James C. Whorton
Autor von The Arsenic Century: How Victorian Britain was Poisoned at Home, Work, and Play
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James C. Whorton is Professor of the History of Medicine in the University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington.
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- 1942-10-31
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- James C. Whorton, PhD, is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He holds a BS in Chemistry from Duke University (1964), and a doctorate in History of Science from the University of Wisconsin (1969).
Dr. Whorton teaches courses on the history of medicine, history of public health, history of health beliefs and behavior, and on alternative and complementary medicine. He has published articles in all these areas, in journals such as Bulletin of the History of Medicine, Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, Pharmacy in History, Journal of Sport History, and Journal of the American Medical Association. His most recent book, The Arsenic Century: How Victorian Britain was Poisoned at Home, Work, and Play, was published by Oxford University Press in 2010. He has published four additional books: Nature Cures: The History of Alternative Medicine in America, ( Oxford University Press, 2002), which has just been released in paperback; Inner Hygiene: Constipation and the Pursuit of Health in Modern Society (Oxford University Press, 2000); Crusaders for Fitness: The History of American Health Reformers (Princeton University Press, 1982); and Before Silent Spring: Pesticides and Public Health in Pre-DDT America (Princeton University Press, 1974).
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Arsenic was a sensation in Victorian times. Cheap, widely available, and the source of much shock and horror at the terrible things people got up to with it, it prompted scientific breakthrough, took advantage of a nascent insurance industry, and inspired wild fictional flights of fancy. Whether it was women getting rid of consecutive husbands, heirs getting rid of aging parents, or the terrible accidents that happen when a deadly poison looks close enough to sugar to be added to sweets, arsenic caused an uproar, and helped to prompt some of the first regulations on ingredients, poisons, and foodstuffs.
Read the rest on BookGeeks:
http://www.bookgeeks.co.uk/2010/12/11/the-arsenic-century-by-james-c-whorton/… (mehr)
Read the rest on BookGeeks:
http://www.bookgeeks.co.uk/2010/12/11/the-arsenic-century-by-james-c-whorton/… (mehr)
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Whorton writes extremely well, with clear logical connections that steer the reader along. The work is sprinkled with judiciously chosen quotes (the chapter titles in particular are excellent: "Death that Lies Wait in the Pint-Pot", "A Very Wholesome Poison") and the details are excellent. For example, apparently the mucous membranes in the stomach retain arsenic, so even if an unfortunate victim is vomiting incessantly, the poison is still embedded in their system. The description of an arsenic victim's stomach as "glittering with diamond-like arsenic crystals" is spooky but also kind of cool if you have a taste for the macabre.
Now this book is a really interesting read on its own, but I was also impressed by Whorton's ability to tie arsenic scares and contaminations to modern-day issues, such as the past decade's drive to eliminate trans fats from food, and the ongoing difficulty of getting politicians to apply regulation to force manufacturers to do the right thing and eliminate hazardous materials from their products. He also closes with a comment about all of the new chemical products we bring into our homes every day, some of which have never existed before and whose long-term effects on health are as yet unknown.
The book also includes some illustrations, not too many but again very judiciously chosen (although to be honest I could have done without the picture on page 298). The text tends to speak for itself for the most part.
To sum up, this is highly recommended for anyone interested in the Victorian period, murder mysteries (especially those of the Golden Age), environmental issues or chemistry.… (mehr)