Ether Day : The Strange Tale of America's Greatest Medical Discovery and the Haunted Men Who Made It

Rating:
Summary: A Historical Day in Medicine
Review: Ether Day, by J.M. Fenster, is an interesting, yet amazing story of the discovery of anesthesia. Although extremely informational, the contents in this novel are presented as a story. It tells of the first use of ether on October 16, 1846, and the three men who claim to be the sole discoverers. These men are: William Morton, who first administered the ether, Charles Jackson, who claims to have given Morton the idea and the medicinal use of ether, and Horace Wells, who claims to have preformed a similar process before Morton. The novel depicts the background of each individual, as they battle to be the one named as the discoverer of a painless surgery used with ether.

This is a captivating novel that discusses the exciting history of anesthesia as it is complicated by all of the people who use it. It is filled with many meticulous facts, and the difficulties that people had to overcome to prove their discovery worthy.

Although this subject may not be of any interest to the average person, it is a worthy novel to read.


Rating:
Summary: The controversy behind ether
Review: American Heritage columnist Fenster examines the tangled tale of the invention of anesthesia. Dava Sobel and Janet Gleeson have established a new model for authors working in the history of science-i.e., find some aspect of everyday life that we take for granted but whose invention involved a complicated story (preferably with something sinister attached to it), sprinkle with intelligent social history (to place it in a larger context), write well, and stir. Fenster has adhered to this formula nicely and the resulting work is, like those of her predecessors, a model of sound popular science. It begins with a simple question: Who was the father of painless surgery, as first practiced at Massachusetts General Hospital on October 16, 1846? The three claimants to the title are as dissimilar as any men of the era could possibly be. Horace Wells was a pious and earnest dentist who became interested in the possibilities of nitrous oxide as a way of rendering patients insensible; William T.G. Morton, who learned dentistry from Wells, was a semi-literate con man; and Charles Jackson was one of the most prominent men of science in Boston-an arrogant and rigid figure who claimed that Samuel Morse stole the idea of telegraphy from him. This trio became locked in a struggle to claim credit for the invention of anesthesia, a struggle that led all three to destruction. What each seems to have lost sight of is the importance of the advance itself; but Fenster is particularly good at reminding readers of the nightmare of surgery before anesthesia (she describes one operating room whose features included "hooks, rings and pulleys set into the wall to keep the patients in place during operations"). The cast of characters here is a rich one, including such luminaries as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Samuel Colt, not to mention cameos by Robert Southey, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Henry David Thoreau. Fenster balances all the various elements of the tale admirably and writes with acerbic wit. Despite occasional repetitions: a thoroughly compelling account, well told and well situated in its larger context.

Rating:
Summary: Ether + Nitrous Oxide + Laughing gas = Great discovery by 3
Review: Anesthesiology was the single greatest discovery in American Medicine which benefited humanity on a universal scale.
It was on a Friday, October 16th, 1846 at Mass General Hospital that one William Morton applied the mystery gas. He was not a doctor, nor did he understand exactly what he was doing to the hapless patient...
The patient lying quietly on the slab was dreading an exquisitely painful operation; a tumor was to be removed from his neck. He was to be the first to recieve a completely painfree operation.
The surgical theater was packed with surgeons and medical students up to the rafters....
Would this prove a huge scientific discovery or another humbug?
It was a huge success and the medical world plus humankind (and animals) would never have to suffer painful surgical intervention again!
Horace Wells and Charles Jackson also laid claim to the actual discovery of Nitrous Oxide, as explained on page 51.
The three men had equal vestitures of discovery of the analgesic properties of Nitrous, Ether, Choroform and other more modern anesthetics.
Unfortunately for them, their curosity of these inhalable substances led to their addictions to it for the rest of their natural lives.
Greed and the need to be recognized for this invention also consumed the minds of these young scientists.
They all died without any recompense for their amazing discovery,
which is the mother of all rip-offs if you asked me.
Their lives were completely enslaved to the powers of these vapors and the legalities tied to the discovery.
I bought this amazing little book because I am engaged in a gigantic debate with an anesthesiologist.
She doesn't think my psychiatric technician students should be allowed to witness certain surgeries in the OR that she works in. I am seeking all powerful stories and arguments to bolster my position...and this is my position...
any all all persons who are intelligent and brave enough to WANT to witness a surgery SHOULD be allowed to witness one.
It's a valuable learning experience that should be shared by as many willing parties in controlled conditions.
She is too elitist, because she values only the up and coming MDs. The hospital is not a residency medical center.
It's a nice community hospital with some good learning going on...why not share the knowledge and allow science to flow from the OR onto new students who would value this experience?
I learned alot about anesthesiology by reading this moderatly thin volume...it's a bargain, too.
For 97 cents, I expanded my mind, built an arsenal of great arguments pro-surgical theatrics and can challenge the minds of even the most preMadonna-ist of anesthesiologists!
Tell me --- Now, you go girl!
And just watch me....Off I go!

