 1918 and would eventually provide the backbone of modern medical therapy.

Thomas Helling’s description of events that shaped refinements of medical care is a riveting account of the ingenuity and resourcefulness of men and women to deter the total destruction of the human body and human mind. His tales of surgical daring, industrial collaboration, scientific discovery, and utter compassion provide an understanding of the horror that laid a foundation for the medical wonders of today. The marvels of resuscitation, blood transfusion, brain surgery, X-rays, and bone setting all had their beginnings on the battlefields of France. The influenza contagion in 1918 was an ominous forerunner of the frightening pandemic of 2020-2021.

For anyone curious about the true terrors of war and the miracles of modern medicine, this is a must-listen.

©2022 Thomas Helling, MD (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing

A Fascinating View of WWI

This book demonstrates that the horrors of WWI generated tremendous advances in medicine. The specialties of neurosurgery, radiology, plastic surgery, and orthopedics came to modern medicine because of the huge number of horrible injuries caused by high explosives. Along with the development of medicine, this book offers insight into the internal workings of the French hospital services during the Great War. Add to that a concise and effective presentation of the flu pandemic of 1918 and you have a book, excellently read, that covers a remarkable period in a remarkable way. Five stars for both content and performance.

A great iteration of the horrors of war in general, the murderous conditions of WW1, and medical advances that war inspires

The French and German language was too fast to understand and not always repeated in English so I missed many of the names of principal persons

A marvelous book !

Brilliantly researched and beautifully written! A superb exploration of the horrors of WWI and the innovations in medical & surgical care that resulted from the necessities of caring for the wounded and maimed. The narration is stellar!

Great content, very interesting

This was interesting from start to finish. It keeps you interested in getting to know how medicine evolved.

From the eyes and experience of a fellow combat Airborne Infantryman and Designed Marksman

The chapter on shell shock hit me hard. I don't think I was ready to read/hear the information on the shell shock chapter until I was sober, in recovery, and surrounded by supportive establishments and people until now. From the beginning it was about medicine and research in an effort to understand what surgeons went through, how the soldiers suffered and what it took to be a surgeon years ago since while in combat I suffered from 2 major IEDS and a couple of minor ones followed by being shot by a sniper and losing my friend who was a fellow Designed Marksman along with many other friends in my battalion. My journey placed me on the path to become a surgeon and I hope that one day my prayers will be answer and my fellow comrades who suffer as I do get help and reach for their goals even if they never mentally leave the battlefield. This book has taught me I am understood by the Veterans clinic, my fellow combat vets and those who deal with my special "mental capacities" on a daily basis. Thank you for writing this book. I really appreciated reading/listening to it.

Just Wow!

what a history....wow! i got medical education, war stories, and political lessons all in one. good book for study.

World Class

This is a comprehensive compilation that brings to light the most dynamic medical advances that arose from the catastrophe of the First World War. I learned much from the author. Wonderfully written and narrated.

Interesting but weirdly sexist?

The history itself was interesting enough to get me through to the end of the book, but it was hard in a few places because of how the author addressed women through the book. I'm not, of course, referring to the fact that the involvement of women in the medical efforts of nearly every combatant country was largely ignored. That is, frankly, par for the course in military histories. But nearly every time a woman was mentioned, the author felt the need to actively attack her and her character. For example, after having spent almost no time on any one player's personal history in the first half of the book, the author felt the need to bring up the fact that Marie Currie had an extra-marital affair after her husband's death, just so he could work in calling her a whore. Later on, when discussing a particular Dr who joined a volunteer hospital because he was too old to join a military hospital, even as a Dr, he went on to claim that the woman who founded said hospital was just looking for a distraction to get her out of London because she was bored with her marriage. An unnecessary tangent at its absolute best. It's almost like he took personal offense at the fact that they created a situation where he couldn't ignore them without leaving noticeable gaps in his history. I normally think it's annoying at best when people feel the need to accuse military histories of being sexist because they have a prominent male focus. For the most part, it doesn't seem entirely inappropriate, but this author really just took it too far. I'm curious what the editor and publisher were thinking, too.