The Facemaker: A Visionary Surgeon's Battle to Mend the Disfigured Soldiers of World War I
Book by Lindsey Fitzharris
DETAILS
Publisher : Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1st edition (June 7, 2022) Language : English Hardcover : 336 pages ISBN-10 : 0374282307 ISBN-13 : 978-0374282301 Item Weight : 1.3 pounds Dimensions : 6.35 x 1.4 x 9.35 inches Best Sellers Rank: #4,974 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #1 in WWI Biographies #4 in World War I History (Books) #7 in History of Medicine (Books) , A New York Times Bestseller Finalist for the 2022 Kirkus Prize "Enthralling. Harrowing. Heartbreaking. And utterly redemptive. Lindsey Fitzharris hit this one out of the park." ―Erik Larson, author of The Splendid and the Vile Lindsey Fitzharris, the award-winning author of The Butchering Art , presents the compelling, true story of a visionary surgeon who rebuilt the faces of the First World War’s injured heroes, and in the process ushered in the modern era of plastic surgery. From the moment the first machine gun rang out over the Western Front, one thing was clear: humankind’s military technology had wildly surpassed its medical capabilities. Bodies were battered, gouged, hacked, and gassed. The First World War claimed millions of lives and left millions more wounded and disfigured. In the midst of this brutality, however, there were also those who strove to alleviate suffering. The Facemaker tells the extraordinary story of such an individual: the pioneering plastic surgeon Harold Gillies, who dedicated himself to reconstructing the burned and broken faces of the injured soldiers under his care. Gillies, a Cambridge-educated New Zealander, became interested in the nascent field of plastic surgery after encountering the human wreckage on the front. Returning to Britain, he established one of the world’s first hospitals dedicated entirely to facial reconstruction. There, Gillies assembled a unique group of practitioners whose task was to rebuild what had been torn apart, to re-create what had been destroyed. At a time when losing a limb made a soldier a hero, but losing a face made him a monster to a society largely intolerant of disfigurement, Gillies restored not just the faces of the wounded but also their spirits. The Facemaker places Gillies’s ingenious surgical innovations alongside the dramatic stories of soldiers whose lives were wrecked and repaired. The result is a vivid account of how medicine can be an art, and of what courage and imagination can accomplish in the presence of relentless horror. Read more
REVIEW
There are so few medical history books that deserve five stars, but this is one book that I wish I could give more than five stars. I first encountered Dr Fitzharris when she hosted “The Curious Life and Death of...” series on the Smithsonian Channel. When I found out she had a Twitter account (@DrLindseyFitz), I quickly followed her when she discussed the subject of her next book, the father of modern plastic surgery, Harold Gillies. Since I already knew something about Dr Gillies work, I was excited to read the book. And as you have guessed, I wasn’t disappointed. I was mesmerized. Dr Fitzharris expertly weaves three separate paths: before and after World War I; surgeon Harold Gillies, the man who would give faces back to those who thought it was hopeless; and the patients themselves, who had suffered horrendous war injuries. The author considers herself a storyteller and a teller of stories she is. While the focus of the book was on Dr Gillies, she skillfully explains the background to World War I and the absolute horror of war. This book doesn’t flinch when it comes to demonstrating the horrors of war. If the verbal descriptions don’t shake the reader to the core, the photographs certainly will. Given the fact that Dr Gillies was working in an era of surgery where penicillin and other antibiotics we’ve come to depend on won’t be available until the next World War, he does a remarkable job of reconstructing the faces destroyed by gunfire; many times, having to invent new techniques. While the photographs are difficult to look at even today, his work is remarkable. This is not an easy book to read but read it you should, especially if you are a historian, interested in World War I, or fascinated with medical history.
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