Rating:
Summary: Captivating
Review: Captivating story of crotchety old men feuding to their dying day during a fascinating period in medical history.

Rating:
Summary: Ether Day
Review: Ether Day by Julie M. Fenster is a very interesting book dealing with the first use of anesthetics in the mid 19th century. It is written much like a story, and not like a scientific book, which kept my interest throughout. This book is a pretty easy read, and any difficult concepts are thoroughly explained so everyone can understand.

For me, I had no knowledge of anesthesiology, where it came from, how it was discovered, nothing. After reading Ether Day, I know so much more about a topic I usually wouldn't have the want to know about.

It really surprised me how the discovery came about. I laughed for the longest time picturing scientific men getting high off of laughing gas for the mere reason of getting high. It's fascinating how the answer to painless surgery was literally right under their noses, yet no one really cared to try it. What is also very interesting is that the "founder" of anesthetics was not in it for the medical discovery; he was in it for the money. That made me chuckle.

What is also surprising is that these men were so savage about who discovered it first. They truly were haunted, as the title says. The same gas that changed medicine forever, also ruined the men who discovered it. For the first time I began to realize that human nature is inevitable, and that just because great men made a great discovery, these men might not remain great, the might become insane.

Once the discovery was made, no one knew how it worked, or why, but it was used and used widely. I find that truly interesting.

The way in which the book is written kept my interest, because it was much like a fictional story, yet it was all facts. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to go into anesthesiology, or to anyone curious about how today, we have completely painless surgery, something we all take for granted.


Rating:
Summary: Ether Day review
Review: Ether Day is the tragic story of "America's greatest medical discovery." It follows the long and difficult road to finding a form of anesthesia. Set in the mid 19th century, it is not simply a book of dates and facts but a creative story. Fenster brings the characters to life and creates a world of science that can be easily understood. The book flows because it is suspenseful and intriguing.

The book starts off with a sad short story that immediately grabs your attention. There is a very painful operation taking place without anesthetics, and in another building close by a phenomenon known as "laughing gas" is being demonstrated to a crowd of people. Little did they know at the time that this "laughing gas" was a form of anesthesia that could've helped the patient during the operation.

Before I read this book, I had no knowledge of how anesthetics came to be. I guess it was something I always took for granted and never questioned how life would be without it. The only complaint I have of the book are the descriptions of operations without anesthetics. However, I think those graphic descriptions were necessary to make the story more effective and meaningful. You should only skim through those parts if you have a weak stomach.

This book made me appreciate science more and it also made me realize how lucky we are. These men sacrificed their careers and reputations to find something to that would save a lot of people from pain or death. Something many people take for granted was given value and I truly appreciate the use of anesthetics now.

