• Quackery

  • A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything
  • By: Lydia Kang, Nate Pedersen
  • Narrated by: Hillary Huber
  • Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (925 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Quackery  By  cover art

Quackery

By: Lydia Kang, Nate Pedersen
Narrated by: Hillary Huber
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.49

Buy for $21.49

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

What won't we try in our quest for perfect health, beauty, and the fountain of youth? Well, just imagine a time when doctors prescribed morphine for crying infants. When liquefied gold was touted as immortality in a glass. And when strychnine - yes, that strychnine, the one used in rat poison - was dosed like Viagra.

Looking back with fascination, horror, and not a little dash of dark, knowing humor, Quackery recounts the lively, at times unbelievable, history of medical misfires and malpractices. Ranging from the merely weird to the outright dangerous, here are dozens of outlandish, morbidly hilarious "treatments" - conceived by doctors and scientists, by spiritualists, and snake oil salesmen (yes, they literally tried to sell snake oil) - that were predicated on a range of cluelessness, trial and error, and straight-up scams. This book seamlessly combines macabre humor with science and storytelling to reveal an important and disturbing side of the ever-evolving field of medicine.

©2017 Lydia Kang and Nate Pedersen (P)2018 Tantor

Featured Article: The Best Audiobooks to Listen to While Walking


Whether you walk for your health, a form of transportation, or to exercise a pet, you can get some mental mileage with your steps when you take a great audiobook along. These listens make the perfect walking companions. They can teach you about any topic that catches your fancy, or transport you to ancient and fantastical worlds. Whether you're on a treadmill, touring the neighborhood, or going to work, these are the best audiobooks for walking.

What listeners say about Quackery

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    528
  • 4 Stars
    250
  • 3 Stars
    110
  • 2 Stars
    24
  • 1 Stars
    13
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    489
  • 4 Stars
    167
  • 3 Stars
    87
  • 2 Stars
    34
  • 1 Stars
    23
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    463
  • 4 Stars
    223
  • 3 Stars
    86
  • 2 Stars
    19
  • 1 Stars
    9

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

not bad for it's demographic

I found it alright, although the humor was mediocre at best. There was also a hint of the author's political beliefs in here, though it felt out of place for the book this is. I would have preferred a more unbiased and factual alternative to this book, but for people who enjoy storytelling to compliment non-fiction this is a decent read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I'm grateful to life in the modern world

More than any other book Quackery made me very thankful to be alive now and not at some point in the past. We can glamorize bygone eras, but the idea of having hemorrhoids burned off with a red-hot piece of metal is all you need to know to realize it's better to be alive now than it was then. Fantastic book - very entertaining and very informative.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating

Absolutely fascinating book, unfortunately the reader sounded robotic but it is still worth a listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Watch out for nausea!

Chapter 22 made me so nauseous. But very interesting over all! I also like the narrator

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Fascinating Journey

I really enjoyed learning about the various ways that humans have tried to help and heal each other through the centuries. And the snake oil. So much snake oil!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it all

My latest topic for my listening pleasure has been about medical history. This book was filled with history, some new to me and some not, humor, and wonderful explanations. This is one I may come back to.

If you are interested in the offbeat things that were touted as medical miracles and devices that maybe weren't so great, this is the book for you.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

so smarmy, I couldn't listen

the subject matter is fascinating but I could not get past the narrator. what a waste

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Captivating

The narrator was the perfect choice for this book. She made the subject matter so enjoyable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

wonderful

easy to follow the narrator and interesting topic. Humerus ( hahaha ) and strangely cool.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting and Entertaining

Very interesting subject matter, thorough with some low brow humor that made me chuckle often

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!