Flesh and Blood

“While the concept of American exceptionalism may not be in vogue anymore, it appears to have made a comeback in Susan E. Lederer’s intriguing new book about the ready acceptance of organ transplants and blood transfusion in the United States. She deftly guides us through the relevant history…As Lederer makes clear, medical miracles can no longer be separated from ethical constraints. For those who need to learn why, this book is a wonderful place tobegin.”–American Historical Review”In her latest work, Flesh and Blood, medical historian Susan E. Lederer offers detailed accounts of the transfer of body parts and fluids, particularly in the United States. This is an astonishing accomplishment, given that Lederer packs an extraordinary amount of historical data into a volume that is scarcely over two hundred pages long. The work is simultaneously informative and lucid.“–Bulletin of the History of Medicine”I would recommend Lederer’s book to those interested in the history of medicine in general, and especially to those interested in the history of transfusion and transplantation in the United States and worldwide.“–As reviewed by Hans Erik Heier, MD, PhD, MHA in the New England Journal of Medicine”…intriguing…As Lederer makes clear, medical miracles can no longer be separated from ethicical constraints. For those who need to learn why, this book is a wonderful place to begin.“–American Historical Review”Flesh and Blood, through its historical examination of blood transfusion and transplantation illuminates the deeper meaning of medical practices that we take for granted daily–questions of meaning of self, identity, and bodily integrity that pervade our technological procedures….Flesh and Blood abounds in implications for today as we blithely set about to ‘remake bodies through the harvest of other bodies–animal and human, living anddead.’“–Ethics and Medicine”Flesh and Blood is a well-written history filled with interesting details that will be a valuableresource for historians in this area for a long time.” –Journal of the History of Medicine

Susan E. Lederer is the Robert Turell Professor of the History of Medicine and Bioethics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, where she is the chair of the Department of Medical History and Bioethics. A historian of American medicine, she has written extensively on the history of animal and human experimentation. Her books include Subjected to Science: Human Experimentation in America Before the Second World War (1995), and Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature (2002), and she was a contributor to The Human Radiation Experiments: Final Report of the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments (1996).