Rating:
Summary: The discovery of anesthesia
Review: Ether Day, by Julie M. Fenster, is the story of three men and the discovery of anesthesia. This book is written exactly like a story, introducing you to the characters and leading you through their lives. The way it is written kept me interested throughout the entire book.

This book starts off with a story that really caught my attention. Fenster describes a patient undergoing surgery. She describes him as being in a huge amount of pain. She then goes on to say how right down the street there is a show occurring. The people on stage are using nitrous oxide to get high and to make people laugh. Little did anyone know this nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, could have helped this patient have a painless surgery.

Surgery before Ether was very painful. Fenster describes the patients as either "whimpering, raying, mumbling, moaning, cursing, wailing," and shouting. Think about this, back before this discovery the patient could feel, see and hear everything that was happening.

Ether was first administered to a patient undergoing surgery on October 16, 1846. This patient's name was Gilbert Abbott and he was to have a large growth cut from the side of his neck. William T. G. Morton had received an invitation by a physician at Mass General to come try out his "secret compound that promised painless surgery". The surgery and many more to follow were a huge success.

William Morton was not the only man to claim to be the discoverer of this gas. This book goes into detail about the controversy of the discovery of anesthesia. There were three men that insist that they were the first to discover this painkiller; they are William Morton, Horace Wells, and Charles Jackson. Following the discovery was a battle between these three men. The end result was that each man, basically, spiraled wildly out of control.

Fenster does a good job at telling all sides of the controversy. She was able to make the reader understand what the future was like for the three men involved and what they went through. What really hit me was her vivid descriptions of surgeries before this discovery because it made me realize how important it was.


Rating:
Summary: Ether day
Review: Great story for all in the medical community. A must for Anesthesiologist.

Rating:
Summary: Ether Day-a timeless retelling of the miracle of anesthesia
Review: Hearing the news from a doctor in today's era is not quite as frightening as it once was. Try imagining having a leg or other limb amputated without being put to sleep. Just the thought of it sends chills down my spine. Julie M. Fenster is able to grab your attention right when you look at her novel's title, "Ether Day: The Strange Tale of America's Greatest Medical Discovery". It makes you wonder right away how anesthesia was developed and why the men who made such an amazing, world altering discovery could be considered haunted.

The novel begins with the general story of the first time Ether was allowed to be used in a medical operation. This took place on Friday, October 16, 1846 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. The surgery was to be performed on Gilbert Abbot to remove a large growth removed from his neck. The Ether treatment was to be administered by William T.G. Morton, who was a young dentist at the time. The novel then proceeds to go back further in time to where the discovery began. Throughout, the trials and tribulations of attempting to bring a new scientific advancement into the light of excessive critics. The story is told a few times from the point of view from each character involved in the discovery of Ether, each one trying to stake their claim on the fame of being the actual discoverer of such a miracle drug. With the story of each character, the story continued further on. Throughout the greedy, self-centered nature of all human beings, even those we may consider to be medical geniuses shone through in their actions. The men were willing to do anything to claim themselves as the inventors of anesthesia that they even went to such lengths as committing crimes in order to fund their discovery.

This book was also very informative in the processes it takes in order to make a scientific discovery of this magnitude. The men involved were forced to jeopardize all that they had, including their lives, and reputations as prominent figures in the medical world. They sacrificed everything that they stood for and this pressure eventually ruined their lives and led to each of their deaths.

Prior to reading this novel, I had not even an inkling of an idea as to how the medicine was discovered that made me able to bear the pain of having my appendix removed, nor had I given it much thought. With it's local ties to Mass General hospital and the operating theater that I have actually visited, this book was very enthralling. It caught my attention right from the beginning and held it up until the very end. I highly recommend this novel to the avid intellectual or even the semi-interested student, for it is full of surprises, twists, and turns that you will never see coming.


Rating:
Summary: Great read
Review: I've been involved in this story for a while now of the few books I've read, Fenster's is by far the best. It's a ripping read and fascinating story.