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Roald Dahl's Marvellous Medicine
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Main description:

Most people know Roald Dahl as a famous write of children's books and adult short stories, but few are aware of his fascination with medicine. Right from his earliest days to the end of his life, Dahl was intrigued by what doctors do, and why they do it. During his lifetime, he and his family suffered some terrible medical tragedies: Dahl nearly died when his fighter plane went down in World War II; his son had severe brain injury in an accident; and his daughter died of measles infection of the brain. But he also had some medical triumphs: he dragged himself back to health after the plane crash, despite a skull fracture, back injuries, and blindness; he was responsible for inventing a medical device (the Wade-Dahl-Till valve) to treat his son's hydrocephalus (water on the brain), and he taught his first wife Patricia to talk again after a devastating stroke. His medical interactions clearly influenced some of his writing - for example the explosive potions in George's Marvellous Medicine.
And sometimes his writing impacted on events in his life - for example the research on neuroanatomy he did for his short story William and Mary later helped him design the valve for treating hydrocephalus. In this unique book, Professor Tom Solomon, who looked after Dahl towards the end of his life, examines Dahl's fascination with medicine. Taking examples from Dahl's life, and illustrated with excerpts from his writing, the book uses Dahl's medical interactions as a starting point to explore some extraordinary areas of medical science. Solomon is an award-winning science communicator, and he effortlessly explains the medical concepts underpinning the stories, in language that everyone can understand. The book is also peppered with anecdotes from Dahl's late night hospital discussions with Solomon, which give new insights into this remarkable man's thinking as his life came to an end.


Contents:

About the Author Introduction Prologue PART ONE: A TOWERING GIANT Chapter 1: The Witching Hour Chapter 2: Prodding and Poking Chapter 3: Into Africa Chapter 4: Crash PART TWO: THE GREAT INVENTOR Chapter 5: A Lucky Piece of Cake Chapter 6: Tales Chapter 7: Threats and Dangers PART THREE: AN ENORMOUS SHADOW Chapter 8: 'It'll Be Good for Them' Chapter 9: A Clue Here Chapter 10: A Shot in the Arm PART FOUR: GOBBLEFUNKING Chapter 11: A Bubble Bursts Chapter 12: The Mysterious Joy of Language Chapter 13: The Cabbage and the Giant Chapter 14: Thousands Across the Country PART FIVE: NO BOOK EVER ENDS Chapter 15: Rusting to Pieces Chapter 16: The Patient Chapter 17: The Last Night Acknowledgements Bibliography Notes Photo Credits Index Charity Support


PRODUCT DETAILS

ISBN-13: 9781781383391
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
Publication date: September, 2016
Pages: 256
Dimensions: 156.00 x 234.00 x 15.00
Weight: 422g
Availability: Not available (reason unspecified)
Subcategories: Public Health

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