A FIRST-EVER COLLECTION FROM AMERICA'S MOST DISTINGUISHED HISTORIAN OF MEDICINE AND CULTURAL LIFE
From Howard Markel, author of An Anatomy of Addiction "Absorbing, vivid" -- Sherwin Nuland, The New York Times Book Review, front page) and The Kelloggs (2017 National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist for Biography), Literatim is a collection of the writer's essays on medicine, American culture, and how their intersections compose the interstitial matter of modern life.
Through topics ranging from illness to baseball to the lives of America's most beloved artists and performers, Markel's eye for the unexamined corners of contemporary life align with his singular storytelling ability for a collection that demonstrates how literature, like medicine, can be a portal to better understanding the human condition.
Selected and with an introduction by the award-winning and bestselling author, Literatim gathers more than 80 essays, a thirty-year retrospective of Markel's work from 1987 to 2019. "Although writers and physicians use markedly different tools and approaches," he writes, "both are recording and interpreting narratives." Literatim is a stirring and entertaining testament to that persisting truth.
A FIRST-EVER COLLECTION FROM AMERICA'S MOST DISTINGUISHED HISTORIAN OF MEDICINE AND CULTURAL LIFE
From Howard Markel, author of An Anatomy of Addiction "Absorbing, vivid" -- Sherwin Nuland, The New York Times Book Review, front page) and The Kelloggs (2017 National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist for Biography), Literatim is a collection of the writer's essays on medicine, American culture, and how their intersections compose the interstitial matter of modern life.
I have been a fan of Howard Markel's essays, reading them eagerly when they appeared in the most prestigious medical journals. What a treat to have them under one cover. From Dostoevsky to Marilyn Monroe, these pieces wed medicine and fascinating pearls of history, echoing Markel's professional training in both disciplines. But the writing style is uniquely Markel, combining impish curiosity, incisive observation, a psychoanalyst's insight, and humor. It is a collection to treasure.
