This book is a collection of articles, written by Berton Rouche and published in the New Yorker, about medical investigations that took place in the US from the 1940's to late 1980's. Though this book would obviously be interesting to medical students, you don't have to understand much about medicine to enjoy it. Most of the medical terms used are either defined or explained in context, and all facts relevant to the cases are clearly stated. Each case is presented as a mystery that unfolds as the investigators search for the cause of a patient's illness. First, we are given the basic facts of the case: the patient's condition and symptoms, his or her environment and activities at the time of the onset of illness, and the investigator/doctor's initial diagnosis or impressions. Next, we are shown how an investigator makes discoveries leading to a diagnosis and treatment. Finally, we follow the health officials as they track the source of the epidemic.
Though I have no connection to the medical field, I found these articles very interesting, and I think I've learned a lot from them. However, I wish someone could have added a post-script to each of the articles with an update on some of the information. For example, one of the articles (written in 1944) said that 2% of American pigs were carriers of trichinosis. I would like to know what the statistics are now. Besides that minor complaint, I loved the book and would recommend it to any curious reader who loves to learn about new things.

This book was so enjoyable that I had to ration it out, a chapter a day, to make it last. Otherwise I would have gone through it in a day. Each medical mystery immediately draws you in. You learn a lot, even though the writing level is entertaining and undemanding. I highly recommend this book, and plan to read other books by this author.

I brought a bunch of books home from my office and this was one of them. I had forgotten about it, and I have just read it again. Roueche was an excellent journalist writing for the New Yorker. He wrote about public health starting way back in 1944. This book is fascinating for several reasons. Not only is it a good explanation of what epidemiologists do for a living (the ones who don't deal with Level 4 viruses but the everyday disasters that still happen), but it is also a great history of public health in the U.S. Roueche was not a disaster monger. Rather he wrote about the men and women who literally had to hunt down clues about diseases, food-borne pathogens, stupid things parents did that led to the development of child safe medicine containers, etc. Some of these men and women put their lives on the line, and continue to do so when there are outbreaks of emerging diseases like Hantavirus in the Four Corners region, dealing with increasing cases of food poisoning, and now with the problems with prions (mad cow disease). He wrote in such a way to give us history and details that many other writers of health history often leave out. The information concerning the increasing amount of rabies being seen in the U.S. was news to me...I always thought it was native to this country, but apparently before the 1950's it was rarely seen. The chapter on aspirin, gave wonderful historical background, and brought attention to the need to make children understand that any medicine, whether flavored or not, is not candy. This book is a good recommendation for students in med school, for those who are interested in public health, and I think for high school science students to see the practical application of what they learn. I am going to go look for more writings of his...they are too enjoyable to miss! Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh

Before I tell you what it's about, let me warn you that this story isn't as silly as it sounds. Or maybe it is silly, and it was such a gripping read that I never noticed.

A family's idyllic stay in a Long Island house quickly turns to horror. First, they learn that there are lots of strays, abandoned by inconsiderate tourists before they went back home. Then, even worse, the stray cats start to attack. The attacks start out small, but quickly escalate to terror.

Stories like this usually stink because they make no sense. But Berton Roueche was the author of the classic work "The Medical Detectives" and won several medical journalism awards. His background -- and his message about how we treat our pets -- keeps this from being a sleazy "attack of the animals" story.

Anne M. Marble Reviewer, All About Romance

I read this book borrowed from a library with no idea what it was about except that Mr Roueche writes beautifully. That's how I recommend you read it, too.

The characters in the book slowly learn something anyone would think is impossible and, if you don't know too much about the book before you read it, you will share the thrill of their discovery.

I almost didn't put this book down as I read it over the course of an afternoon and evening. 20 years later I still consider it to be one of the best reading experiences of my life. You will not be sorry.

Unfortunately for Berton Roueche, the gripping narrative of Oliver Sachs set too high a standard for medical storytellers. After reading four or five of these stories, one can't help but wonder "where's the beef?". Not only are the stories themselves rather uninteresting (what's so outstanding about an organ player with a hand ailment?), but Roueche's writing style wipes out the feeble grip the book has on the reader. It doesn't flow; rarely do you find a sentence with more than one simple idea in it; and strangely enough, both he as the narrator and his QUOTED interviewees use exactly the same pizzicatto narrative... In short, rather uninteresting, plagued with ungripping writing and an unexpected amateurish style for such a seasoned author

BERTON ROUECHE WORKS WERE THE BEST. HE GAVE THE AVERAGE MAN A EASY LOOK INTO MEDICINE. MAY HE REST IN PEACE.

Berton Roueche demands more from us than most scientific writers; this is not pure entertainment, it is something better. These 7 essays, first appearing in the New Yorker -- and the last essays of this great detecitive -- are more than worthile reading; they are like having a look in the private notebooks of a person with a tireless, seeking mind. This is a good read.

The late Berton Rouche, along with St. Clair McKelway, wrote regular columns for the New Yorker magazine on medical and social issues (McKelway wrote "True Tales from the Annals of Crime and Rascality." Both had a genious for lucid non-fiction that seemed stranger than fiction. Highly recommended if a bit (!) dated.

Imagine everyone that has ever lived, resurrected along a 20 million mile long river, bounded by unclimable peaks, where in any given area, about 80% of the people living there come mostly from the same 100-years and the rest are from along points in time. Written well. Many historical people are involved in the story with the main character who is... just find it!