This is not a book to read or listen to while having lunch but I did it anyway. The history of the medical and surgical professions in the 1800s is horrifying to those of us used to the rigors of germ prevention and sterile practice of modern medicine. Physicians and surgeons didn't wash their hands before or after examinations and used no anesthesia. Surgical instruments were not cleaned between uses. The concept of germs was, in most cases, disbelieved by most in the profession and those promoting the importance of cleanliness were even laughed at. Doctors in other parts of Europe began to adopt sanitary practices long before those in Britain. Rivalry between Lister and other prominent physicians presented further obstacles to the adoption of his methods. Slowly the idea that microbes were the cause of infections and deadly sepsis became the standard and surgery was no longer an almost guaranteed death sentence. Lister was eventually lauded for his work and received many international awards. While frequently gross and gory, this is a well written history of Lister's challenges and accomplishments. Aside from one error where the narrator misspoke and said 1967 and 1968 instead of 1867 and 1868 the audiobook is very well done. It is read by Ralph Lister and I'm still researching whether he is related to Joseph Lister.
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