Dead Ends is a lively romp through both the spectacular and obscure failures in the history of medicine, many of which were turned around to produce positive ends even if the original endeavor fell flat in a massive way. This book is stuffed full of the procedures, devices, theories, and medicines that we use today, and the long path of research behind them that is littered with the ill-conceived attempts. The book combines knowledge and humor to keep each page interesting, and the illustrations alternate between humorous and darkly stunning, providing an artistic element to the prose. The marvels in this book will thrill those with serious scientific curiosity, as well as drawing in readers who may simply be reading about medicine for the “ick” factor or the shock value. This book walks that tightrope, balancing minor gore and potty humor in the scales with scholasticism. This book is a winner for any young reader who is interested in medicine or simply enjoys shocking trivia to share with their friends.

Review of an Advance Reading Copy from the Publisher

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: None

Violence/Gore: A few gory medical practices are described; a few graphic descriptions of gory injuries, including exposed brain matter; a few reports of accidental deaths; a few descriptions of surgeries (several are fatally unsuccessful); several deaths by disease; report of people competing in blood sports; animal and human bodies are dissected a few times (including description in one case); a character is badly burned and later dies; a few medical amputations are performed; a few characters’ fingers are accidentally amputated; a few deaths or reports of deaths by natural causes; a few reports of deaths by hanging; a few reports of gory experiments on humans, some of which were fatal; a few reports of people drinking from human skulls; a report of human heads displayed; a few instances in which a dead body, or part of one, is used in a medical treatment;  a character suffers a bloody accidental wound; a report of murders; report of people eating pieces of dead human bodies as medicine; a limb from a dead body is used to create a pseudo-scientific device; animal corpses are used in an exhibition; a few accidental deaths; a few instances of animal experimentation; a man accidentally electrocutes himself (though he survives); a few instances of bleeding a patient as a medical treatment are described; a few reports of people drinking blood; the process of blood transfusion is discussed; a character is shot, resulting in bloody injuries; report of a death due to a fad diet; report of babies dying due to being born prematurely; a man eats a human heart; a few reports of deaths by drowning; report of sick person coughing up blood; a patient in one experiment is a convicted murderer.

Illustrations in this book include: A bloody knife and body parts; a few featuring bloody decapitated heads; a man with various injuries, including from weapons; severed limbs and blood; a gory medical treatment; a man in a hockey mask wielding a gory medical invention; a man punching another man; a bone-saw and a bucket of blood; a man with blood apron and razor; a vampire and blood; a man-eating flies.

Sex/Nudity: Mention that a medical treatment involved putting an object in a patient’s butt.

Mature Subject Matter:

Discrimination against women; PTSD; capital punishment (reported); war (mentioned); animal experimentation; human experimentation; fraud; mandatory medical quarantines; murder (reported); cancer; death (from natural causes, by diseases, and including some children and infants); disease epidemics.

 Alcohol/Drug Use:

Alcohol is used medicinally; ether is used medicinally; nitrous oxide is used in a recreational fashion, as well as a medical one; adults drink wine; wine is given to a dog; report of arsenic used as poison and medicinally; an ancient remedy for drunkenness is briefly described; the outdated practice of drinking beer for good health is mentioned; historical use of cocaine in a medicinal way; cocaine cigarettes are mentioned; medical treatments involve tobacco smoke; a character is a long-time smoker; an illustration depicts a cigarette (with a “no” sign across it).