Under the Knife: A History of Surgery in 28 Remarkable Operations

Under the Knife presents twenty-eight accounts of notable surgical operations spanning from Louis XIV to more recent figures including Einstein, JFK, and Houdini. The book explores what occurs during surgery, how the human body responds to surgical intervention, and the evolving limits of what medicine can accomplish. Written by a surgeon drawing on professional expertise, the book covers surgical history from periods of bloodletting and amputation without anesthesia through contemporary sterile, high-tech operating rooms. Notable cases include a seventeenth-century Amsterdam man who removed a bladder stone from himself, and Bob Marley's fatal toe condition. The narrative examines both the medical and historical dimensions of these operations, offering insight into the philosophy of surgical practice.